The Someday Trilogy: This Moment
by Pandora147
Summary: Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions.
1. Chapter 1

**The Someday Trilogy**

**Part II: This Moment**

**Summary:**

Relationships and friendships both flourish and falter amidst the pressures of senior year and life in general. A hopefully original take of senior year at East High. All characters; TxG. M for coarse language, sexual references/depictions.

**Disclaimer:**

The author has no affiliation with Disney, Peter Barsocchini, Kenny Ortega or any other member of the High School Musical team. The requisite recognisable characters, settings and themes are credited to their respective creators. I write purely for entertainment purposes with no funds being made in the process of the production of this work and I do not intend any sort of legal infringement with the production of my fiction. This disclaimer is applicable to this chapter and every subsequent chapter within this story.

**Author's Note**

Welcome to _The Someday Trilogy – Part II: This Moment. _

Or, as it colloquially known to most of you, '_Someday'_. This is **PART TWO** of a **Trilogy**. Part I is listed in my profile as _The Someday Trilogy – Once Upon A Time_. I would highly, highly, highly recommend that you tackle the first part prior to reading this. And if you enjoy it, (hint hint) **review**. Since I slaved away on the damn thing. :-) Having said that, you can choose to tackle this story without having read the first part, and just not understand all of the context. Or, you could read this and gradually catch up with Part I, since it is rather giant, mammoth, colossal, enormous… etcetera.

This is a story which tells the tale of Senior Year at East High. It was conceptualised before the filming of HSM3. Hence, the plot of HSM3 is irrelevant to this series. There may be some similarities - after all, I am writing with the same characters who exist with the same history. But as this story progresses, various elements of the plot will stray further and further away from the HSM3 canon. The 'canon' of this story is High School Musical 1, my previous stories _Here With You _and_ Play It My Way_, High School Musical 2 and now, _The Someday Trilogy._

This is an M rated story written by an author who, when she feels like it, enjoys specific details. So you are warned, read ahead with caution if you aren't particularly fond of the occasional depiction of M rated one on one interpersonal interactions.

I also warn you that this is NOT just a story about Troy and Gabriella. Yes they are the focal characters, but this is a story about the entire gang at East High. It's a story which explores how events in the life of one character can snowball and affect the lives of other characters. You can review saying 'Good, but more Troyella' and I will secretly think you are an idiot and thank you for making my review count go up.

Anyway. Enough talking. Enjoy.

* * *

****

**The Someday Trilogy - ****Part II: This Moment**

Chapter 1

_"Because this moment's really all we have..." _

_'Everyday' by Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron_

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had exchanged dozens of kisses throughout the nine month history of their relationship. Soft kisses, intense kisses, lustful kisses, teasing kisses, probing kisses, gentle kisses. A kiss wasn't just a kiss; a kiss said something more. A kiss could say _I missed you;_ a kiss could say _I love you;_ a kiss could say _I want you._

In the parking area at the front of the Evans' property, Troy's truck was stationed between Chad's car and Taylor's jeep. And in the front seat of the truck, the kiss being exchanged between Troy and Gabriella was representing all of the above – and more.

At first, it was simply a belated good morning kiss. He had picked up his girlfriend that morning, ready to head to Ryan's. The Evans' home had been volunteered as the movie set for the first day of the filming of Jason's project. However, Gabriella's mother and Aunt Eva were in the front yard at the time, examining something in the garden. And Troy being the gentlemen he was – and also being somewhat terrified of Gabriella's mother placing restrictions upon their relationship – had settled for a quick, chaste kiss in greeting.

The minute Troy had safely parked the car and cut the engine at Ryan's, Gabriella grabbed onto his hoodie and pulled him in close, initiating a steamy kiss.

"What was that for?" Troy had asked, his surprise evident.

"A proper good morning," Gabriella had responded softly, before kissing him once again.

Troy was more than willing to reciprocate the kiss zealously; more than willing to allow her to crawl over and straddle him, her skirt flaring out; more than willing to experience the intoxicating friction of her grinding against him, teasing him and filling his mind with illicit thoughts.

He pulled apart from her suddenly, gasping for air. "We're not really needed here today are we?" Troy asked breathily. Gabriella proceeded to trail a sweet line of kisses from his lips, across his jaw line, to the smooth skin of his neck.

"I think we are," Gabriella murmured into his neck. Her despondent tone suggested that she was just as disappointed with their required presence as he was. "I do have a part in the film after all." Her actions indicated that she was currently attempting to pretend that they didn't need to go inside. She was perfectly content to remain in the sanctuary of his truck. She nibbled slightly at his skin, her hands fell to the hem of his t-shirt and slipped beneath the cotton material to feel the warmth of his hard chest.

"The last four days have been absolute…" Troy's sentence was interrupted to let out a groan as Gabriella rocked against his burgeoning erection. "… hell. It feels like Sunday was a million years ago."

"I know," Gabriella responded breathily.

"We've had two whole days off school so far this week, why do our stupid families insist upon hovering around? The pumpkin pie and turkey and yams yesterday came nowhere near making up for hardly seeing you."

His hands fell to gently clasp Gabriella by the shoulders and pull her back from his neck, allowing him to initiate a hard kiss, tongues entwining and duelling playfully. Troy's hands had worked their way beneath her sweater, kneading and caressing her breasts. His brain was going to a place that he was certain Gabriella wouldn't approve of. He could so easily undo his fly, so easily shove his boxers down far enough to facilitate the very union that he was envisaging within his brain at that moment.

An ear splitting, high pitched static emanated across the front of the Evans' property.

"Would the couple humping in the white truck please stop, and get their asses inside."

Troy's hands froze in place on Gabriella's breasts, as the two glanced around in bewilderment at what they had heard.

"That's right. This is Chad. The Evans' have a PA. And security cameras. With excellent zoom. So desist your grinding before we have not only a horror film being shot, but also a low budget porn…"

"Chad, get off the PA!" Ryan's voice could be heard in the background. "I told you to let people in the security gate, and that is all! Not to mess around with…"

Another high pitched screech emitted over the PA and the transmission ended.

"Chad Danforth is a fucking dead man," Troy said, groaning loudly in exasperation.

Gabriella carefully clambered off Troy's lap and back over to her side of the truck. "It's probably for the best we were interrupted," she said, smoothing down her sweater.

"How is that?"

"We weren't gonna get to do much more in here anyway. And continuing with that was just going to make today… harder…" Gabriella said. She had chosen her words carefully as she glanced coyly at the bulge beneath Troy's blue jeans.

"It's not just me though is it; thinking that we desperately need to find privacy some time soon?" Troy questioned. "I mean, we had this absolutely fucking incredible weekend… at least, I thought it was incredible. Unless you didn't think it was incredible…" The insecurity seeped through Troy's tone.

"Troy, I've already told you more than once that it really was amazing," Gabriella said, her tone softening. She leaned over, allowing their lips to connect for a few moments in a soft kiss. "Now come on. Let's go in, get Jason's movie filmed, and then we can get out of here."

"You saying things like '_we can get out of here' _is not going to help my situation," Troy said teasingly, glancing down. He took a moment, breathing deeply and then readjusted himself until he was presentable.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and picked up her tote bag. The pair made their way across from the parking bay to the front door, Gabriella's right arm naturally curling around Troy's waist and his left arm draping across her shoulders. They'd been instructed that after being buzzed in they could come straight in, with the front door being left unlocked during the half hour when Jason's cast and crew would be arriving.

About half of the scenes were being shot that day, the other half designated for shooting the following day, on Saturday. It was only a 30 minute long short film, but Jason was nevertheless being very pedantic about the whole process. Gabriella was playing a small part in the film – she was the token first girl to be killed by the slasher demon. Luckily for Troy, he had managed to avoid actually having to act in it, since the cast predominantly featured the supernatural killer man and a bunch of helpless girls.

Ryan had volunteered his house for the first day of shooting, since it had several locations which worked well with the script – and the Cross house was overrun with relatives who were in town for Thanksgiving.

The small security room with the camera, PA and an access point to the gate buzzer was off from the entrance hall. Standing around just outside the room was Ryan, Taylor and Chad.

"That's not the point, Chad. I could have gotten into trouble for that!" Ryan exclaimed

"Oh please. Your parents aren't even here," Chad scoffed.

"Oh there they are!" Taylor said, spotting the arrival of the couple. "Hey guys, Happy Thanksgiving!"

Gabriella dropped her arm from Troy to step forward and exchange a hug with her best friend.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you too. How was your day yesterday?" Gabriella asked.

"I still feel full," Taylor said with a smile. "How about you, how was your day?"

"It was tiring," Gabriella said. "But nevertheless awesome. It was good to take a break from the SAT study for a day. I brought notes to go through when we're not filming stuff today."

Taylor nodded. "Me too."

"You two are disgusting," Chad jibed, looking back and forth from Troy to Gabriella. "Do you just like, go at it anywhere?"

"Shut the fuck up," Troy shot back.

"I thought your cousin was coming along with you today?" Ryan asked Gabriella.

"He wasn't ready so we left without him. My mom might bring him around later on," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. "I hope not."

"Oh good, you're here!" Jason exclaimed, rushing into the room. "I thought I heard your voice! Now everyone is here."

"Yeah sorry we got held up," Troy said apologetically.

Chad snorted. Jason had been so busy running around in the backyard that he hadn't heard the PA announcement out the front of the house, and he'd also missed Ryan's subsequent intervention.

"That's fine. Okay, I guess I should get everyone together now."

"I'll just stay here and look after the gate then," Chad said, moving back towards the security room.

"Like hell you will. You heard Jason, everyone is here. I just didn't want to run back and forth from the buzzer," Ryan said.

"Where do you think I should talk to everyone?" Jason asked.

"How about outside on the deck?" Ryan suggested. "We'll go gather everyone, you go get ready."

Jason nodded and disappeared. Ryan headed into the kitchen to round up people, leaving Taylor, Troy, Chad and Gabriella in the foyer.

"Are you guys going to be forced to do stuff with your relatives tomorrow night?" Chad asked.

"I happen to enjoy seeing my relatives so I don't see it as being 'forced' to do stuff with them," Gabriella said in amusement. "But I'm not sure as yet. Why?"

"We were gonna do like a mini wrap party thing, maybe pizza and a movie," Taylor suggested. "Maybe out, or maybe just at Jason's."

"Spend two days filming a movie and then watch a movie? Sure," Troy said, smirking.

"Sounds fun," Gabriella said agreeably. "I'll check what is happening with my family and everything."

"What's the bet that Coach is going to extend training by at least a half hour every day this week to get ready for playoffs?" Chad asked Troy.

"Hmm, is the Pope a Catholic?"

"Last I heard."

"Great timing, putting your first Playoff the night before the SATs," Taylor remarked.

"Not much we can do," Troy said with a shrug. "One of the other games is even later than ours; they have an 8pm start time. But I think both of those schools did an earlier exam, I heard there's just one guy from those teams of them who is resitting it on Saturday."

"It's East High's fault, preparing us for the December exam. We should have taken it in November, or even earlier," Taylor said critically. "I was going to register for the November exam, but then I would have missed out on the prep days we had this week."

"Guys! Come on!" Ryan's agitated voice sounded from across the foyer.

"Shouldn't it be Jason yelling at us, isn't this his movie?" Chad pointed out, jibing Ryan.

"No one should have to be yelling at you. You agreed to help out, now be useful and come and help," Ryan urged, before disappearing once again.

Gabriella promptly linked arms with Taylor and the girls followed Ryan down the corridor. Gabriella was attempting to make it appear as though she just wanted to be diligent and rush to help. The truth was that she had a fairly urgent need to discuss something with Taylor.

"Taylor, do I look okay?" Gabriella said softly.

Taylor glanced over at her friend. "You look fine. Why? Thinking you might have sex hair?"

Gabriella glared at her witheringly. "We were only making out."

"Bet you wish it was more," Taylor said knowingly.

Gabriella couldn't deny the suggestion, and all she could do was blush. "I think it's gross that you guys were watching."

"That was our designated job, to sit in that room, look on the camera at the people arriving, and buzz them in," Taylor pointed out. "Is it our fault that there are three screens, one of which has a view into the parking bays, and that Troy reversed into the spot?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Didn't mean Chad had to interrupt."

"Maybe it's good he did."

"Can you blame us? We had this incredible weekend and since then, a whole lot of kissing and that is all. And since I'm not walking around like I've been horseback riding and not feeling sore any more…"

"You really want to try it again?" Taylor filled in.

Gabriella nodded. "I've been talking about it too much, haven't I? Tell me to shut up if you want, I won't be offended."

"Not too much at all! I like feeling in the loop," Taylor confessed. "As long as you don't go into too much detail, talk about it all you want."

"You and Chad seem to be getting along really well again. Is there sparkage again?"

Taylor shrugged. "Umm… yes and no. It's rather complicated. If you can tear yourself away from your boyfriend for longer than five minutes sometime when we're not in a class or helping Jason film a movie, you and I so need to have some girl talk."

Gabriella nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely."

* * *

Meanwhile back in the foyer, Troy had moved to follow the girls in the direction of the cast and crew meeting on the deck – but Chad had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"So, did you guys have a morning quickie before coming today?" Chad asked in a low, teasing voice.

"Dude!" Troy hissed, glancing around to make sure that Gabriella and Taylor hadn't heard.

"Oh come on. You told me and the boys that you did it on the weekend."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we talk about it here! I don't want Gabriella to know that I told you!"

"Oh please, she knows that we know. It's high school man, everyone knows everything that goes on with everyone. I bet she's told the girls. And you're avoiding answering my question."

Troy sighed. "No we didn't. We haven't… since the weekend."

"Why not?" Chad asked. "Don't you want to? I thought you said it was…"

"Of course I fucking want to and yeah, it was. It more than was! But between both of us studying for SATs and doing other assignments, and basketball training and all of her meetings for student council stuff, and then family being here, it's been logistically difficult."

"Just go to the drive in and park in the back corner," Chad suggested helpfully.

"Have you, like, _met_ Gabriella?" Troy said incredulously.

"Hey, you told me she got you to park in a random side street so she could satisfy your goodies once," Chad pointed out.

"Yeah that's not a frequently occurring thing. Besides, this is… it's different," Troy said.

"What, now that you're 'making love'," Chad said, making the term sound repugnant and indicating the quotation marks with his fingers.

"Why do you make that sound like that?" Troy pondered.

"Because you're being a complete girl about the whole thing. Being all secretive and not telling us details."

"I told you it happened! What do you want, a detailed blow by blow account?"

"There were blows involved were there?"

"No!"

"Ha! I got a detail out! And seriously, what kind of a girlfriend is she, if there were no blows involved?"

"Shut up! I've been telling you all week I'm not going to elaborate about it!" Troy exclaimed.

"I'll get it out of you. I know I will," Chad said confidently.

"Come on, or Jason's going to snap his cap," Troy said, rolling his eyes and dragging Chad out to the deck.

* * *

Between Ryan and Kelsi they'd managed to gather all the helpers out onto the deck. After the stragglers – Chad and Troy – joined the group and slotted in, Jason glanced around, mentally willing everyone to be quiet so he could talk. Troy spotted Jason's look of desperation and took matters into his own hands; he put his index fingers into his mouth and let rip with a group silencing whistle. Jason grinned at Troy gratefully, who merely nodded in return. Everyone settled down; all eyes falling upon Jason.

Jason was normally very easy going. 'Follower' would perhaps be a term synonymous with a description of his personality. Standing in front of a group of his friends, his peers, with all eyes looking to him for direction – it wasn't exactly a place within his comfort zone. But that was exactly where he was. Somehow, he'd written a script. He'd organised to borrow the necessary equipment from school. He'd managed to convince twenty of his peers, his friends, people from his film course – to give up two days of their precious free time to help him. And here he was, finally the day had come, where he was about to embark upon making his first short film.

He cleared his throat. "Umm yeah so… thanks for coming to help today guys. Umm… so…"

And then Jason went somewhat blank.

"Do you want to go through the job descriptions and shooting schedule?" Kelsi suggested quietly, from her place standing beside Gabriella at the front of the group gathered.

Jason shot her a grateful smile. "Good idea, yes, I'll just run through the jobs I've outlined for the helper people… crew," he corrected himself, trying to sound more official. "And then I'll go through the shooting schedule. If you're in the cast then you'll already know when I've estimated your scene is being shot. So yeah, I'll go through all that."

* * *

"Scene 1, Take 1… aaaaannnnnnnnnndddddd Action!"

_Stage Directions: Onelys, a gorgeous Hispanic beauty, is standing in her bathroom putting make up on. Her stereo is blasting and she is humming along to the song. In the mirror, we see a shadowy figure lurking outside through the window. She pulls out her hair dryer, the noise of the hair dryer drowns out the sound of the lurking figure which is approaching her from behind. We only see the shadow of the figure, we never see the figure itself. The camera focuses on the bathroom mirror. We see Onelys turn around to reach out for a towel from the towel rack, her image goes out of shot from the mirror. There is a close up of her look of horror and we hear a blood curling scream._

"EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!" Gabriella screeched.

Jason rolled his eyes. "And cut."

"Was my scream not very good?" Gabriella asked.

Jason coughed. "You kinda sounded like you saw a mouse or something."

* * *

"Scene 1, Take 4…. aaaaannnnnnnnnndddddd Action!"

_We see Onelys turn around to reach out for a towel from the towel rack, her image goes out of shot from the mirror. There is a close up of her look of horror and we hear a blood curling scream._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

"And cut."

"What this time?"

"That sounded like you were at the doctor and you were sticking out your tongue while he puts the stick on your mouth."

* * *

"Scene 1, Take 9…. aaaaannnnnnnnnndddddd Action!"

_We see Onelys turn around to reach out for a towel from the towel rack, her image goes out of shot from the mirror. There is a close up of her look of horror and we hear a blood curling scream._

"AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!"

"And cut!" Jason practically snapped.

A collective group moan from everyone involved in the filming of the scene sounded. There was Chad – who was playing the shadow of the killer; Jason with the camera; Troy – who was standing in the hallway with the stereo and preparing the background music at the correct part of the song for Gabriella to hum along to; Joseph – a fellow film and television student, who was assisting.

"What now?" Gabriella exclaimed, feeling even more exasperated.

"You just sounded angry, not scared! Chad is about to kill you! Look! He's got a scary hook thing!" Jason exclaimed.

"Wouldn't you be angry if someone was going to kill you?" Gabriella asked.

"I would," Troy piped up, feeling slightly sorry for the position Gabriella was in.

"Look, Jason, I told you I wouldn't be good at doing this!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I'm just not a screaming type of person."

"I hear otherwise," Chad said under his breath, but loud enough for the people around to hear.

Troy's eyes widened and he glared at Chad.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella demanded, glaring at Chad for a moment before turning to glare at Troy.

"What the fuck, dude?!" Troy yelped. "I never said…"

"I'm kidding Gab relax," Chad said quickly.

"Guys?" Jason said impatiently.

"Sorry man," Troy said quickly.

Gabriella took a breath, her glare shifting away from Troy and softening back to look at Jason. "I don't think I'm going to be able to do this any better. Why don't you just get someone else who can scream to do it?"

"I don't have time for that! Then I have to reshoot all of this!" Jason sighed in exasperation. "Maybe I could just dub the scream. Get someone else to scream for me some other time. I think take 3's facial expression was spot on."

He fiddled with the camera, rewinding to check the footage.

"Maybe Onelys just faints?" Gabriella suggested. "And after she faints she is stabbed?"

"No! It's the rule of horror. A blood curling scream within the first couple of minutes."

Jason found the correct part of the footage and checked it over. "This is good. Without sound. I think I can dub it."

"Tell you what, if you can't dub it, I will come back and refilm this part whenever you like," Gabriella suggested. "There's no point in getting behind schedule on the first scene of the day."

Jason nodded. "Okay. That works. Right then! To the next scene."

* * *

Gabriella had remained behind in the bathroom, to change from her 'costume' (a dressing gown and slippers) back into her regular clothing. The next scene being filmed was one outside of the house, with Sharpay and one of the drama club volunteer actors, Katie. Gabriella bound downstairs to head out and see how she could make herself useful. Everything appeared under control. Gabriella spotted Kelsi standing back from the group, just observing what was going on. She went to stand beside her friend.

"It's really cool, isn't it?" Gabriella said softly between takes.

Kelsi nodded. "I've been hearing about this project in detail since last semester when Jase and I started talking regularly. I think we bonded over it because he was developing the script and he knew that I'd been working on my composition. We're similar in that we both had troubles with the actual script part. I just wanted to write and play my music. Jason just wanted to be at this place, making the movie, but I don't think he ever really believed that it could happen. But here we are… I mean it's not going to be a masterpiece, but it's a start. Everyone has to start somewhere."

"I love hearing you talk about him," Gabriella said, her mouth forming in a small smile.

Kelsi blushed. "I must sound stupid."

"No, not at all. You don't talk about him a lot. Which is fine, I know you're private about it, which is fair enough. It's just… nice to hear. I can just hear how much you like him without you saying it."

Kelsi blushed. "I do really like him. It's strange though, he's so different to anyone I would have ever thought that I'd be dating."

"You think I ever would have imagined in a thousand years I'd be dating someone like Troy?" Gabriella pointed out.

"And yet you guys are like, made for each other," Kelsi said.

"That's a bit drastic," Gabriella said, ducking her head slightly.

"No it's not, you know it's true. I mean, you guys are really serious now, aren't you? Like, _really_ serious."

Gabriella paused, knowing precisely what Kelsi was referring to. Gabriella wasn't naïve, she hadn't anticipated that she and Troy could actually keep it a secret from their friends what they were doing with their personal lives. Especially not when they'd disappeared all night at the fall musical after party. But she had only officially _told_ Taylor about it. Her eyes drifted over to where Troy was standing near the filming holding onto a couple of garbage can lids – providing a sound effect. Between takes he would stop to talk to the people around him, his eyes twinkling as he laughed. She glanced at Kelsi, flashing a small knowing smile.

"Yes, we are."

* * *

"This whole acting thing is really tiring," Chad complained, collapsing into a deck chair while Jason was setting up the next shot.

"You don't have any lines, it's just your shadow being filmed," Taylor pointed out in amusement.

"Don't forget my arm with the hook thing," Chad reminded her.

"Oh sorry. The hook thing also."

"It's really early in the morning, given that it's a day off school," Chad pouted.

"It's midday," Taylor said in amusement. "And we've only been filming for an hour."

"Well I'm hot. This trench coat is really warm. And this tail thing is weird and keeps getting in the way." Chad was at the point of just complaining for the sake of complaining.

"Would you like something to eat perhaps? I can bring you some of Zeke's cookies," Taylor suggested patiently.

"Could you also bring me a glass of milk?" Chad asked.

"What's the magic word?" Taylor teased.

"Umm… now?" Chad joked.

Taylor thwacked him on the arm. "No! Here I am trying to do a nice thing and all you can do is be a smart ass about it," she jibed, moving to turn away from him.

"Aww come on Tay, I was just kidding," Chad said, and reached out to grab onto her arm and pull her back. "Now how about those cookies?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I was heading into the kitchen anyway so I suppose I can grab you something too." Once again she turned to walk away.

"Hey Taylor?" Chad ventured, his tone softening.

She turned back. "Yeah?"

"Seriously? Thanks. I just felt like whinging for the sake of whinging. I think my brain is fried from all the studying and SAT prep I've been doing. So… thanks for listening."

Taylor smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

Zeke couldn't help but reflect upon the irony that less than a year ago, he had been afraid of his friends discovering his penchant for baking. Now, they were practically using him for his skills 24/7. Jason had acquired the relevant ingredients from his mother's pantry and told Zeke that his job for the day was to provide snacks. It was enough that Ryan had provided the filming location; Jason didn't expect his cast and crew to be fed by the Evans' family. Consequently Zeke was darting about in the kitchen, retrieving batches of cookies from the oven and placing new trays in to take their place immediately. Jason had also gotten his mother to donate a few loaves of bread, some cheese slices and lunch meat; meaning that Zeke had lowered to the level of sandwich making.

He didn't mind really, it was actually interesting watching the filming take place – and he would be lying if he said that Sharpay's presence wasn't a bonus. He went out into the backyard to collect the now empty tray he'd taken out with snacks, and spotted Sharpay out by the pool. They were currently in the midst of filming a scene that didn't involve her; and she was lounging by the pool during her break time. She was primly lying back on a lawn chair wearing a pair of pink short shorts, with an umbrella blocking the sun from her face but allowing the rays to shine on her legs.

Zeke returned to the kitchen and decisively began to pile cookies onto a plate. He returned back to the backyard, following the path to the pool gate. He slipped into the area, not wanting to startle her but not wanting to disturb her either. He stood over her, consequently blocking the sun a little. Sharpay pushed her sunglasses down a little, glancing up at him.

"Yes?" she said primly.

Zeke held out the plate of cookies. "Just bringing you these," he said, and placed them onto the table beside her. "I was watching the scene you filmed with you and Katie in the car before. You were really great."

Sharpay smiled knowingly. "I thought so."

"Anyway, I'll leave you be. You know to… mentally prepare for the next scene or whatever it is you do."

"Zeke?" Sharpay said.

"Yes?" He said, almost a little too quickly.

Sharpay paused. "Normally when a person brings someone cookies, they also bring a glass of milk."

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Normally when people are brought cookies they thank the provider and then politely request other items."

A cloud of confusion fell across Sharpay's face. "Huh? I just want milk, that's all."

"Please?" Zeke prompted cheekily, as though coddling a child.

"Please," she repeated condescendingly, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, standing back just feet away from where Zeke and Sharpay were conversing on the other side of the pool fence; Troy and Gabriella were standing back awaiting instruction from Jason, and overheard the exchange. Zeke was smiling to himself as he left the pool area.

Troy rolled his eyes at the scene, and pulled Gabriella out of Sharpay's ear shot to ask quietly, "Do you think Zeke is officially insane?"

"Oh I don't know, some would argue I'm insane for taking you on," Gabriella said cheekily.

Troy mocked being offended, and gasped. "That burns, babe."

She giggled slightly. "Poor Troy, have your feelings been hurt?"

"You might have been a little insane in the beginning, but now you can surely admit that it was totally worth it and you completely adore me," Troy said cockily.

Gabriella pretended to pause to contemplate, her index finger tapping at her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe you'll have to remind me of exactly why I adore you, because right now, those reasons are just so far away from me."

Troy glanced up, watching as Jason was setting up the next scene. Neither he nor Gabriella had presently been given a task to perform. He swiftly grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along, back inside of the oversized house. They almost stumbled into Zeke who was coming back out with Sharpay's glass of milk – which Gabriella observed he had put a little umbrella in.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked.

"Anywhere but out there."

"Why?"

"Because I have to remind you of why you adore me."

Troy pulled Gabriella into the downstairs bathroom and slammed the door shut behind them. Immediately he pressed her up against the back of the door, pressing his lips to hers in a soft, probing, languorous kiss.

* * *

Chad's third victim was Martha. Well, in the context of the film, anyway. And it wasn't really Chad – it was the shadow of Chad, being the never actually named, never actually seen supernatural serial killer. And it wasn't Martha, it was Jacinta. But the principle was that Martha was lying on the grass in the backyard, with a fake blood substance oozing from her abdomen.

"And cut," Jason called. "That was awesome! Your scream just then was dynamite!"

Martha opened her eyes. "Why thank you."

Ryan carefully handed her a towel and offered his hand to help her stand up. "That was really spot on. I mean Chad in a trench coat isn't that scary, so you did an awesome job to actually seem genuinely terrified."

Martha ducked her head graciously. "I've been practicing since Jason asked me to be in the project."

"Yo Ryan, your buzzer thing just went off, do you want me to get it?" Chad shouted from just inside the house.

"Yes, but leave the PA alone!" Ryan called back.

"Okay that's my daylight death done. Now we move to the upstairs footage. I still need a brother! I can't believe Xavier bailed on me," Jason complained.

"It's only the brother's voice through a door, isn't it?" Ryan enquired. "I know I already play another small part but I can do that. I can put on an accent and with the muffling, it won't be like me."

"I'd rather just use someone else. Hey Joseph?" Jason called out to where his fellow film class friend was fiddling with some props nearby.

"Yo?"

"Sure you don't want a part?"

"Absolutely positive. I agreed to behind the scenes only."

Jason sighed. "Where is Troy?"

"Actually, that's a good question," Ryan said. "Gabriella and Troy both disappeared. I don't like that they think they can just use my house for their little trysts whenever they want."

"I can look for them."

Jason and Ryan's heads whipped up, hearing an unfamiliar voice. Chad had returned with a teenage boy by his side.

"Guys, this is Felix, Gab's cousin," Chad said. "Ms. Montez just dropped him off."

"Oh awesome, Gabriella said you might come by today to help out," Ryan said, welcoming the boy. "I'm Ryan. And this is Jason, the director/writer/producer."

"Here to help I am. I don't think Gabriella really cared for me to come along but I really wanted to and Auntie El seemed to think it was a good idea. So you are looking for Gabriella and Troy?"

Ryan and Chad exchanged glances. "Umm yeah but why don't you get Jason to set you up with something a bit more exciting to do?" Ryan suggested. "It is my house so I might as well go poke around looking for them."

"It's okay, I'll look for them. It's like hide and seek," Felix said with a naïve smile. "Gabriella and I used to play that when we were younger."

"Not sure if she wants to be found," Chad said under his breath.

* * *

Gabriella's back was pressed up against the back of the downstairs bathroom door, her lips fused to Troy's as their tongues danced playfully.

"Are you recalling just why you adore me?" Troy gasped, before pressing his lips to hers once again.

Gabriella broke away from him, responding throatily, "Maybe I'll take some more reminding."

He smirked, his casually caressing hands beginning to trace a path down Gabriella's thigh. He grasped onto the material and began to bunch the skirt up until he could easily slip his hand beneath to feel her silky smooth skin beneath his fingertips. Gabriella trembled slightly in anticipation, and moaned slightly into his kiss as she felt his fingers begin to deftly stroke at her through the cotton barrier.

"Feels to me like someone is very well aware that they more than adore me," Troy said throatily into her ear.

"Gabri-ell-a," Felix's sing song voice sounded just outside of the bathroom.

Gabriella froze, her hands clutched onto Troy's hips. He brought his index finger to his mouth, indicating they should just be quiet.

Unfortunately, Gabriella's cell phone began to ring from within the pocket of her jacket. It began to ring loudly. Someone knocked at the door to the bathroom.

"Gabriella, are you in there?" Felix called.

Gabriella's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure of exactly what to do.

"I will handle this," Troy murmured softly just by her ear.

He opened the door to the bathroom, a slightly confused Felix standing there.

"Felix," Troy greeted the boy with a nod; having been introduced to Gabriella's extended family on Wednesday when they'd first arrived.

"Hey Troy, what's up?" Felix said suspiciously. He glanced behind Troy where he could see Gabriella also standing there.

Troy closed his eyes, the obvious lewd – and true – answer being rather inappropriate. "Not much. Just uh… was helping your cousin to tidy the bathroom. There was a scene filmed in here earlier and it was a bit messy."

"Oh okay," Felix said, naively believing what he was being told. "Well, I think Jason wants your help with something, guys."

Gabriella forced a smile. "Okay. Thanks Felix."

* * *

The day continued to progress along, with the schedule running a little behind but nothing overly concerning. There was an hour break designated just after sunset – which in November in Albuquerque was just after 5pm. There was one scene designated to be filmed during sunset, then two scenes required to be shot at night. They were in the midst of filming the sunset scene. Sharpay went to look over the footage which had been shot already, peering over Jason's shoulder.

"This isn't right," she said bluntly.

"What do you mean, this isn't right?" Jason said, closing his eyes wearily. He began to rub his temples feeling the onset of a headache.

"Look at me. Look at my face," Sharpay said, gesturing to the screen. "Make up!" Sharpay's shrill voice rang out. "I need a touch up."

"Sharpay, your character is kinda… well… she's meant to be kinda ragged. You know, she's running from a serial killer here. I don't think that perfect make up is really necessary," Jason said awkwardly.

"I can be ragged. I would just like to be ragged but not washed out. MAKE UP!"

"Uh, there is no make up person," Jason said, looking confused.

"Well there _should be_ because that is clearly why I am washing out on camera."

Ryan leapt to the rescue, overhearing the conversion. "Shar, what do you need? Just the kit from your bathroom?"

"Please."

"Okay we're going to take a ten minute break while Sharpay… un-washes out," Jason called. "Ten minute break! Back in ten!"

Jason collapsed into the director's chair and began to scour over his notes. A petite figure kneeled down in front of him, her delicate hands resting on his knees.

"You're doing so, so well," Kelsi said earnestly.

Jason shrugged. "I don't know. It's going okay, it's getting done, but I don't know if the footage I'm getting is any good."

"You told me that you didn't care if this was the worst movie ever, that you just wanted to actually be able to say that you've made your first film," Kelsi reminded him.

"Yeah but, now that all these people are helping and stuff, I can't help but want it to turn out good."

"You need to have more faith in yourself," Kelsi said seriously.

Jason smiled. "Have I um… have I thanked you yet?"

"Thanked me for what? I'm hardly doing anything. You do know you can give me more to do right?" Kelsi added worriedly.

"You're doing all the music for me, so you don't need to be working today. Anyway, that's not why."

"Then why?"

"I um… I don't think this would have happened if you hadn't encouraged me and stuff. So… thanks. For everything." Jason's eyes were avoiding meeting hers, feeling suddenly bashful about making such a comment. Kelsi however was smiling a broad smile. She impulsively stood up and bent over to quickly press her lips to his in a soft kiss.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gabriella, Zeke, Taylor and Troy were sitting around in the dining room, just randomly chatting.

"Can you believe SATs are next Saturday?" Zeke said incredulously. "Those two prep days this week scared the crap out of me. And I've been studying like crazy for weeks and weeks."

"You don't really need to stress a lot about them though, do you?" Troy asked. "The courses you're applying for aren't really based on mega grades."

"That's true but I like, break up the year in my brain with certain events symbolising where we are in the year," Zeke explained. "SATs mean we're in the middle of playoffs. After playoffs we have our senior class trip and the winter ball, then it's Christmas and New Years, then we come back and it's hopefully fingers crossed the championships and all of our college applications will be finished with. Then we've got mid terms and then I have this exhibition thing for hospitality class, and before you know it, graduation will be here."

"You kinda skipped a few months there, but I get what you mean," Taylor said. "One day the future seems so far away and slowly but surely, we keep hitting these events which were also really far away. Meaning that the future is just around the corner."

"Then just take it as it comes," Gabriella said quietly. "All that matters is this moment; right here, right now."

"But that's not all that matters, is it?" Troy said. "We can pretend that, but we can't stop the future from coming."

Troy and Gabriella exchanged a momentary glance before breaking eye contact purposefully, the foursome falling into a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Taylor was sneaking glances between the couple. Gabriella's cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket and she fished it out.

"It's my mom, excuse me," she said, and exited the room to answer in private – feeling somewhat grateful for the escape.

"Have you guys still not talked about your plans for college?" Taylor asked incredulously.

Troy didn't respond – his silence equating to agreement.

"Un-freaking believable. You can have sex but you can't have a simple conversation."

"Taylor!" Troy exclaimed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Oh please. I know you told the guys. And you know that she told me. Seriously Troy – you can't keep putting this off."

"She's right, dude," Zeke piped up.

Troy stood up abruptly. "I don't feel like talking about this."

"That's the problem Troy, neither of you _want_ to talk about it, and that's fine. But that doesn't change that you _need_ to talk about it," Taylor called bluntly.

Troy stalked after where Gabriella had disappeared on the phone, and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She relaxed into his embrace, even as she spoke with her mother.

Gabriella sighed. "I'm assuming you're going to claim this is a part of my extended punishment?"

She fell silent as her mother responded. Troy sensed that she was somewhat tense and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder

"Okay," Gabriella said sullenly. "Bye."

"What was that about?" Troy asked, letting go of her to stand and face her.

"Mom and my aunt and uncle went to the Route 66 casino and are staying for dinner so I'm stuck entertaining Felix, possibly for the rest of the night until late," Gabriella said darkly.

Troy's eyes danced. "Are you telling me that your mom and aunt and uncle and the twins have left your house for a definitely large period of time?"

"Yes…" Gabriella said. "I just said that. There's a child minding place or something for the twins but they figured I could just keep Felix."

"Gabriella. Your house is empty. Your mom thinks you're here filming and entertaining your cousin."

She was staring at Troy blankly for a moment, taking a moment to understand the implication, and then rolling her eyes. "Yes but that's the problem. We're here filming and Felix is here."

"That can be worked around," Troy said, taking a step toward her. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her in close to him, her body flush against his. "We're not _really_ needed here. Felix is doing the work of like, four of us."

"What are you insinuating?" Gabriella enquired coyly.

"Well, Felix seems a bit naïve. All we have to do is say we're running an errand and get someone to make sure he's okay and doing stuff. He seems to be enjoying it."

"You're rather determined to orchestrate this, aren't you? You must be really horny," Gabriella said cheekily.

"I haven't wanked this often since I first started puberty and was getting random stiffies all the time," Troy said frankly.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. She felt her face become slighter warmer in embarrassed disbelief at the blatancy of his remark.

"Sorry. But it's true."

Gabriella giggled slightly. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or…"

"I'm telling you that I've desperately wanted you all week. I think you could take it as a compliment," Troy said. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, a soft kiss which was eagerly reciprocated and became a deep, probing kiss. "It worries me that I have to be talking you into this," he murmured, his lips lingering just shy of hers, his breath tickling against her mouth. "This morning I was being led to believe that you wanted a chance for privacy as much as me."

Gabriella's eyes hazed over slightly. "Well, I do want privacy. I just don't publicise it quite as much as you," she teased. "Okay, umm…. What errand needs to be run? It needs to actually be something for the movie in case Felix says something about it to my mom."

"I thought you said you told your mom about us?"

"I did, however she doesn't need to know about us running off in the middle of the afternoon to do it in her house."

"Okay true, fair enough." Troy paused for a moment. "You go grab our stuff. I will deal with this."

* * *

When Troy went back out, he found Zeke and Chad in the kitchen.

"Hey Zeke man umm… do you… do you think you're going to need more flour, or something like that tomorrow?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, but Jason was bringing it," Zeke said.

"What if me and Gabriella went and got it for you now?" Troy suggested.

Zeke looked puzzled. "But that's not necessary. Besides we are starting the filming his place tomorrow anyway, so I can just use whatever Mrs. Cross has."

Troy exhaled noisily. He was beyond bothering with being discrete. He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Gabriella's mom and her family have gone to the casino for dinner. Her mom just called to let Gabriella know and that she was to keep entertaining Felix. So, while her mom and her family are out and there is a big empty house, we're going to go and get you some flour. And if Felix asks, we're running an errand. Do you understand?"

Zeke and Chad exchanged an understanding smirk.

"Got it," Zeke said, nodding.

"Say Zeke, is it self raising flour that you need?" Chad asked lewdly, laughing at his own joke.

"Believe me, the flour has been on the verge of rising all fucking day. Hell, all fucking _week_," Troy responded.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella escaped, already a hot mess of desperately probing kisses before even reaching his truck. For at least one more day, they were content to allow the moment to take precedence. Content to stay wrapped in the present and push aside contemplations of the future.

The future is inevitable. Tomorrow would come.

This moment couldn't last forever.

* * *

**AN - The author would appreciate your feedback as she wants to know who is still on board for this series. The review button is your friend. -Dani xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY**

**PART II: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note **

Firstly. Wow. Um. The response to Chapter 1 was... incredible. I'd love to go through and reply to all of your wonderful reviews but I don't like to just copy paste one stock standard reply; and to give personalised reviews would take away from my writing time and I think you guys would prefer I just write and hence update quicker. Yes? Just know that to each and every single person who took the time to express their support, I am so incredibly grateful. Thank you for your lovely comments and an especially huge thank you to the people who were specific with the things that they enjoyed.

A couple of frequently asked questions were _is Felix going to be a regular?_ and _how old is Felix? _He is not a regular, don't stress about learning about him. I referenced him in Part I, and said that he was fifteen and 'a bit weird' meaning fifteen and 'a lot immature'. I am a huge believer in continuity and I'd made a point in Part I of referencing various family members who were going to be in town for Thanksgiving; and although I ultimately never depicted much of this interaction, I wanted these references to have a point.

Also. I just want to use the white space here to publicly thank and acknowledge and send cyber hugs and kisses and marching band parades to Audrey (_Audrey K_). This series is being prepared with her integral assistance. There are no words to display how grateful I am for Audrey's assistance, the marching band is nowhere near enough. Let's see if she becomes sick of my tirade of e-mails soon. :-)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 2**

_No guarantees that this time will come again baby_

_So cherish this moment_

_No guarantees that our love will be like this again girl_

_So lets cherish this moment baby_

**- 'Cherish This Moment' by Kem**

* * *

"And… cut."

Jason quickly rewound the footage of the final sequence of film he had just shot; analysing the angles, lighting, actors and sound. He swallowed, almost in disbelief as to what he was seeing.

"And that's a wrap," Jason declared triumphantly.

"That's it? You have all the footage you need?" Chad asked, seeking confirmation of what he had just heard.

Jason nodded, feeling dazed at the prospect.

"Halle-fucking-lujah!" Chad exclaimed.

He immediately tore off the trench coat and tossed the item to the ground. If it was his own he might had trod on it triumphantly, but he had enough self control to realise that it actually belonged to Ryan. The rest of the cast and crew burst into a smattering of applause. Kelsi bound over and immediately threw her arms around Jason.

"You did it," Kelsi whispered into his ear.

He collapsed back into the director's chair, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion. He ran his hand through his hair, rubbing at his somewhat throbbing head. The next few minutes were a blur of people coming up, shaking his hand, expressing their congratulations. Throughout it all, Jason remained seated and still, attempting to regain some semblance of control.

"Wrap hang out at Jason's from 7pm! Be there!" Zeke was wandering around informing everyone within earshot.

"Wait! What? There is?" Jason asked, hearing the announcement and trying to recall when exactly it was that he had told them they could have a party at his house.

"Yeah man," Chad confirmed with a nod. "Don't worry, we've organised it all, you just have to be there."

Jason grinned broadly. "Awesome."

Gabriella bound over to Jason, and he rose to his feet to allow her to give him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"The hard work is all over," Gabriella said.

"I think the editing is gonna be the harder part, personally," Jason confessed as he pulled back from her embrace.

"But still, it's a great start. Right?" Gabriella said optimistically, squeezing his arm.

"Right," Jason said with a nod and a grin.

"I'm going to skip the pizza part of the hang out and go home to have dinner with my family before they drive home to Ciudad Juárez. Then I'll be back at yours later on for this mini celebration."

"Do you know who decided to have it at my house? Since then I'm gonna be left with the clean up," Jason joked.

"I don't know, but I think the guys cleared it with your mom when we were filming there earlier today. And like we would actually leave you with the clean up!"

Gabriella felt an arm slip around her waist, immediately relaxing into the familiar touch. She glanced up to see Troy and flashed him a small smile.

"Awesome job man, can't wait to see the finished product," Troy said, holding out his hand to shake Jason's.

"Thanks dude, and thanks for your help, both of you," Jason said, genuinely very appreciative for their assistance. "You know, when you were actually here and not off making out or 'running an errand' or something," Jason added with a smirk.

Gabriella's eyes widened, feeling slightly embarrassed, although his insinuation was completely accurate. Troy's hand which as resting on her waist squeezed comfortingly.

"No worries man, it was a pleasure to help out," Troy said, sailing straight past Jason's afterthought. Troy then glanced down at Gabriella. "You ready to go, babe?" Gabriella nodded in conformation and Troy turned back to Jason. "See you back at yours."

* * *

Troy returned home to quickly have dinner with his parents, and then retreat to the sanctuary of the backyard with his dad, basketball in hand.

"Okay, five more minutes. Then I have to go have a shower before I pick up Gabriella," Troy said as he retrieved the ball.

"So uh, Jason's parents are going to be home?" Jack asked, trying to sound casual.

Troy nodded, and trotted back over to stand in front of his dad with the ball. "Yeah, it's not really a big thing, just a few of us hanging out."

Jack cleared his throat. "You've been spending a lot of time with Gabriella lately."

"Well… yeah, like I have pretty much since meeting her," Troy pointed out, dribbling the ball as he spoke. He had yet to catch onto the emphasis of the _lately_ within Jack's sentence.

"But, it's different now. Isn't it?" Jack said, looking Troy directly in the eye.

Troy tore his eyes away from his fathers, and turned to face the basketball hoop. He rolled his eyes; having picked up on the implied direction of Jack's probing remarks. He made a quick, sleek jump shot before turning back to him.

"Well… yes. But, different in a good way," Troy said. Jack coughed, and Troy realised the implication of _good._ Troy clarified hastily. "I mean, in a mature, responsible way, which you so do _not_ need to lecture me about."

"Fair enough that you think that, but more importantly, is she okay with it?" Jack asked.

"Dad! Yes!" Troy exclaimed, genuinely offended at the suggestion that he lacked the ability to respect his girlfriends wishes.

"Okay, okay. Just making sure."

"Well you don't need to!"

Jack decided to change tact and move on. He went over to trot over the ball which was now rolling around the asphalt, picked it up, and threw it back to Troy. "These next few games, they're going to be crucial Troy."

Troy sighed. "Yeah yeah, playoffs, I get it."

"Not just for the team though, the team could play terribly and you still need to be at the top of your game because they are still going to be crucial for you personally."

"And I also get that. Scouts. College recruitment. I am very well aware of it all."

"Eyes will be watching you, my ear is to the ground and there are all sorts of rumblings about you," Jack said. He wasn't exaggerating, he knew people who knew people and he wasn't going to tell Troy, but Jack truly was expecting at least another half a dozen offers to be made over the coming weeks, providing Troy performed well when the requisite college representatives were around. "You need to be focused."

"Dad, I know all this. And I know what you're suggesting and…" Troy paused and took a breath. "Gabriella doesn't take away from my game. I'm not losing focus. If anything, she adds to it. I've been playing better and better since she and I got together."

Jack narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at his son reflectively. "I think that's coincidence Troy, I wouldn't attribute your improvement to Gabriella. It's you who has put in the hard work, and so it's you who is reaping the rewards."

"I put in the work, but she is the one who keeps me focused, and inspires me," Troy said honestly.

"Shouldn't that focus and inspiration be coming from within yourself?" Jack queried.

"Maybe it should, and it does, a little. But, if it works for me, what's wrong with taking what she gives me?"

Jack hesitated. The answer was _what if you don't always have her there_. But it wasn't something that Troy would receive particularly well. He settled upon replying with, "Just something to think about, is all."

* * *

A few blocks away from the Bolton household, the final dinner with Gabriella's aunt, uncle and younger cousins was finished. The suitcases had been packed, the car had been loaded, and goodbyes were taking place on the Montez driveway.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around her twin cousins, and then turned to give her cousin Felix an awkward hug – he was at the age where physical contact with a female cousin was somewhat weird. Gabriella then turned to her uncle, before her final good bye with her Auntie Eva. Her aunt lovingly encased her niece in a warm, tight embrace, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

"You hang onto that boyfriend of yours, he seems like a keeper," Eva said, and then added cheekily, "and he's pretty cute too."

Gabriella blushed. "Thank you, for everything."

Elena and Gabriella stood arm in arm, waving at the car as it pulled away down the street. Gabriella glanced up at her mother to see the tears shining in her eyes.

"Oh mom," Gabriella said sympathetically, engulfing her mother in a hug.

It was the same every time Elena's sister would visit, they would have a wonderful few days together and then the separation would inevitably be difficult.

"I'm okay," Elena assured her daughter.

"You know, I don't have to go out for this thing tonight. I can call Troy and tell him to just go without me. It's not a big deal."

Elena released her daughter and dabbed at her eyes. "No, it's fine you should go, you've been working very selflessly on this movie for your friend so you should all have some fun. Besides, I just so happen to have a social plan for tonight."

Gabriella stepped back, mocking shock – but she was genuinely surprised. "What? What is this?"

"Didn't I tell you? One of the women at work is transferring interstate and we are just having a few farewell drinks, nothing big. I should probably start getting ready to go myself."

"My mother, with a social life?" Gabriella asked incredulously, a teasing smile toying on her lips.

Mother and daughter arm in arm slowly returned inside of the house.

"Yes, don't get used to it," Elena warned. "Consequently, this evening I won't be here. I hope I don't need to tell you that this does not provide you with a license to have various… visitors… in the house unsupervised."

"You make 'visitor' sound so official, I think we've both moved upon that kind of formality with Troy," Gabriella pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"The principle still applies."

"We are going to Jason's. In fact Troy will arrive fairly soon, so if you will likely be here when he gets here, to make sure we do leave," Gabriella teased her mother.

"Good," Elena said simply, before taking a breath. "Gabi?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you really okay with… everything?" Elena said tactfully. "Just because I'm not entirely used to the idea of you growing up yet, doesn't mean that I'm not here for you to talk to if you need… if you have any questions or… if you just want to talk about something."

"I do know that mom, and I really am okay with everything, more than okay. And I know that I can talk to you, which I know I am lucky for as well. Kelsi's mom doesn't even know that she is going out with Jason. And Taylor never actually told her mom that she and Chad broke up… although surely Ms. McKessie worked that out for herself," Gabriella mused. "But the point being that I know I can talk to you, and I'm so fortunate for that."

* * *

The basement lounge at Jason's house was very spacious. Which was a good thing, given that almost the entire cast and crew of Jason's film had come along to the impromptu hang out. Some pizzas had been ordered and already consumed. A core group of Wildcats - Ryan, Chad, Taylor and Zeke – had gathered in a corner with their pizza slices and soda cans. A set of beat up outdoor dining chairs were gathered around a small round coffee table.

"So you're sure Sharpay isn't gonna come?" Zeke asked, his eyes demonstrating evident hurt.

"Sorry man," Ryan said sympathetically.

"I thought she was getting along real well with everyone," Zeke persisted.

Chad snorted. "Wasn't she like, ordering you around to get her milk?"

"She was the star of the movie, and I don't blame her, I like having milk with my cookies too," Zeke said defensively.

"Zeke. Do you really think that re-fixating yourself on Sharpay is a good idea?" Taylor asked, attempting to be diplomatic. "I mean, you were doing really well."

"Doing really well?" Zeke repeated. "You make it sound like I had an illness that I was recovering from and have relapsed."

"That analogy works."

"Taylor, you are talking about my sister here," Ryan said, throwing a sideways glance at her.

"Ryan, I know she's your sister, and so you should get more than anyone that maybe Sharpay…" Taylor searched for a way to diplomatically say what it was she wanted to say. "… isn't in a place where she wants to be dating right now."

Chad wasn't one for diplomacy. "She wants to be dating. Just… a different member of the basketball squad," he said under his breath. "And not Jason."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "That's not true."

"It's not true?" Zeke said, sitting forward slightly.

"Ummm…" Ryan winced, and sighed. "Sharpay isn't stupid. She knows Troy isn't into her."

"Any mention of…"

"Don't do this to me," Ryan said firmly. "It's hard enough that Sharpay doesn't exactly gel with you guys. But she's my twin and I'm not here to provide you with information about her."

"This indicates that there is information to give," Zeke mused.

"Zeke!" Ryan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay, someone change the topic," Chad said quickly.

"I wonder what held up Troy and Gabriella?" Taylor mused. Her comment was entirely innocent but opened the can of worms for multitudes of innuendo filled speculations – and what better way to change the subject than gossipping about your friends.

Zeke snorted. "Gee, I wonder," he said sarcastically.

"Zeke and Monica used to be pretty bad, randomly ditching us to go fuck," Chad remarked.

Zeke shot a glare at Chad. "Thanks man."

"Gabriella went to have dinner with her family!" Taylor pointed out, rolling her eyes. She glanced at her watch, and conceded, "But she should be done with that by now."

"Oh come on, you've seen the looks they've been giving each other all week," Ryan pointed out, more than happy to join along with the gossip session. He'd been respectful of their privacy during the weekend of the event itself, but since the pair had told enough people to allow word to get out, he wasn't going to sit and silently listen as the conversation went on around him.

"The, _I want to tear those clothes off you right here, right now_ look?" Zeke said, nodding along in agreement.

"Do you blame them? This is Troy and Gabriella! And they've finally… you know…" Taylor said.

"Screwed? Rooted? Shagged? Banged? Rolled in the hay?" Chad supplied.

"Yes, all of those," Taylor said, rolling her eyes at Chad. "Although I doubt there has been any hay involved."

Ryan smirked and jumped up to head over to where the pizza boxes were in the centre of the room. He stood over the table contemplating between selecting a slice of either vegetarian or barbeque chicken.

"Yo Evans, your cell is ringing!" Chad shouted across the room.

Ryan glanced up in the direction of his group of friends, and where he had left his iPhone on the table. He quickly put a slice of each option onto his place and darted back over to the table. Taylor had picked it up to check who was calling, wondering if maybe it was Gabriella. She furrowed her brow at the caller ID, not recognising it. Just as Ryan reached out for the cell, it stopped ringing.

"Who was it?" he asked, reaching out to grab his iPhone.

"Someone named 'Chase'," Taylor responded as she handed the phone over.

Ryan froze. "Oh… oh?" he said, his throat becoming uncharacteristically dry. He collapsed back into his seat.

"How dare you have friends outside of our group," Zeke jibed jovially.

"Is there even a Chase at East High?" Taylor pondered thoughtfully.

Ryan was staring at the screen of his phone, confirming that Chase was actually among his missed calls list.

"Ryan does know a lot of people outside of school, with his dance classes and at the country club and stuff," Chad pointed out diplomatically, knowing very well that Chase fell into the category of 'and stuff.'

Ryan somehow managed to clear his throat and find himself capable of speech. "Umm yeah… he's in my dance class. We hang sometimes. You know, being only a few guys there."

"Aren't you going to call him back?" Taylor prompted.

Ryan glanced back down at the screen, panic filling him at the thought of it. "I'll call later, if it's important he will call back soon."

Taylor shrugged, not particularly thinking anything otherwise. "Fair enough. I'll be back, just going up to use the bathroom."

* * *

"Oh God, this is the third time in two days that I haven't wanted to leave my truck to go meet our friends," Troy groaned, as he glanced down to make sure his shirt buttons were done up properly.

Gabriella nodded. "We're becoming one of those annoying anti-social couples who only care about being with each other."

"Does that bother you?" he asked, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss to her lips.

"Umm, not particularly. Not… at this moment," she responded breathily, returning the kiss zealously, before breaking away. "But we really should go in. We're already running late. "

Troy complied – knowing that if the make out session continued any further, he was going to have a repeat of Friday morning's dilemma where her grinding had left him unbearably uncomfortable for hours. The front door was answered by Jason's mom, who smiled broadly at the couple.

"Hi kids," Alana Cross said cheerfully. "Everyone is down in the basement lounge, Troy, you know the way – or do I have to show you?"

"Course I know the way Mrs. Cross," Troy said with a smile.

He led Gabriella down the corridor toward the basement door. At that precise moment, Taylor exited from the downstairs bathroom, coming face to face with the newly arrived couple.

"Guys, when you make out in the car before coming in, you need to learn to look at each other and make sure you check each others appearances. Troy, wipe your mouth. And you, need to come with me and fix your lip gloss," Taylor said, grasping onto Gabriella's hand.

"It was dark," Troy said defensively.

"Evidently. As politely as possible, can I ask that you get down into the basement," Taylor said, pointing to Troy's chest, before turning back to Gabriella. "You, come with me."

* * *

Troy had slipped in with their group; both Kelsi and Martha had wandered over from their conversation with Jason and some of the other film people, and dragged chairs over into the Wildcat corner.

"I've finished nearly all of my college applications, just one more to go," Martha revealed, smiling and feeling pleased with her accomplishment.

"I'm struggling," Ryan confessed. "I'm so set on getting into Juilliard, but I know I have to be prepared that it may not happen and have my regular applications in."

Kelsi nodded in agreement. "Same here. I mean they're coming along but… I don't spend my time focusing on school, my focus is my music. It isn't fair that a regular college would be accepting me or not accepting me largely on the basis of my GPA and SAT and ACT scores – when all I am going to do is study music and performing arts."

"Can you believe SATs are next Saturday?" Zeke said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Don't you mean the S-H-I-T exams," Chad said darkly. "I so am prepared to fail, even after all the study we've been doing."

"You can't really _fail_ the SATs," Martha pointed out. "Unless you get in there and can't even remember your own name. You get automatic points for filling in your name, remember?"

"I was all worried about them but now I don't really give a shit to be honest," Troy said, before adding, "Don't tell Gabriella I said that."

"Why, coz you're gonna just get recruited?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded. "Even if I don't get any more offers, I'm pretty sure I'll just be taking one of the offers that have already been made. I've looked applications for some of the schools I really hope to get recruited to. But the truth is, if they want to recruit me, it doesn't matter what I put on my application. As long as it's filled in, they'll accept me and then I just have to decide which offer I want to take."

"I was hoping to be made an offer but I'm thinking it's not gonna happen now," Chad said, his tone indicating that he was a little hurt.

"U of A came back to check you out," Troy pointed out.

"One guy came, and from what I hear they came to check out the captain of the other team," Chad said.

"All you can do is wait and see man, I think they'd be fucking crazy to not snap you up," Troy said.

"You have to say that."

"No, I am saying it because it's true."

"So Troy, I guess you're hoping for an East coast school to make you an offer?" Martha said casually.

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Uh… well… the best basketball schools are spread across the country really. My personal ideal is UCLA but that won't happen."

"I was referring more so to where all the Ivy League and scholastically heavy schools are located, actually," Martha said.

Troy coughed. "Yeah, don't know about that either yet."

* * *

Meanwhile in the bathroom, it literally only took Gabriella a minute to wipe away the remnants of her lip gloss and put on a fresh coat.

"Presentable now?" she asked Taylor teasingly.

"Yes," Taylor said approvingly. "So tell me, is having sex in a car hot?"

"Taylor!" Gabriella exclaimed, feeling embarrassed. She glanced toward the door, almost as if anticipating one of Jason's parents to knock any moment. Gabriella lowered her voice. "Firstly I cannot believe you just asked me that. And secondly, I wouldn't know."

"Yeah right," Taylor scoffed.

"I really wouldn't! I told you yesterday that we hadn't done it since last weekend."

"And then yesterday when you took an hour and a half to go get flour that Zeke didn't really need?" Taylor asked pointedly.

"Well, it wasn't in his car!" Gabriella exclaimed with a blush. "It's like… you know at the very very very beginning of a relationship how it's all new and exciting and you're just having fun exploring and getting to know each other?"

Taylor nodded, thinking back to the few weeks of bliss with Chad – before everything went down the drain. "Yes."

"It's like that, combined with the comfort and closeness of the serious relationship. I'm so glad that we waited, I think it's just made it even better. I look at him and I'm looking at someone who I feel so connected to on a deeper level… but at the same time, someone who I am beginning to understand on a whole other plane…" Gabriella trailed off. "Sorry, you didn't need to know that."

"Would you stop apologising for talking about it? I'm the one who practically dragged you into this bathroom so you could talk to me about it because I want to hear about it!" Taylor pointed out.

"Yes but sometimes I just don't know when to shut up."

"Was it… was it better? After, you know, you weren't feeling sore any more?"

Gabriella hesitated. "Umm, yes?"

"Why are you saying that like it's a question? That should have been a resounding, 'yes, Taylor, it was fantastic' or something like that," Taylor said, raising her eyebrows.

"It was nice," Gabriella said diplomatically. "You know, like it was the second and third time on the weekend."

"It was _nice_?" Taylor repeated incredulously. "_Nice_?"

"Do you want me to lie and tell you that it was amazing?"

"No, I don't but, it was _nice_?"

"I'm not saying it was _bad._ It hasn't been bad, not even the first time when it was the most physically painful thing I've ever experienced, even then I wouldn't say it was _bad._"

"Did you, you know… arrive?" Taylor asked tactfully.

Gabriella blushed. She wanted to talk about it in detail, and she knew that Taylor wanted to hear about it in more detail. But she found it more than a little awkward talking about the details aloud. "Yes," she said slowly. "But, um… okay. It was… he was…" Gabriella paused. "On the weekend, in the morning, he was doing his thing… and at the same time, I was… you know… with my hand… externally…"

It took Taylor a moment to decipher Gabriella's embarrassed stammerings. "Oh! Okay, and…"

Gabriella sighed. "I think that when… the moment arrived," she said tactfully, "that it wasn't really about what he was doing and it was more about what I was doing."

"So that was on the weekend, what about yesterday?"

"Same thing, but it was him doing it and not me. It's like… he's doing his thing and he's all into it, really into it. And for me, it's nice, pleasant, all good. And he realises he's nearly there and he realises I'm not nearly there. So he does that. And so it all works out good."

"Just not… amazing brilliant good like you want?" Taylor said sympathetically.

Gabriella sighed. "It doesn't bother me, not really. In my head, emotionally, it is at that place. Which is enough for me. But then he's all raving about it. And I don't want to lie to him, but I don't want to dent his ego. Maybe it's just always like this for girls, the actual act itself isn't the best part. Maybe I should talk to Paula about it…" Gabriella mused.

She missed the look of slight annoyance upon Taylor's face. "We should start investing in Cosmo magazines. I could borrow some of my sisters old issues, that's where she gets half of her wisdom from. I'm sure there are lots of things you can do, it's just a matter of experimenting," Taylor said optimistically.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes. It's all good, really. I'll keep trying, I mean, like I said it's not _bad._" She glanced toward the door. "Hey Taylor, while we're talking… can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When you and Chad were going out, he knew that you wanted to go to Harvard, didn't he?"

"I think the entire world knows I want to study at Harvard," Taylor pointed out wryly.

"Did he ever indicate where he was thinking about applying?"

Taylor shook her head. "Chad's very negative about the whole thing. He wants to get recruited into a basketball team but unlike Troy, he's not getting the same attention. I know he's put in a handful of applications already, to the U of A and New Mexico State, and I think to Boston University. But I don't think he really has a preference, he just wants to go wherever he can play basketball."

Gabriella nodded. "Interesting."

"Obviously you want to say something, so just say it," Taylor said, raising her eyebrows.

"My auntie was asking me all about my college plans and stuff."

"And…"

Gabriella sighed. "She asked if Troy and I were trying to make sure we were going to be near each other."

"A valid question."

"But, we can't really 'plan' this kind of thing. So what's the point in contemplating it?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Gabriella, this has reached a point of absolute ridiculousness. This is you and Troy. You're now having sex, which to you is obviously a very big deal. You're in a serious relationship and it is not natural to be avoiding talking about this. Even if the point of the conversation is simply to acknowledge that it is impossible to have a conversation. It needs to be said. Fair enough that you put it off last weekend…"

"I know all this Taylor, I know," Gabriella said with a pouty sigh. "I just… I don't know how to start."

"Just be blunt. 'Troy, we need to talk about college.' Simple, direct."

Gabriella sighed. If only it were that simple. "Sounds great in theory. But in practice, not sure if it will work."

* * *

Ryan temporarily escaped from their group of friends, slinking away to stand in the corner of the room. He was clutching onto his iPhone, still staring at the screen somewhat in disbelief. Chase. Missed call. Chase had picked up his phone, hovered over Ryan's number, and dialled. Chad spotted his friend in the corner appearing somewhat gob smacked, and took the opportunity himself to go over to grab another slice of pizza and head over.

"Why don't you just call him back? You could take it out of the room, go stand outside or something," Chad pointed out, his voice low.

Ryan looked up at Chad. "Um, no, you're missing the point. I'm not calling him back because we haven't actually spoken on the phone before," Ryan revealed. "We IM and e-mail and text but… that's all."

"Okay so, you do all that and you're getting along really well?" Chad asked.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. Really really well."

"And, you think it could be more?"

Ryan cleared his throat. "I guess. We… I guess flirt is the word."

"Well surely the next step is talking to him."

"Yeah," Ryan said with a sigh, knowing that Chad was right.

"For all you know, his voice is irritating as all fuck, too irritating to be able to stand having more with him. I say you should talk to him sooner, rather than later," Chad advised with a grin.

"I might text him later and asked if he meant to call me or what. Maybe he like, sat on his phone and it dialled accidentally," Ryan pondered. "I wouldn't want to call him back all eager and it turns out he never wanted to call me."

"Did he leave a voicemail?" Chad asked.

Ryan shook his head. "No. Maybe he heard my voice on the voicemail and got put off!"

"I highly doubt that."

* * *

Troy had volunteered to go into the kitchen and start making some popcorn. He was hunting through the pantry, attempting to find the package of kernels.

"Looking for the popcorn?" a voice asked.

Troy looked up and saw Kelsi in the entrance to the room. She'd come in to refill her water glass.

"Yeah. I swear it's not here, I can't find it anywhere," Troy complained.

Kelsi smiled and came over and stood behind him. About three point five seconds later, she located the package, picked it up and handed it to him.

"I've been trying to find it for like, five minutes," Troy said, both grateful that it had been located and annoyed that he'd missed it.

"I was here just the other weekend having a movie day and went through the exact same process when I offered to come in and make the popcorn while Jason set up the DVDs," she explained with a smile.

"I find it interesting that Gabriella and I cannot do anything without everyone knowing about it. And yet you and Jason just do your own thing and we don't hear peep about it."

Kelsi smiled. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

Troy was looking at Kelsi thoughtfully. Ironically, of all of his friends, it was the people who he wasn't necessarily as close to who were in the position to provide objective advice – and keep it private.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Kelsi asked, her hand flying up to her chin to rub beneath her lips.

"No," Troy assured her. "I just umm, okay. This is kinda random. But, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"So… you do realise that Jason wants to get into a film school in California?" Troy pried.

Kelsi nodded. "Yes."

"And your backups, after Julliard, are pretty much all in New York or that area as well?" Troy said.

"That's right."

"And Jason is aware of this?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that an issue?"

"An issue with what?" Kelsi asked blankly.

"Your relationship," Troy said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"We've only been dating for like a month or so," Kelsi pointed out. "I mean we're only dating each other but we're not exactly making plans for the future. It's more… casual. Just seeing what happens, I guess."

Troy sighed. He and Gabriella were entirely different to Kelsi and Jason. He knew he couldn't really draw comparisons between the two relationships.

"You're trying to work out how you and Gabriella can stop putting off the serious talk about the future like you have been?" Kelsi said sympathetically.

"And here is evidence that everyone knows our business," Troy remarked.

Kelsi smiled wryly. "Between you guys telling people, and the rest of us gossipping… it is inevitable, unfortunately."

"I kinda wish Gabriella and I had just talked about things from the beginning. We agreed to do our own thing and not stress about the other one. I guess we didn't want to feel obliged to apply anywhere in particular. But now, it's like, it's awkward. It's awkward not talking about it. But talking about it is just going to become more awkward the longer we leave it."

"Troy, I'm not an expert with any of this stuff. Before Jason I'd only really gone out with two other guys. But, you know what?"

"What?"

"I think you and Gabriella are both being idiots. You have an awesome relationship. Just talk about it. Ultimately, you're not going to be able to make any 'decisions' right now anyway. But obviously it's on both of your minds and you'd both feel a lot better if you just put your general thoughts out there."

* * *

Soon all of the cast and crew of Jason's film were gathered in the lounge room. Troy and Kelsi delivered the warm bowl of freshly popped refreshments. Troy snagged one of the old raggedy lounge chairs and beckoned Gabriella to come sit with him. She obliged him, squishing into the chair with him, sitting sideways with her back against the right arm of the chair and her legs over the left.

"Are you guys going to be making out the whole way through this movie?" Chad complained. "Because you are right within my eye line and I think I'll move if you are."

Troy threw a cushion at Chad which consequently was thrown back and hit Gabriella in the head.

"Hey! I didn't throw it at you!" she exclaimed.

Martha passed the snacks over to Troy, who dug a handful of kernels out before passing it over to Katie, one of the drama club members and actresses in the film. He held a piece and placed it to Gabriella's lips.

"Want one?" he asked softly.

She opened her mouth, allowing him to feed her.

"Popcorn feeding isn't very sensual," Gabriella whispered, giggling slightly.

"We could go get some strawberries or something, would that make it better?" Troy asked in a hushed tone.

From afar the exchange seemed light, teasing, jovial. But in reality, it wasn't. It was behaviour being exhibited in an effort to conceal the true thoughts and feelings they possessed. Each was filled with their own sea of worries and concerns; slightly forcing the lightness to come out of their tone. There were discussions that needed to be held that had been put back for longer than either of them felt comfortable with.

Gabriella was the first to quietly slip away from the group, fifteen minutes of the movie had gone by and she had no idea who the main character was or what he was doing. She quickly went upstairs from the basement into the kitchen, to retrieve a glass of water. She found herself ambling outside, grabbing her jacket along the way. Jason's house was nice, similar to both hers and Troy's in that it was an upper middle class house with a decent backyard. Gabriella first came over to Jason's when he'd hosted a party about a month into her time at East High. She and Troy had lain outside on a soft patch of grass, staring up at the stars. Just talking, laughing, sharing stories – in a simpler time. A time when the cautious 'will they, won't they' flirtation between them served as the biggest drama of their interactions.

She found herself sinking to her knees and lying back on the very same patch of grass around the side of the house, staring up at the sky once more. It was fairly dark, with only some lights from the neighbours house and the starry, half mooned sky illuminating the area. It suddenly became darker, Gabriella sensing an additional presence behind her. She tipped her head back, seeing Troy standing over her with an amused expression upon his face. He smiled, glancing around in realisation of exactly the spot she had sought sanctuary within.

"What are you doing out here, you?" he queried.

"Just thinking."

"Room for one more?"

"If it's you, always."

Troy knelt on the grass, and then fell back to lie beside her. There was no hesitation between the two, the hands which lay beside one another on the ground instantaneously adjoining, fingers entwined. Gabriella closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them, staring up at the sky for one more moment. Her head fell to the side, to find herself staring straight into his mesmerising cobalt gaze.

"Troy?"

"Gabriella?"

The two spoke each others names in chorus.

"You go," Troy insisted.

"No you."

"No really you should…"

"But I want you to…"

They both fell silent for a moment, and then once again, they spoke simultaneously. This time, they both spoke the exact same four words. Four words which have the power to induce fear in the heart of any person in a loving, committed relationship.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I dare each and every single person who reviewed last chapter to review again. :-) Ha. A girl can dream, right? -Dani xo


	3. Chapter 3

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY**

**PART II: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note **

Thank you once again for all of the wonderful, amazing support and feedback. I totally heart you all. I've had some trouble with my confidence and the result was a lot of trouble writing the chapter I am currently writing (I'm about 4-5 chapters ahead of where I am posting) and going back over your words of encouragement was so incredibly motivational. :-)

A huge thank you to Audrey (_Audrey K_) for the assistance with this chapter. It was a bit of a schmozzle at first, but I'm hoping that it has turned out okay now!

Here is one final highlight that **_this story is rated M_** for a reason. I'm not going to include this warning every time but… just this once more in case someone missed the neon blinking sign in the opening chapter informing you of this fact. Along with the story summary, and the official rating.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

_My heart is racing  
Because that look in your eyes  
We're all alone now  
And were staring at the sky  
It's like a dream  
I can't describe the way I'm feeling  
The glow the moon sent  
The stars were perfect  
Nothing on earth can ruin this moment_

_**- 3 Seconds To Short 'Perfect Moment'**_

* * *

Troy and Gabriella gazed at one another, both equally amused by the reciprocal insistence of the necessity of talking.

"The college talk?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy nodded. "Yup."

It had been an unspoken, yet mutually known fact that there was a desperate need to embark upon this very topic; a fact which had been on their minds since the week they'd decided to delay the conversation. The last week had brought the matter increasingly to the forefront of their minds. To the point where they both knew it simply had to be discussed.

"We've put it off long enough," she said softly.

"Too long," Troy said. Despite the fuzzy alcohol induced haze of the hour they'd spent talking in Jason's backyard about ten months earlier, it was still prominent in Troy's mind. It was like the rooftop garden, or the park he'd taken Gabriella to on their first date, or the green of the Lava Springs golf course where they had picnicked. Simple, comfortable places signifying the comfort of their bond. Ten months ago they'd been able to lie down on the grass and talk freely and openly; just as they could now. "What better place to talk about it? Right here, in this spot."

Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand which his fingers were still entwined with.

"You remember that night?" Gabriella asked, a little surprised.

"Of course. I remember everything about you."

"You were a bit drunk," she pointed out slyly.

"I was not," Troy said defensively. "I was tipsy. That's all."

"Yeah, right."

They fell silent. It was what the couple would often do; revert back to jovial banter in an attempt to avoid the inevitable discussion. It was human nature, a defence mechanism. It was the awareness that the exchange needed to take place which had resulted in the topic being raised. But now, as the pink elephant tap danced in front of them, they could no longer pretend it wasn't there. Neither of them knew where exactly to begin. If there was a prescribed format for this type of conversation, there wouldn't have been a need to evade it for so long.

Troy closed his eyes, willing his brain to operate, willing himself to somehow magically stumble across the perfect thing to say. He retracted his hand from where it was entwined with hers and brought his arms up to rest his hands beneath his head**. **Gabriella's arms crossed over her abdomen, clutching to herself protectively. She glanced over at Troy momentarily before quickly looking away again, once again staring up at the sky. If she'd known how awkward the conversation was going to be when they'd first agreed to postpone it, she might have thought again about going along with such a plan. Normally she was concise, well spoken, and able to express her thoughts articulately. Now that coherence was ideal, she found herself struggling to think straight. It wasn't that she was blank – there were about a thousand things that could be said. It was knowing which thoughts to express and how to express them that was presenting the problem. Troy let out a sigh, and brought a hand to his forehead to run his fingers through the strands of his hair, pushing them away from his face.

"I don't know where we should start," he admitted quietly.

Gabriella rolled onto her side, her arm bending and her head resting against her palm. She looked down at him, his eyes opening and her chocolate orbs meeting his cobalt gaze. "Me either."

Troy swallowed. "I wish that we didn't have to care about the future. We've done okay – no, _better_ than okay – just living in this moment and not worrying about anything but right now."

"We can still _live_ in this moment… while thinking and talking about the future," Gabriella responded quietly. Her forearm came to rest so naturally upon Troy's chest, her hand splayed across the cotton of his t-shirt.

"I never thought that I'd be one of those people in high school talking about being in love," Troy confessed. "Like before you, I never even really liked a girl, not in the way that we… you know. But somehow, here I am."

"I totally understand," Gabriella said gently, absentmindedly tracing a finger in a circle on his chest.

"When you're in a relationship… a part of it is thinking about how everything you do affects the other one. Right?" Troy mused.

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "Absolutely."

"I know we agreed to not talk about this for a while so that we could go off and do our own thing, without worrying about the other. But, the whole way through, I've been thinking about you and what you'll be doing and what that means for me…." Troy paused, before adding quietly, "And us."

He was telling her almost as though he felt guilty for considering her, now avoiding looking directly at her. The hand which was resting upon Troy's chest moved up, the back of her index and middle fingers gently stroking at the ever so slight stubble on his chin.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Gabriella said softly. "I'd be worried if you weren't thinking about me; if you hadn't considered that whatever decisions we make, are going to impact upon our relationship. I know I think about it, every time I pick up a college brochure, every time I look at an application."

Troy's intense stare met with hers, seeing the soft understanding within her eyes. "I'm not sure how much you know about the process that I have to go through, to be recruited onto a college ball team. We agreed not to talk about this stuff and so I know I haven't told you the details. But, well… maybe you did your own research and looked into it yourself," Troy said, his words a cross between a hopeful question and a statement. Upon second thought, he added, "Or maybe you haven't. Whatever."

Gabriella hid a smile, finding his sudden correction and attempt to appear casual somewhat endearing.

"I have, a bit," Gabriella confessed. Troy immediately relaxed a little, his nightmare being that she hadn't cared in the slightest to look into his situation – given that he had spent copious amounts of time looking into hers. "Around the time when I found that website with your rankings and stuff. I asked Chad about it a little. I still don't understand everything. I mean, I've looked into how college ball works and looked at where schools are within the rankings. North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas; I won't lie to you Troy, a lot of the schools that would be ideal for college basketball – I don't see it as being likely that I will be anywhere nearby."

As Gabriella spoke the words, she couldn't help but feel as though she'd been a little too blunt. But it was the truth, and she suspected that Troy would have already known that. Troy sat up suddenly, his legs drawn up and his arms casually draped around his knees.

"Ideal for college basketball according to whose standards?" Troy enquired with a small smile. "Firstly, I'm not going to get offered places at any of those schools, I'm realistic. Secondly, even if I could I don't know if that's where I'd wanna be."

Gabriella also sat up, her legs out straight and crossed in front of her, her weight leaning back against her hands.

"Well in the rankings I saw, both Butler and Gonzaga were up there in the top 25, and they are interested in you," Gabriella pointed out. "And well, the truth is that most of the top college basketball schools are in parts of the country where… well.."

"Where you'd never really contemplated applying before?" Troy supplied quietly. He knew exactly what she was trying to say because he knew his girlfriend well enough to have already anticipated that his list of 'ideal' schools would likely not match up with hers.

Gabriella nodded, biting her lip slightly. "Pretty much."

Troy swallowed. He knew what he wanted to ask. It was a question which had been in danger of escaping his lips for weeks; a question which terrified him, with the potential to involve an answer that would terrify him even more. But it was the question that needed to be asked. "So… where have you contemplated applying?"

"Cards on the table, is it?" Gabriella quipped, attempting to lighten the moment somewhat. She sighed, and looked him straight in the eyes as she answered. "At present, I've sent away seven applications. They are to Berkley, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale."

Troy's eyes widened. "You know, I fully expected that you would say something like that. But hearing it out loud… fuck."

She glanced down bashfully. "Those seven are my top picks, I don't really have a preference among them. But I've been looking at some others as well. I've got another dozen or so half completed applications which I might decide to send."

Troy furrowed his brow, feeling confused by this statement. "What, like back up schools? Babe… you're going to get in wherever it is that you want to get in. I mean, I would say that if you narrowed down a top three, that you would definitely get into two of them."

Gabriella nodded. She didn't want to sound conceited or too self assured, but she wasn't oblivious to her own brightness. A lot of these schools had already been in contact with her, even prior to senior year. She spoke the following sentence carefully, trying to be somewhat elusive. "I know that but… the things that are my priorities now, they could change. I like to keep my options open."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Things…" he said slowly. "What, like, majors? Or… geographical decisions?"

"Both," she said quietly.

"Don't suppose your other applications include New Mexico State or U of A?" Troy asked, already suspecting what her answer was going to be.

Gabriella's gaze dropped to the grass between them, staring down somewhat ashamedly. "I really don't want to go to college anywhere in New Mexico, Troy," Gabriella confessed quietly. "I'm sorry, I know I should be open to it but…"

Troy shuffled forward a little, sitting beside her outstretched legs and resting his hand upon her thigh. "Don't feel guilty for being honest with me. You know what? I don't really want to go to college in New Mexico either," Troy revealed.

"You don't?" Gabriella asked, genuinely surprised. "After everything that happened over the summer, I guess I really thought you did."

"At first, I really didn't think that I was gonna be getting other offers, I hadn't allowed myself to believe that I may have other choices. But since I had Butler and Gonzaga asking about me, it's got me thinking a lot about the idea of moving away, _really_ moving away."

"Do either of those other schools interest you?" she queried.

"Gonzaga has a great basketball reputation but other than that, it's not really somewhere I wanna be. Butler, I'm more open to. Let's say that I want to go check them out, at least at the moment I do. See, here is where the difference between our situations comes in. I don't have the luxury of choice. I don't know how much you know about my whole recruitment process. Essentially, at the moment I have to assume that I've got two concrete offers – U of A and New Mexico State – and two offers that should come through if I follow them up and go check out their campuses. Hopefully, during playoffs this week some other schools which show some interest. The only other option is to apply the regular way, get into a school and then go try out, but that's not realistic. Schools recruit who they need, they don't want people to try out. It's not like high school. So for now, I've got no way of knowing and can't just make assumptions."

"You said you've thought about moving away…" Gabriella mused. "Have you thought about where to? Do you care where, or is it more so about finding the right school for you?"

"I prefer a lot of the schools on the west coast for basketball. But beyond that, I try not to think about it."

"So when you get these other offers," Gabriella began.

"_If_ I get these other offers babe, _if," _Troy clarified.

Gabriella nodded, smiling wryly. "Okay. _If_ you get other offers… how do you decide between them? I mean, I know what criteria I look at with my schools. I look at post graduate programs, majors, extra curriculars, research grants, funding and labs. But for you, it's not about anything like that, is it?

Troy shook his head. "No it's… fuck, it's complicated. I really don't know yet. It was only like a month ago that it occurred to me that there might be options other than U of A for me, and maybe other local schools who are familiar with my game. I love basketball, don't get me wrong. But as much as it kills my dad, I care about more than basketball. The idea of getting into a really great school in general?" Troy paused. "That excites me."

Gabriella sat forward, her hand coming to rest upon his knee.

"Troy, if you want to make career of this…" Gabriella trailed off, and then sought clarification before continuing. "Do you?"

Troy hesitated for a moment. "Yes! Yes I do. I do," he said firmly.

"Okay… then the basketball side should be your priority."

"I know that! I do! And it is!" Troy insisted. He sighed again. "Like I said, it's just so complicated. I don't even know how to begin to sort through it all, even just having these few offers to look at. Let alone maybe getting more."

"Explain it to me," Gabriella prompted. "It'll be way above my head and I may not understand a word you're saying, but you'll feel better for talking it through."

"I know that I've got a free ride guaranteed with New Mexico State and also with U of A. I know that they are both rebuilding their teams and looking for starting point guards – I'll be able to slot right in and get decent game time from the beginning. Hence why my dad is all excited about the prospect of U of A."

"And the other schools?" Gabriella queried.

Troy paused, wincing a little. "Hard to say, since I haven't followed them up properly yet. I'm gonna get Coach to call the Butler guys about going to check them out. I've looked at their line ups and I'd say that I'll probably have to start from scratch, get a small amount of game time, and prove myself. And any other offers I may get will likely be a similar situation." He paused, and then mused slowly, "It's gonna be like… choosing between being a big fish in a little pond; or being a little fish in a big pond where there are lots of opportunities to become a bigger fish."

"Cute analogy," Gabriella said, smiling a little.

"I thought you'd like it."

"So you can play for a team that has a less successful history and help to build them up and take a more active leadership role; or, you can play for an already established team, likely play a smaller role but have the chance to improve and challenge yourself and prove yourself."

Troy nodded, feeling somewhat impressed with her comprehension and understanding. "Exactly. If I want to make a career out of this, I need to have the chance to show my skills. But I also need to have the chance to develop them, so maybe it's better to play for a successful team and be able to prove that I can cut it in competitive environment. How am I supposed to know what will work better? Which one is better for me?"

"I don't know," Gabriella admitted softly. "I wouldn't have a clue."

"But that's not all. I was talking to the guidance counsellor about this, you know, back when we had those meetings. We were talking about how my game is at its best when everything in the environment around it is stable. When I'm happy in general."

Gabriella nodded. "I know you do."

"Well, after that, I started to work on this list. It seems like it turned out to be pretty accurate. My guesses of some of the schools where you would be applying to. I was working out like, where there are really great schools for you that are somewhere near basketball schools that might be interested in me." Troy was speaking in a rush, avoiding direct eye contact. He was staring at the grass between them. "Like, if you went to Columbia, then I could go to NYU; if you went to Harvard, I could go to Boston. That kind of thing."

"You have really looked into this, haven't you?" Gabriella asked softly, her voice light – and a little surprised. Thinking about implications was one thing – but taking that step toward managing them was another.

"Well… yeah," Troy said, as though it were a given. "Haven't you?"

"I've thought about it a lot," Gabriella said slowly. "But since I don't understand everything about your situation, and since you don't know what offers you're going to have, I haven't really gone to that place."

Gabriella took his hand with her own, lacing their fingers together naturally. "Troy, where do _you_ want to go?"

"I really don't know yet," Troy answered honestly. "I don't have my offers yet to choose from. Right now, I'm not feeling any of the options I've got. So far, I guess New Mexico State is at the top of the short pile. UCLA is my dream – especially since I idolise the Lakers. But I won't get an offer to UCLA, I guarantee you. Like I said, I guess schools that are on the west coast appeal to me. Even then I was thinking, like, even if some miracle happened and I got into UCLA. That's over five hours away from the 'academic' schools in California. So even then we wouldn't be…"

Troy trailed off mid sentence and let out a long winded sigh. He'd been actively researching the schools he had suspected would be worthy of Gabriella's interest – his research evidently resulting in fairly accurate predictions. With all of his thinking, he'd never actually spoken it out loud, never verbally acknowledged the likelihood of a separation. Somehow, hearing himself saying it had made what was already a scary situation even more overwhelming.

"Troy, we could go round and round in circles forever. And each time we're going to come back to this same place here. I know that you want to know what's going to happen with you and with me and… with us. But right now, there's nothing tangible to plan with."

Troy exhaled noisily, once again flopping down onto the grass and lying on his back, staring up at the sky.

"I hate not knowing what's going to happen. I like it when things are certain, and when I'm in control. Right now…"

"… you don't have any of those things," Gabriella supplied softly. "Like I said before, we have to just live in this moment. Try to not let the uncertainty of the future affect the present."

"The present being a place where we have each other and that's all that matters?" Troy asked questioningly.

It wasn't all that mattered. On a deeper level, they both knew that it wasn't that simple. But on the surface, it was easier to cling to that notion. And so Gabriella nodded, and forced a smile.

"Exactly."

Troy shifted over to lie on his side, resting his head on the palm of his hand. He reached out, trailing his right index finger along the chain of her necklace and tracing over the T pendant which sat snugly upon her skin. Gabriella's hand rose to cover his, her thumb playfully toying with his championship ring. His hand rested just above her breast, over her heart.

"I love you," Troy murmured.

"I love you too," Gabriella replied softly.

Troy pressed his lips to hers, firstly initiating a sweet, tender kiss. Gabriella reciprocated, kissing him back deeply, playfully stroking her tongue against his. Her arm snaked around his back, her hand splayed out against the hardness of his shoulder, clinging to him. Kissing was about many things, about love, lust, adoration, attraction. In that moment, it was about a need to escape. To escape from the stark reality that lay before them. The looming future was inevitable and finally discussed – but despite the uncertainty of the future, the present had never had more clarity. Every single moment together was a moment to be cherished.

Troy pulled away from her kiss, for the purpose of both not ruining the sweetness of the moment and also keeping his libido in check. He was surprised when Gabriella's hand snaked around the back of his neck and pulled him back down, reconnecting their lips and instigating an even steamier kiss. It was Gabriella who next pulled away from the exchange, her reasons entirely different from those that had caused Troy to pull back just a minute earlier.

"We're really in Jason's backyard, aren't we?" Gabriella asked breathily.

Troy shifted his weight a little, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "Uh huh," he confirmed forlornly.

"We need to rectify that."

"I like your thinking."

A momentary silence filled the night air, Gabriella's chocolate orbs darkening as they penetrated into his eyes, the desperate, mutual desire communicated wordlessly.

"In January this year, I'd never even kissed anyone. And now… now… I am here and I just can't help but think that you are wearing way too many clothes." Troy's eyes darkened with desire, her candour serving to only arouse him even further. "God, I just said that out loud, didn't I? I'm sorry…"

"Don't ever, ever apologise for speaking your mind," Troy said huskily, his lips hovering just shy of hers, his breath tickling against her face. "There is nothing wrong with wanting me to be wearing less clothing because that's pretty much how I feel about you all the time."

Gabriella pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "It's just… surreal. How much I've changed… how much _we've_ changed."

"We met, we liked each other, we were attracted to each other. Then we fell some more and became attracted some more and fell in love… and then became attracted even more. There's nothing wrong with any of that, is there?"

Gabriella shook her head, her lips breaking into a lazy smile. "The only thing wrong with the current situation is that we are still in Jason's backyard and you are still wearing too many clothes."

"Well since we don't have a private guest house bedroom to retreat to here… how do you feel about finding privacy somewhere other than a bedroom?" Troy enquired in a husky tone. He was lustfully appraising her body, his hand was rested on her upper abdomen and his thumb was subconsciously stroking the underside of her breast. "I have a perfectly good vehicle we seem to have been drawn to more than once."

"Leaving the bedroom may not be necessary. My mom went out for a few drinks. She might still be out," Gabriella replied, her tone filled with innuendo. "You just… will need to park around the corner. And if she comes home while you're still there, leave through the balcony."

"You do realise that your mom practically threatened my life should I continue to use your balcony as a means of entering and exiting your house?"

"Maybe that's a risk worth taking," Gabriella murmured, capturing his lips with her own.

It took Troy about half a second to contemplate the point she had made. "Agreed. Let's get out of here."

He leapt to his feet, his anxiousness to be free of any potential spying eyes increasing by the minute. He reached out to help her up, and hand in hand, they power walked through the house.

"Should we say goodbye?" Gabriella asked.

Troy paused. "No. Just… you text Taylor or someone."

Gabriella nodded and pulled out her cell phone as they walked through the house to the front door.

* * *

Taylor felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket with an incoming text, and she pulled it out. She smirked and held it out for Chad to read.

_'Tay… I'm feeling tired. Troy is driving me home. Tell everyone we said bye. –xo Gabriella'_

"Didn't they just get here?" Chad whispered to Taylor, rolling his eyes.

"Feels like it," she whispered back. "Do you blame them though?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Guess not."

"If you were Troy, you would be even worse than him," she whispered with a smirk.

"You and I were never like this, were we?"

Taylor paused before responding in a hushed whisper. "We never got the chance to be."

* * *

A pair of jeans, a bra, a tank top, a polo shirt, a skirt, a pair of lacy panties, a sweater and a pair of plaid cotton boxers were discarded and scattered throughout Gabriella's bedroom floor. When they'd first entered the bedroom, Gabriella had felt acutely aware of the time, conscious that any moment now the garage door could be heard rising and that their sanctuary would be intruded upon. However when Troy's teasing tongue and lips had began a descent down her body, the worries of the outside world floated away. With Troy's tongue flicking at her clit and his index and middle fingers curled inside of her, Gabriella wasn't capable of comprehensible worry or thought. A part of her never ceased to be amazed by the power of the friction of his tongue against that tiny place which existed among her womanly essence.

"Troy… you should stop… if we…" Gabriella gasped between pants.

The sapphire sparkle of his eyes flicked up, her glassy gaze meeting his determined stare. No words required, she understood his goal, a goal which she was in complete agreement with. She allowed him to continue with his selfless act of inflicting indescribable pleasure upon her, leaving her to concentrate purely upon the swell of ecstasy rising within. She wasn't being quiet, her breathing increasingly ragged and her pants and whimpers were increasing in volume.

"Oh my God… fuck… Troy…" Gabriella gasped, encouraging him, trying to express through a handful of stammered words just how incredible she was feeling, just how amazing he was, and just how close she was to tipping over the edge.

He knew, he didn't have to be told. Her glassy eyes were rolled back into her skull, her hands clenching at his shoulders with increasing strength, her folds seeping with increasing evidence of her arousal.

When her climax arrived; her quick and sharp ragged breaths and moans were replaced by a long, drawn out moan and a louder, chanted series of exclamations of his name. Gabriella momentarily reflected the desire to retract everything she'd said to Taylor earlier about _nice._ If he could continue to do this every so often, she would be one very happy and satisfied young woman.

She gasped and writhed throughout her peak, Troy not desisting from his lapping, feeling the pulsating of her nub beneath his tongue. Her hands which had been clenching to his shoulders, moved to his head, raking her fingers through the strands of his hair. He replaced his tongue with his thumb, allowing him to crawl up her body, leaving a path along the way. A path of languorous licks and suckles up her taut abdomen and then further north, to circle his tongue around her left nipple, draw a line between the valley of her breasts and then to repeat the same rotation around her right nipple.

Gabriella's ragged breathing existed as a continuation of the build to her first orgasm; Troy having not allowed her to come down from the high entirely and applying sensations with the deliberate aim of drawing out the arousal and building toward another climax. She grasped onto his member, her slim hand slowly yet firmly pulling at his length.

His ascent up her body finally reached her lips, allowing a fleeting, teasing kiss which served only to leave her wanting more. She'd tasted her essence upon his lips and tongue, a taste which never bothered her and rather fuelled her desire for him. Her head lifted from the pillow in search of his lips; her hand reached up to pull him back down and kiss him furiously, desperately, zealously. It was during these moments after orgasm when Gabriella felt her most frantic need to feel his lips against hers, to revel in the sensation of his tongue playfully massaging hers. Despite everything else they'd experienced together, the kiss maintained a constant role as the ultimate display of affection.

Troy grunted slightly into their kiss as Gabriella's toying of his erection continued, commencing as playful and gradually becoming more pointed and firm, an act which served a particular purpose. Her other hand remained entangled in his hair, raking her fingers through the messy strands as they remained fused together in a tantalising, passionate liplock. His thumb continued with its gentle massaging tease. He shifted his weight slightly closer to her, her wrist action continuing. The hand which was entangled in his hair dropped, and Troy froze as he felt her gently push his flicking thumb away, each letting out simultaneously sharp groans as she gently but deliberately ran the tip of his length over her nub.

"Do you… is that…" Gabriella asked breathily, continuing with the motion.

"Yessss," Troy practically hissed.

He shifted his weight to provide greater precision to continue with the action himself. It was the precise action they'd imitated while she was wearing panties, the emulation of the act of making love without actually going there. If it had felt incredible with the thin layer separating them, the current sensations were indescribable. There was something innately sensual and erotic about his manhood sliding among her slippery folds and over her bud, causing Troy to harden even further and to heighten her arousal.

The tantalising kiss broke apart, the pair raggedly breathing and sharing an intense gaze which communicated the mutual desire at that moment. Troy closed his eyes, realising the slight predicament

"Fuck, I have to start remember to get it out of my wallet before we get to this point," Troy grunted, and began to move his weight off her body.

"Don't stop," Gabriella whimpered.

She grabbed onto his shoulder to pull him back. She reached across to her nightstand and pulled open the top drawer – which Troy knew to be the home of her lingerie. He didn't desist from his grinding movements, it was taking every inch of his willpower to not just bury himself within her depths there and then. She had taken the birth control shot, they'd only been with each other, and so the condom seemed like an inconvenient method of disturbing the natural flow of proceedings. But Troy understood Gabriella's being so adamant about being extra precautious. And so he would exercise as much willpower as required. The sensation of her nimble hands slipping the rubber casing over the tip of his length with a careful precision was a welcome relief.

She loved the feeling of unity in that moment when Troy would first enter her. It was surreal moment, when she would take a moment to register that he was in fact, inside of her. She could see him and she could feel him, and she could hear his verbal reaction. It was a sensation which regardless of how familiar it was to become, he knew would never seem tiresome, would never become boring. If anything, to Troy each time it had been even better. The nerves had floated away and now that they'd made love a handful of times, they were each becoming more at ease with the motions, becoming more comfortable to try slightly different things. Troy guided her legs to part further with his hands, shifting further up the bed between her legs.

"Try… fuck… wrapping your legs around me," Troy managed to gasp among thrusts.

Gabriella dutifully nodded, her slender legs extending up and hooking around Troy's lower back. His next thrust into her caused him to groan a little louder, overwhelmed by just how further he felt that he was inside of her depths. She too could feel the difference, however what struck Gabriella more so was the feeling of additional closeness to his body, the removal of the barrier between where they moulded together.

"Shit Gabi… fuck baby… so good…" Troy groaned raggedly as his length slid in and out of her wet cavern.

His lips met hers in a tantalising kiss, before pulling away to rest foreheads together and simply gaze at one another as they moved in time.

"Love you," Gabriella murmured breathily, her hands splayed as they ran over the warmth of his hard shoulders and back.

"Love you more," Troy gasped in return.

* * *

Meanwhile back at Jason's house, the movie had drawn to an end and people were getting ready to take off. With the last two days of filming, the general group vibe was one of exhaustion, and it was unspoken that an early night was in order for all.

Ryan and Kelsi were still sitting on the couch talking as the people around them gradually gathered their belongings and bid everyone farewell.

"So Sharpay hasn't decided on a time for the drama club meeting this week?" Kelsi confirmed with Ryan. "I'm trying to work out a schedule for my final SAT study."

Ryan shook his head and rolled his eyes. "She wanted to do it over the break but there were too many people who weren't available and she gave up trying to organise. It's not exactly her forte."

Martha bound over to the pair. "Hey Kelsi, I was going to take off soon, did you want a ride?"

"That's all right, I can take her," Ryan assured Martha.

"I really could just walk, I'm only like a ten minute walk from here," Kelsi said, not wanting to put anyone out of their way.

"And like a one minute detour from both of our routes," Martha pointed out.

"Whichever way, you will not be walking. Girls should not be walking home alone after dark," Ryan said.

A fourth figure appeared beside Kelsi. "Hey guys, sup?" Jason greeted them.

"Martha and Ryan are just squabbling over who gets to drive me home," Kelsi said with a smile.

"Now, when I get a car, this whole argument will be solved and I would drive you home," Jason declared.

"And where exactly are you going to get the money to buy a car?" Kelsi asked teasingly.

"Well, my fingers are crossed for Christmas," he admitted. "And then since my birthday is in January, maybe my parents will do like a joint Christmas/birthday present."

"Didn't you save any of the money you made at Lava Springs over summer?" Martha asked.

Jason shrugged. "A bit. Not much. Not enough for wheels, anyway. I spent most of it buying my new video camera and DVDs. Oh! Speaking of DVDs!" he turned to Kelsi. "Did you still want to borrow that movie?"

"Ooh yes! I would have forgotten."

"I'll just go grab it for you."

"I'll come with you," Kelsi said, giving him a small smile. She turned back to Ryan and Martha. "I would appreciate a lift from whoever it is convenient for. And I won't be long, I promise."

Ryan and Martha watched as Jason and Kelsi walked toward the stairs adjoining the basement with the ground floor. His hand came to rest on the small of Kelsi's back as he walked slightly ahead of him.

"You know, I'm so happy that I am single," Martha declared. "I'm immune to all this… drama. It's great. Life is busy enough at the moment, I've been studying every spare second for the SATs, on top of regular homework and assignments, and then there is my dance classes, and just stuff with my family. I don't know how people actually have time to be in relationships. It's like a whole extra thing you have to find time to do."

"You know who says stuff like that?" Ryan said.

"Who exactly?" Martha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"People who want to be in relationships."

* * *

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, a smile immediately breaking onto her face. She could get used to waking up naked with Troy beside her very easily. She figured they'd just drifted off briefly, and craned her neck behind her to look at the digital clock on her nightstand. She furrowed her brow, observing the time.

"Troy baby…" Gabriella cooed into his ear, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. "You need to wake up."

Troy groaned and muttered an incomprehensible response.

"Come on," Gabriella said softly, caressing his hair at the nape of his neck. Finally, Troy's eyes fluttered open.

"Mmm I keep doing this. Falling asleep on you," Troy murmured sleepily.

"One of the advantages to being involved with someone who enjoys science is that I understand that it is your body's natural biological response," Gabriella said softly. "But now… you need to wake up."

"What time is it?" Troy said groggily, burrowing his head further into the pillow.

The previous weekend at Ryan's had been filled with the luxury of the uninterrupted post coital nap. Between it being night time, being generally tired, and his post orgasmic body insisting he sleep, he wasn't at all impressed with Gabriella's insistence that he wake up.

"It's almost 11."

Troy relaxed. "That's okay, there's still an hour til my curfew." He reached out to embrace her, pulling her in to snuggle within his arms. "Gabi babe, that was so amazing," he murmured, and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

Gabriella closed her eyes, grateful that he couldn't see her face. It was amazing, she wasn't going to dispute that. Maybe not amazing for her in the way that it was amazing for him. She merely rolled over, gave him a smile and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. "I love you," she said simply.

"I still love you more," Troy responded with a cheeky smile.

Gabriella sat up suddenly. "Okay I was serious, you have to get up. It's weird that my mom is out this late."

"Oh."

In Troy's sleepy state, he'd somewhat forgotten that he was technically present in the Montez house against the wishes of Gabriella's mother. He yawned and watched as Gabriella groped around for her cell phone which was resting on the night stand, checking for any texts or missed calls from her mom. The screen was blank.

"She probably was just having a good time with her friends," Troy said.

"Troy, this is my mom. She doesn't have 'friends' she has work colleagues. And it was a few casual drinks, that's all."

Troy sensed the genuine worry in Gabriella's tone. "Call her," he prompted.

Gabriella nodded. "I will… I'm just going to get dressed first."

"Why, feel a bit uncomfortable talking to your mother while you're in bed naked after being ravished by your boyfriend?"

She smirked at him. "Where did he go, have you seen him?"

Troy mocked being offended, gasping and holding his hand to his heart in a stabbing motion melodramatically. "Ouch, babe."

He watched in fascination as Gabriella shifted from the bed, holding the comforter up to cover herself as she groped around on the floor in search of an item of clothing. The first one she located was Troy's shirt, which she proceeded to slip over her head.

"You'd better give that one back, I'm gonna run out of clothes soon," Troy commented.

Gabriella didn't respond, just gave him a cheeky smile as she located her panties and quickly slipped them on. Multitasking, she dialled the speed dial to her mother's cell, as she wandered across her room to her chest of drawers. She pulled out one of Troy's other shirts, which since being stolen had been washed and ironed, and tossed it over to him.

"_Hi honey!" _Gabriella's mother answered the phone.

"I was surprised enough at you having a social life, but you're still out?" Gabriella teased.

Elena's laugh rang through the phone. _"Just heading home now, dropping off one of the ladies from work on the way who had a few too many drinks. Are you at home?"_

She hesitated. "I will be soon, just leaving Jason's now."

"_Okay, see you soon sweetheart."_

Gabriella hung up the phone and turned back to Troy, who was still sprawled out in her bed. "All good?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"Did I just hear you blatantly lie to your mom?"

Gabriella winced. "You bring out the worst in me, Bolton. I invite you here and everything is wonderful and then I feel guilty about it because it involves a lie of some description."

"Hey, you didn't have to invite me into your room, I put an alternative location out there," Troy pointed out.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and bent down to scoop up his pants, which she proceeded to throw at him. "Get dressed. You have to leave."

"Imagine that, my own girlfriend, kicking me out."

She smiled as she reached into her chest of drawers to locate a pair of flannel pyjama pants for herself. "If you leave now, you can get out the front door rather than use the balcony."

"I like your balcony though," Troy pouted.

Nevertheless he swung his legs over the bed to pull on his plaid cotton boxers, jeans and the fresh t-shirt.

"Anyone would think you want to get rid of me," he said cheekily, as Gabriella's hand practically pushed him out the bedroom door and toward the staircase.

"If it were up to me, Wildcat, you would me a permanent fixture in my bedroom," Gabriella responded teasingly.

Their hands entwined as they headed down the stairs and to the front door. Troy slipped his feet into his black converse. Gabriella's arm lifted toward the door handle, but Troy reached out and touched her arm slightly, halting her movement.

"Umm… were you going to come to my game on Friday?"

Gabriella's face morphed into an expression of slight guilt. "Umm… I'm not sure yet," she admitted. "With the SATs on Saturday…"

"That's okay," Troy said quickly. "I mean, I would really love it if you were there but I also get that you should be off studying and stuff."

"I feel guilty, it's not your fault that there's a clash. And you guys and the cheer squad have to be there."

"Yeah, but that's different. And you've got all this other stuff on as well, like planning for Friday's pep rally, the charity drive. And the drama club never had their meeting over the break and so I know you guys will be meeting this week to sort out plans for the winter musical. So I know that you'll be busy throughout the week and will want every spare second to do revision. And so you should."

"I was thinking that I might study at school that afternoon since the library is staying open later. And then I might come and watch the beginning of the game, and then pop back for the end," Gabriella said. "So, I'll be there a little. And even when I'm not there, I'm still there, you know that. And physically, I'll be nearby."

"Good. I need you there," Troy said quietly, averting his eyes from her gaze. "Even if it's only a for a while."

"Feeling the pressure?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy nodded. "A bit," he confessed. "These next two games… they could define my whole future. I need to put a championships level of performance into every minute of every game. And somehow still get through everything else in life."

"Call me tomorrow, okay? We're doing more SAT study with Chad and Taylor, remember?"

Troy nodded. "Of course."

"Troy… it'll be fine," Gabriella assured him, her eyes sparkling. "I know you can do it."

He stared intently into her eyes. "With you, I know I can."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was fairly TxG heavy which most of you will be fine with. Now, this time, I am not going to dare you but I am going to ask politely for your feedback. This college talk… to say it's been a long time coming is an understatement. In many ways, it felt like an even bigger deal than their 'first time' that I wrote at the end of _Once Upon A Time._ So I really would like to know your impressions about this chapter. -Dani xo


	4. Chapter 4

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter Disclaimer – **I would just like to acknowledge that there is a discussion in this chapter between two characters about a 'dat' (a date without an e) and this is a concept which I have borrowed from Dawson's Creek way back in Season 2 with Jack and Joey.

**Author's Note – **Just in case you aren't aware, AIM is an Instant Messaging service. Think like MSN, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, etc. I've made reference before to Ryan talking to his 'friend' on AIM and also some of the Wildcats talking on AIM; and had a couple of people ask what it is. So just in case anyone else is wondering/confused.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_I want you to know, with everything I won't let this go.  
These words are my heart and soul,  
I hold on to this moment you know.  
Cause I'd bleed my heart out to show, that I won't let go._

_- 'With Me' Sum 41_

* * *

"I swear to you, that is _exactly_ what she said!"

Chad glanced around at his friends with a smug smile plastered across his face. He twirled his basketball around on the tip of his finger. The group was heading through the corridors toward homeroom, ready for yet another week of learning at East High.

"I don't believe you," Zeke declared. He turned around to walk backwards for a few steps and stumbled a little. Fortunately Gabriella held her arm out to steady him. Zeke sheepishly turned back around to walk normally and shot Gabriella a grateful smile.

"I'm dead serious," Chad insisted. "The chick said that she wants to ride me til my…"

"Yes, Chad," Taylor said, cutting him off with a roll of her eyes – and a playful push. "You've told us what she said about fourteen times."

"You jealous McKessie?" Chad dared to ask boldly, smirking at her.

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "You wish, Danforth."

Gabriella and Troy were leading the group, arm in arm, and paused as she reached her locker. The rest of the group waited while she placed one book inside and pulled out a different one to place into her satchel – which Troy was holding open for her.

"Everyone knows that the cheerleaders from Albuquerque Academy are all talk," Jason spoke up from the back of the pack, from where he'd been walking with Kelsi and Martha.

Troy glanced over at Chad. "Is this the girl with the braid things and the huge…" he trailed off, as though recalling that he was walking with his arm around his girlfriend. "…smile?" he finished weakly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, closed her locker door and took her bag from Troy, initiating the group to continue walking again, with her and Troy once again taking the lead. "Troy, if Chad is talking about the girl I think he's talking about, we were making note of the jiggliness of her breasts from the stands. With every 'go team go', the girl was wobbling all over the place. You don't need to pretend you didn't observe that."

"Like seriously, buy a sports bra," Taylor said in agreement, recalling the conversation they'd had about the girl in question. "It's common sense. I don't know how she isn't in pain."

"You girls were checking out a cheerleader and making comments about her rack?" Zeke asked, glancing between Gabriella beside him, and Taylor behind him.

"Anyway, so moral of the story, is that sometimes just going to the video store to rent a DVD can lead to propositions for sex," Chad concluded, just as they rounded the corner into the corridor where their homeroom was located.

"And yet you didn't take her up on the offer?" Zeke remarked.

Chad bristled for a moment, shooting the tiniest of glanced toward Taylor. "That's right."

"You'll see her this Friday, maybe you can go chat to her again," Jason suggested.

They entered the room to see Sharpay and Ryan in the classroom already, with chairs pulled up at Ms. Darbus's desk. A series of sheets were in front of them, the pair peering over to look at them.

"Hey guys," Ryan said, his tone slightly forlorn.

Sharpay's head snapped up. "Oh good! She's here! Gabriella!" Sharpay exclaimed. She strode over and grasped Gabriella by the arm, pulled her out of Troy's hold and over to the desk. "You have to fix this."

"Sharpay, I assure you, that this is not a matter of _fixing_ something," Ms. Darbus said patiently. "I spent hours at the meeting arguing about this."

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked. Kelsi and Troy both hovered nearby, while the rest of the Wildcats went back to take their seats in their corner of the room

"Miss Montez, last Wednesday there was a rather long winded faculty meeting in relation to some school budgetary changes," Ms. Darbus explained. "There have been some significant cuts to the drama club budget; and there have been a series of restraints put upon how we are allowed to spend the money that we do have. As a result, the drama club will have to review the budget you outlined and make some alternate decisions and arrangements with the planning for the remainder of the year."

"What kind of cuts? Can I see?"

Ryan handed the summary page over. "It's bad," he said grimly. "We've called a meeting for after school, can you make that?"

"Umm…" Gabriella glanced back at where Taylor was flipping through one of her folders. "Hey Tay?"

Taylor looked up. "Yes?"

"Do you mind if I bail on the yearbook committee meeting this afternoon?" Gabriella asked hopefully. "You can assign me any task. You know what my strengths are."

Taylor pursed her lips. "I suppose…"

"You know I won't make a habit out of it, our drama club meetings are normally Wednesdays but this is super important," Gabriella said imploringly.

"It's okay," Taylor said, waving her hand away.

"I'll arrange for an announcement over the PA later about the meeting, it's too late to have it put in the notices," Ms. Darbus said.

"Is this your only copy?" Gabriella asked. "I'd like to look at it and run some figures before the meeting this afternoon."

"That's fine," Ms. Darbus said waving it to her. "You can keep that one."

Gabriella glanced at Sharpay. "That's okay with you, right? Did you want to keep it to look over it?"

Sharpay shook her head. "I refuse to believe that they could do this to us."

Gabriella slowly walked back over to her desk, scanning the pages as she walked. Sharpay followed closely behind, and promptly sat down in Troy's seat.

"Is it as bad as she says?" Sharpay asked desolately. "Ms. Darbus said we might have to cancel the winter show."

Troy stood staring at Sharpay in his seat. Chad, who was seated in front of her, kept facing straight to the front, hiding the smirk on his face. Troy sat on Chad's desk in the mean time, sitting sideways and leaning back with his weight on his hands.

"Umm… maybe," Gabriella said tentatively.

"I don't understand, I mean, if money is the problem, there are ways of getting money," Ryan said. "We can fundraise, we can get sponsors. Our father will sponsor us again, I bet."

"The problem isn't just the money, the problem is that they are restricting how we can spend money, and they are restricting our access to teachers to supervise…" Gabriella trailed off and let out a sigh. "There's a lot of problems and I've only just begun to look over this."

Students had been pouring into homeroom, and the warning ball rang.

"Okay, so we rehearse at Troy's house over weekends and Coach Bolton is there to supervise all day," Sharpay said brightly. "Problem solved."

Troy burst out laughing. "Yeah, right."

"Gabriella, you're smart. Switch some things around, do your math thing. Just… fix it!" Sharpay said, her hands gesturing wildly toward the sheet of paper.

"Sharpay, it's not that simple," Gabriella said tactfully. "We'll have to go over it in more detail in the meeting, and I'll look at some figures throughout the day and see exactly what is going to be impacted."

Troy jumped off from Chad's desk, and towered over Sharpay with his arms folded. "Sharpay, my desk?"

Sharpay glared at him for a moment. Troy kept his arms folded, returning her stare. She sighed poutily, snatched up her handbag and pink fluffy folder, and stood up to walk away.

"Shar, it's gonna be cool!" Ryan called after her.

"Whatever," she snapped, and stalked across the room back to her own desk.

* * *

Chad and Taylor were in the quiet talking study area of the school library. He had her laptop open in front of him, glancing from his notes that were in his notepad, to the computer screen where he was transcribing them.

"Okay, tell me what you think," Chad said, pulling Taylor away from her calculus homework. She pulled the laptop towards her and began to scan his work on the screen.

"Wow, you've done a lot since we were studying at my place yesterday," Taylor said, feeling rather impressed, and also a little proud.

"Well, this English report was the main thing that I was still way behind with. I was looking at the stuff that Troy had done for it and was like, okay, I so need to work on that. English has been one of my better subjects. I haven't gotten below a B since freshman year. So I want to do really great in this report."

"This looks impressive, you're definitely on track," she said positively. "Keep going, you've stopped mid thought here. Surely you've got more to say about that."

He nodded, pulled the laptop back towards him and kept typing. Taylor quickly finished the calculus question she had been doing, and then decided to switch subject areas. She wasn't really feeling the calculus, and instead opened her physics textbook to the pages assigned to be read for homework. Chad triumphantly hit the final full stop of the paragraph with a resounding tap.

"Sometimes I still find this really crazy," Chad said abruptly.

Taylor looked up from her textbook. "What, _Me and Orson Welles_? I quite like it, I was jealous when I found out that you guys got to do that book and that our literature class has to…"

"No not the book, I like the book too," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "This as in, you and me. Here. Voluntarily sitting together in the library at lunch time. Studying. Like, before Gab transferred here, this would not have happened in a million years."

"That's not true, you and I studied together at lunch once before Gabriella came," Taylor mused.

"We did?" Chad asked, evidently not recalling this study session. He momentarily wondered if Taylor had hallucinated such an event taking place.

She nodded in affirmation. "It was freshman year; in science class they assigned different lab partners one week, and it was a week when we had to do a write up. You came by to 'help' with ours for maybe ten minutes. Then Troy arrived and you both left… probably to go play basketball or check out the cheerleaders or something."

Chad's face broke into a grin. "I'd so forgotten about that! I think we might have had an extra practice."

"Memory loss in your old age, hey," Taylor teased. "Or is it that anything that didn't involve basketball or some hot chick was deemed unworthy of you recalling."

"Don't talk like that," Chad said quietly. "I'm here now, aren't I? Voluntarily, I add. I'm the one that said I wanted to study this lunch time, if you remember?"

Taylor nodded, with a slight smile on her face. "That I do."

"So that kind of shit from freshman year doesn't matter, does it?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. I guess it doesn't."

She fell quiet for a moment, a silence which he quickly broke.

"How is your…" Chad peered over at her book. "Whatever it is that you are doing coming along?"

"This is a physics reading. I was doing my calculus homework but decided to leave that until later. I'm trying to get as much as my homework done so that I can focus on SAT study tonight."

Chad blinked, glancing at the page that Taylor was tackling. "I don't know how Gabs managed to whip Bolton into shape with all those crazy subjects. It feels like yesterday that he and I were like, setting shit on fire with the Bunsen Burner in science."

"I don't think he's quite as in control as he lets her believe," Taylor admitted. "I caught a glimpse of one of his lab reports that he got back in physics, like one that we had to do in class and not for homework when he could get her help, and he got a C. Which is fine, this is Troy and it's a really challenging course so I hand it to him for taking it on. But I know he was aiming to do better than that."

"He doesn't need to be doing all those subjects, and next semester I swear he'll snap his cap," Chad said. "He'll be on the state squad again, and then between our season and the state season he'll be spending half his weekends checking out the schools that wanna recruit him."

She shrugged. "And that is all for Troy to deal with. You just worry about you. And you can start by writing another paragraph of that before the end of lunch period," Taylor said, gesturing to the laptop.

Chad smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

Silence fell between them once more, Chad returning to stare at the laptop screen, Taylor returning to her physics reading. He found himself working so intently that he didn't even register when she was beginning to pack up her belongings.

"You can borrow that, if you want," Taylor said.

Chad looked up, hearing her words but not understanding. He then saw that she'd packed up all of her things. He glanced at the time and noted the bell was about to ring to signal the end of lunch.

"I mean, I don't need it during my next class and you could just stay here during your free period and keep working. And then bring it back to me in drama last period," Taylor further explained.

"You trust me with your precious laptop?" Chad teased.

Taylor smirked. "I must be insane. But yes, strangely I do. Looks like you're on a roll, by the time you pack up and go sign up to use one of the ridiculously inefficient school computers, you'll waste like fifteen minutes. That's fifteen minutes of work you'll miss out on."

Chad nodded. "Very true. Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No worries."

Taylor pushed back the chair, stepped out and then tucked it back in beneath the table.

"Hey Taylor?" Chad said suddenly, a whim of impulse taking him over. "We um… we should do something that isn't just studying sometime."

Taylor was silent for a moment, before finally responding somewhat suspiciously. "What, like, a date?"

Chad paused. He was unable to decipher her reaction, whether the concept of a date was something that she found intriguing or mortifying. "Well, maybe. Perhaps. Or maybe we call it…" Chad trailed off, searching for the right word. "A 'dat'," he declared triumphantly.

"A 'dat'?" Taylor repeated, a slight smile forming upon her lips.

"Yeah. A 'dat'," Chad said decisively. "It's like, not quite a date. But… more than two friends hanging out. Because, well, you can tell me I'm barking up the wrong tree here, but I think you and I can both admit that there's still something between us. I mean, I don't want to rush back into anything. But, there is something. Isn't there?"

The next second was the longest second of Chad's life. When he'd spoken the words, he'd known they were true. He couldn't possibly have read all of the signs wrong, invented all of the flirtation that had been occurring between he and his ex-girlfriend. But the second of worry was unfounded, because then the small, knowing smile which appeared on Taylor's face was enough to concede that she agreed with the comment.

"Saturday."

"Saturday?" Chad repeated.

Taylor nodded. "Saturday. After the SATs. We could do something. Maybe… go to Starbucks? Is that an acceptable 'dat' location?"

Chad grinned. "Well I'm not an expert on the subject myself, but that sounds more than acceptable. Starbucks to get some frappywhatsits."

Taylor smiled. "Cool."

"Cool," Chad echoed.

The warning bell rang at that exact moment, breaking the slight stare between the two. Taylor cleared her throat and glanced away from him. "Okay, I'll see you in drama with my laptop safe and sound. And I expect you to have completed that section."

He smirked as she strode quickly away, pulling her bag along side her. "Yes, ma'am," he called after her.

* * *

The members of the East High drama club were gathered in Ms. Darbus' classroom ten minutes after the final bell had rang. Desks had been pushed aside and chairs had been pulled up to form a half circle. Sharpay and Ms. Darbus were sitting facing the other members of the club.

"-and I passed on this information to Miss Evans and Miss Montez this morning," Ms. Darbus finished. "As your mentor teacher, I am apologetic that the school has placed these restrictions upon you. However I should point out that this is often the reality faced by performers. The arts relies upon creativity which we channel from within, not from green pieces of paper with the head of a President printed upon it. I would encourage you all to take this as a positive challenge, an opportunity to dig deep and explore the depths of your imagination and your creative spirit."

A light smattering of applause sounded, and Sharpay stood once more. "Gabriella, as the finance director, has been going through the specifics today and I would now ask her to outline for you very specifically what this is going to mean for the plans we had for the winter musical."

Gabriella remained sitting in her place to deliver her findings. "So, this year it was originally budgeted to put on Kelsi's original musical – _Once Upon A Time_ – and then to purchase the rights for two prewritten shows. Even after the fire, we were able to make alterations within our budget to ensure that we could still do this, especially with the generous contributions of a performance venue provided by Mr Evans. Budget cuts alone could be dealt with, we can always try to acquire further sponsorship or donations or do more fundraising. The problem is that the school is trying to interfere with _how_ we spend the money that we do have. Firstly – they have said that we cannot buy the rights to put on a copyrighted show."

"Meaning that we have to use an original composition," Ryan clarified. "So if anyone has any original compositions we don't know about lying around at home…"

Eyes shifted toward Kelsi. "I don't!" she insisted. "I'm sorry, I wish I did. We'd agreed we were going to look into _Hairspray_ and _Bye Bye Birdie_ and the rest of that giant list of shows we wanted to do. So after I wrote _Once Upon A Time_ I started focusing on my Julliard audition piece, and some of my pop songs I've been working on."

The Evans twins responded simultaneously.

"That's fine, you should focus on your own stuff," Ryan said.

"Then just write something for us now!" Sharpay demanded.

"Sharpay, it's not that simple. This would need to be ready in at most a month. I spent over six months writing _Once Upon A Time_," Kelsi protested.

"I'm sure you'll have lots of helpers," Sharpay said, gesturing about the room.

"We could write our own show," Theodore said optimistically. "We really could. It wouldn't be easy, but it could be done."

"The composition isn't the only problem," Gabriella said forlornly. "The other major crack down is upon our rehearsal schedules. There's no way we'll be allowed to do what we did with the fall musical, which is doable. It just means that a lot of the talent that we had might not be able to audition for whatever we do. We wound up having a good handful of people in the chorus who aren't available for regular rehearsals after school."

"Who cares if they can't audition? If people really want to be involved, they will make themselves available for our rehearsal schedule," Sharpay declared.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. "There's other specifics to do with how the budget will be impacted upon, but I've ran the figures over and over and essentially there are three options. Option A – to cancel the winter musical, and channel funds toward the spring musical. Between now and then, we can hopefully get a lot of fundraising done and maybe be able to convince the school otherwise and allow us to purchase copyright to a show – or have enough time, as a group, to write an original script."

"We are NOT cancelling the show altogether," Sharpay said firmly. "That will not happen."

"I agree, we fought back at the beginning of this year against the cancellation of the fall musical," Kelsi chimed in.

"Option B is that both the winter and spring musicals will have to be a lot smaller, a lot simpler – and again, somehow put together something original."

"How much smaller?" Theodore asked.

Gabriella paused. "Hard to say. We'll have restrictions upon everything, upon extravagance of costumes and sets, upon how much rehearsal time we can have at Lava Springs – because when we rehearse as a group there, the school has to provide additional staff to supervise. It'll be pinching pennies and if we then go over the budget with the winter musical, it'll mean that the spring musical – the final musical for seniors – will have even more restrictions."

"What's Option C, Miss Montez?" Ms. Darbus asked.

"Option C – also being the one I've thought about most and think we should go with – will be to use Option A but to still do a winter show. It just won't be an actual musical, it will be more a… talent showcase, I suppose. We keep saying how we aren't really the 'drama' club, we're more the performing arts club. And we say that we want all students who study drama at East High to actually have the opportunity to gain real experience in performance. I think we should have each of the drama classes – senior, junior, sophomore, freshman – put together their own mini shows. Sophisticated skits, if you will. To collaborate with the music department, who will assist with writing some songs for these skits. To allow the dance department to do dances, the band to perform, have English classes perform their Shakespeare pieces, the media kids to put together a short showcase video of their projects. And we allow people to audition to just be a part of it – if you want to sing, or prepare your own monologue, or do a magic act – we run auditions so it's not just a talent show, but it allows the people who are in the drama club who want to have the opportunity to perform to perform not only as a part of their drama class projects but also with your own scenes. If we do it this way, the school may be more inclined to support us with funding because it is essentially an East High talent showcase."

As Gabriella spoke, the somewhat downcast faces of the drama club members began to look up; with smiles, people nodding along enthusiastically. She finished speaking, and finally looked around the room to gauge the reaction. Ms. Darbus stood, beaming brightly.

"Miss Montez – I believe you might have just solved all of our problems."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the common area of the library, Taylor was seated with a small group of her yearbook staff. It wasn't her entire staff, in fact there were two lunkhead committee members who had signed on to assist and as yet had failed to attend a single meeting or contribute anything toward the project. There were staff who typically would be in attendance but seemingly had more important things to do – sending apologies with excuses of assignments, exams, and conflicting meetings. Taylor couldn't help but feel rather annoyed about the entire situation. She was in the exact same boat as everyone else with assignments due, the SATs on Saturday, midterms coming up. She should have been organising for the decathlon team to start its preseason meetings. But she'd given her commitment to chair the yearbook committee and so, she was a hundred and ten percent dedicated to the cause.

"All of the preplanning has been going really well," Taylor addressed the group. "And so we're in the stages of data collection about now. James, did you confirm the photographers for the official pictures next week?"

James stared back at her blankly. "Uh… was that my responsibility?"

Taylor sighed. "Yes. Are you not in charge of the photography sector?"

"Yeah, but I thought we were only in charge of the random photos, not the official ones."

"You did _book_ the photographers, didn't you?" Taylor asked, her voice rising an octave.

"Yeah of course! You asked me to, so I figured that was like, an extra thing."

Taylor sighed, trying to keep her exasperation to herself. "Right. Okay. Can you please confirm them by lunch time tomorrow and let me know?"

"No worries."

"And, Leanne, you put the questionnaire on the web didn't you?" Taylor confirmed.

Leanne nodded brightly. "Last week. But noone seems to be filling it out. How hard is it to fill out your name and a few answers about yourself. It is for the yearbook after all, do they want their section to be blank?"

"Hang on…" Taylor paused. "Did you organise for a class e-mail advertising that the questionnaire is up? Or for it to be in the daily notices?"

Leanne's bright expression fell. "Oh. Umm… no."

"Might be a good idea," Taylor said, with a false cheerfulness.

"Sorry I'm late!!" a frantic voice said from behind Taylor.

She spun around to see Martha, who was pulling up a chair to the group

"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked, somewhat confused. "I thought you were going to be at the drama club meeting."

"Oh no, I just went and told them that whatever decisions they make they have my full support and that I had to come to this meeting," Martha said with a smile. "Okay. Are you doing bring back of what everyone has been working on? I have organised for the writers of all of the special write-ups. They're all aware of the due dates for drafts and then their final submissions. I've got a list of the writers here. I've also talked to the reps from all of the various clubs and societies about making sure that any photos they take or have taken are passed along so that we can have the broadest range possible. I was also talking with Patty earlier today, since he couldn't come he gave me these sample front covers from the art department to look at and see if we like any of them. It's more so the colour design to look at for now, the photo can be changed."

An organised person.

Taylor could have hugged her.

* * *

Monday was drill day.

Interval training, distance shooting drills, form shooting drills, quick shot drills, wall dribble drills, full court zig zags, two ball dribble drills, chest passes, bounce passes, jump rope exercises, stair sprints and rebound drills.

Jack Bolton was a firm believer in the role of these simple exercises in effective basketball coaching. Every Monday, the East High Wildcats would go back to basics – for an hour and a half of intense training. Often drill day would be far more strenuous than an actual mock game, with the words shouted from Jack's mouth most frequently being, "harder", "higher" and "faster" – accompanied by copious sharp, shrill blows of the whistle.

The high school boys basketball competition had been narrowed to the top eight ranked teams in the region. The Wildcats had finished at the top of the ladder, with the West High Knights in second place – pitting the arch rival teams in place to make their way through the single elimination playoffs and meet each other in the championships. The Wildcats also emerged with the home turf advantage. Their first playoff game was against Albuquerque Academy on Friday night. Should they succeed, they would meet the winners of the Highland High School and Freedom High School match the following Friday night. And then the championships were on the second Friday back after the winter break.

A regular Monday was draining, arduous and exhausting. Now that they'd entered playoffs, the intensity had duplicated, then doubled, and then multiplied. And then some.

Troy's entire body felt pain, but it was good pain. Troy revelled in the stiffness and soreness that came with stepping up the intensity of training sessions. Pain equated to hard work, being challenged, improvement. In the long run, the aches and twinges would be worthwhile. And so he would endure it and enjoy every moment.

At the conclusion of training and the final team chant, the boys trotted in the direction of the locker rooms.

"Danforth, Bolton?" Jack's voice rang out. Troy and Chad both spun around and turned back to go over to Coach Bolton. "Could you come see me after you've finished in the locker room?"

* * *

Gabriella, Kelsi and Ryan had situated themselves in a little grassy patch within perfect proximity to spot both Taylor and Martha as they left the library; and also the Wildcats as they left the gym. Jason and Zeke had been first to appear, and informed the group that Coach Bolton had asked both Chad and Troy to remain behind after training to have a word with them. Kelsi left with the boys, leaving Gabriella and Ryan to wait.

"So I have been waiting _all day_ to talk to you alone! Did you call him back!" Gabriella asked.

"Call who back?" Ryan asked, playing dumb.

"You told me that Chase called you on Saturday night and you didn't answer!"

"Oh, that." Ryan was avoiding talking about it, and yet he was dying to talk about it at the same time. Gabriella knew that tone very well – it was a tone that she used often. It was an, _'oh no really, it's fine, I talk about it all the time and I don't want to bore you but pretty please would you listen'_ tone.

"Spill," Gabriella commanded with a grin. "I want to know."

"I called him back."

Gabriella squealed. "When? Where? What happened? How did it go?"

"Yesterday afternoon. When I was at home. I sent him an e-mail the night before apologising for missing his call, and kind of made a joke of it – like said that he probably sat on his phone and dialled my number accidentally. He come on AIM not long after and said that it hadn't been a mistake and he just had felt a whim to call me. And so… I just… picked up my phone and called him back."

"And, and, and?" Gabriella was practically bouncing.

"It was cool. We were just chatting, he was asking me how the filming went, and we were talking about his college classes and plans for the holidays and just random stuff. And then…" Ryan paused, a shy smile breaking onto his face as he thought about what he was about to tell her. "He all of a sudden, out of nowhere, said all shyly that he thinks my voice is sexy."

Gabriella squealed. "Oh my God!"

"I know! I was blown away. I kind of stuttered some sarcastic remark about how he should hear me sing and he said that he wants to!"

"What did he sound like?"

Ryan paused contemplatively. "He sounded very nice, very genuine. Not too camp, if you know what I mean. His laugh is one of those ones that you hear and just can feel that he's smiling, you know?"

She nodded. "I know what you mean. So… you're gonna keep talking to each other?"

"I think so… I hope so. We pretty much know each others schedules and he said he'd give me a call one night early this week."

"I'm so excited for you!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Oh shhhh," Ryan said quickly, and gestured over to where Martha and Taylor had appeared from the library. "Yo Martha! Taylor!"

The girls looked up and saw where Ryan and Gabriella were seated, and headed over.

"Hey, how was the meeting?" Gabriella asked.

"Disastrous until Martha arrived," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "These people who've volunteered are a bunch of idiots, I swear."

"I'm so sorry I had to bail on you. If it means anything, we got a lot accomplished in the drama club meeting."

"It's okay, I know I kinda roped you into working on the committee anyway," Taylor conceded.

"Are you two waiting for the boys to come out?" Martha said, gesturing toward the gym.

"We both wanted to wait for you two. Gabriella wanted to wait for the boys," Ryan said, poking Gabriella teasingly.

Gabriella blushed a little. "Is that so wrong?"

"Anyway, they've all come out except Chad and Troy. Zeke and Jason told us that they'd been asked to stay behind," Ryan told them.

"Oh, so they've already taken off?" Martha queried.

Gabriella nodded. "With Kelsi, yeah, Zeke was giving her and Jason a lift home."

Martha nodded. "I see. Anyway, guys, I have to take off. I have dance class in a half hour. So I'll see you tomorrow?"

They all nodded and farewelled her, and Taylor sat down beside Gabriella.

"So what happened at the meeting to get you all annoyed?" Gabriella asked.

"I'll e-mail the minutes through to you tonight, talking about it now will just get me annoyed again at the batch of idiots."

"Hey Tay, did you still want for the committee to have an hour or so during one of the night sessions on the senior trip?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor nodded. "If you can work it in, that would be awesome. I know you're probably planning a bunch of other dorky stuff in accordance with standard school camp activity."

"Some of it will be the standard dorkiness. Matsui pretty much told us it was compulsory. I don't know why he asked the student council to plan the night entertainment and then pretty much plan it for us anyway. But there is some flexibility," Ryan explained.

"Dude! Beer bongs! Kegs! What are you whinging about?" Chad's voice sounded from the main exit of the gymnasium.

"I'm not whinging!" Troy's exasperated response came.

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Then why were you protesting?"

"What are you two bickering about?" Taylor called out.

Chad and Troy looked up, spotting their friends for the first time and began to stride over in their direction.

"Me and Troy are going to go get really wasted at a college frat party next weekend and the pussy is whinging about it!" Chad announced.

"Danforth!" Troy exclaimed, shoving his buddy playfully.

The guys fell into place within the group. Troy leaned across to Gabriella to kiss her sweetly in greeting. She allowed the kiss for a brief moment but then pulled away.

"Getting wasted at a frat party?" Gabriella enquired. She crossed her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows.

"Me and Chad have been invited to go down to New Mexico State next weekend to have a visit weekend with the Aggie's," Troy explained. "So dad's gone and organised it all."

"That's right. Me as well. Not just him. I was invited too," Chad said proudly. "ME. You know what this means?"

"That New Mexico State want you and will hopefully make you an offer?" Taylor supplied.

"Well that, but also, that I can stop studying! Fuck the English report and fuck the SATs and fuck it all!" Chad declared.

"Okay, wait til they make you the offer before your head starts getting even bigger than it already is," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you just say, 'fuck the SATs'?" Taylor queried, hands on her hips.

"Yes Taylor, I said precisely that," Chad said.

"You've been studying for the SATs for months. You've just put in all this work into getting back up to date with all of your algebra – which coincidentally will help you on Saturday. And now you're here saying 'fuck the SATs'?!"

"I didn't really mean it Tay, chill," Chad said soothingly.

Taylor relaxed a little, but she was still glancing at Chad with a somewhat disapproving stare.

"So when do you guys go?" Gabriella asked, moving the conversation along and away from Chad's remark.

"We'll drive down after our game next Friday night and arrive pretty late. Then it'll be training and campus tour on Saturday during the day and uh… entertainment on Saturday night," Troy said tactfully.

"The frat party?" Ryan enquired with a smirk.

"That's how it works. It's like tradition. They aren't only trying to prove to us that their team is the right team to play for. They also have to prove that their college is the best college to party at," Chad explained with a grin.

"And then we'll have to drive back around lunch time on Sunday to be back in time for the bus to leave for the senior class trip," Troy said.

"Think! Both of us in Las Cruces! It's close enough to drive home every couple of weeks to do laundry and take some of your mom's food back with us, but far enough away that we won't be constantly hounded," Chad pondered.

Troy coughed. "Umm… yeah. Maybe."

"Nah, you won't be at NMS, will you. Guess what school contacted Coach about him today?"

Taylor, Gabriella and Ryan were silent.

"There are like thousands of colleges in this country, how would we know where to begin guessing?" Taylor asked.

"The University of Connecticut," Chad said, clapping Troy on the back.

"Is that good?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Troy said with a slight nod, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"That's really awesome," Gabriella said, wrapping one arm around him and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"PDA on school grounds is strictly forbidden," Jack Bolton's voice rang out.

Troy rolled his eyes as he pulled away from Gabriella.

"Sorry sir," he said sarcastically, knowing that his father wasn't actually angry about it.

Jack smirked. "I was hoping to catch you actually. Do you still want to go check out Butler?"

Troy hesitated. "Umm…" he glanced sideways at Gabriella for a moment, before turning back to his father. "Yes," he said decisively.

"I'll go make a call now and check about it. Do you have a preference for when?" Jack prompted. "It'll have to be after winter break, obviously. First week back is out since we'll be training. You'll possibly have a good few schools to work in, so I was thinking maybe the weekend of the championships, you could get an early morning flight. You'll probably have to change in Dallas and so…"

"Woah woah woah. If we make it to the championships, I will not be going to visit a college that weekend. No way in hell," Troy said firmly. "I'll do it the weekend after that. Oh hang on wait… when are midterms? I don't know if that's going to work."

Jack hesitated, but then nodded curtly. "I'll go make a few calls to check when the team will be having potential recruits visit. Meanwhile you go home and check your schedule. We should then be able to book something later tonight, or tomorrow."

And with that, Jack turned and headed back into the gym.

"Wow, that's pretty exciting," Ryan said.

Troy shrugged. "I guess. Have any of you ever been to Indianapolis? Is it a hole?"

"I've been there once, I really liked it," Taylor said.

"So are you guys just here chilling out, or waiting for us for a particular reason?" Troy asked. "Because I'm thinking of heading thataway, you know, toward the exit?"

"Sounds good," Ryan agreed, immediately picking up his satchel.

"How were all your meetings?" Troy asked, diverting the conversation away from basketball talk.

Ryan and Gabriella glanced at each other. The drama club had decided at the conclusion of the meeting to not tell anyone about the plan until they'd had the chance to run it by the other heads of department.

"Drama club was okay, still trying to sort things out," Ryan said simply.

"I'm sure it'll all work out okay. Look at _Once Upon A Time_, the show was totally cancelled and then things turned out really well in the end," Troy pointed out.

"How was the yearbook committee meeting?" Chad asked Taylor.

"Good of you to ask, since the pair of you are apparently _on_ the committee," Taylor said pointedly, looking back and forth from Chad to Troy.

"Actually Taylor, about that…" Troy said. "I'm gonna quit. I'm sorry to leave you in the lurch but…"

Taylor gave him an amused smirk, folding her arms across her chest and cut in before he could say anything more. "Bolton, you haven't even done anything for the committee yet. You're not leaving me in the lurch."

"Well… you might have thought I'd suddenly start doing stuff. But I'm not. Other than letting you take my photo, and filling out my little profile, and doing the stuff that everyone will do."

"That's fine," Taylor said, giving him a smile. "I know you never really wanted to do it. You just had your momentary freak out because you hadn't been offered any positions yet and thought you'd have to apply for college like the rest of us, relying upon your rounded resume."

Troy was somewhat sheepish. "Umm… yeah. I guess. So, you're not mad?"

"I prefer you just tell me now that you don't want to do it than act like you want in when really, you don't."

"Can I pretend that I'm interested but avoid doing stuff for another two weeks?" Chad asked. "And then I'll either start doing stuff, or I'll quit?"

Taylor paused. "I will accept that on one condition."

"And that would be?"

"When you have your actual verbal offers, don't just completely give up on your school work," Taylor requested. "Passing all your subjects and maintaining your grades should be just as much for you personally as it is a means to an end – the end being college."

Chad paused for a moment, before holding out his hand. "Deal."

* * *

When Jack arrived home from school, Troy was sitting at the dining table with his SAT study notes spread out in front of him. Lucille was pottering about in the kitchen, getting a head start on dinner.

"Good evening," Jack greeted his wife and son, kissing Lucille on the cheek. He then moved to take a seat at the dining table near Troy. "Did you look at your schedule?"

Troy purposefully finished reading the paragraph that he was on before looking up. "Yeah. How soon do I have to start doing these visit things? I mean, we get back after winter break and everything is gonna be crazy for a while."

"Jack, could you keep your ear out for the stove, and if the water bubbles over turn the heat down?" Lucille called out. "I'm just going to take a quick shower."

Jack nodded. "Will do." His attention shifted back to Troy, who had already refocused his eyes to the page on front of him.

"Troy? I'm about to tell you something that I shouldn't be telling you," Jack began ominously. Troy looked up from his notes, finally giving full attention to his father. "As a teacher at your school, I fully encourage you to be taking up different pursuits and I applaud you for all the work you've been putting into your studies and preparation for the SATs this weekend. As your father, I'm proud of you for taking on everything you have and being so responsible and mature about it all. But what I'm about to tell you, I'm telling you because as your Coach, I think you need to keep this in mind."

"Okay…" Troy said slowly, inviting his father to elaborate.

Jack paused. "Different people have different life paths. They can take different routes to get to the same destination. While your classmates are stressing about their SATs, I know that you know deep down that in reality, you don't need to do really well in them. Just like you aren't going to be relying upon a well rounded application, or great marks in advanced courses to get into college. You've decided that you want to pursue college basketball, and so your path involves being recruited. And to be recruited, you need to focus on your game, and you need to focus now. You need to get a C average so the school doesn't ban you from playing. And you need is to spend the next two weeks playing the best basketball you can possibly play. What you need is to take the schools who've shown interest in you seriously, and then after the championships follow them up. If you do that, it's all going to fall into place."

Troy stared at his father. "Is this your way of telling me to not bother to study for the SATs, or to not bother with my physics homework?" Troy asked incredulously.

"This is where the telling you something I shouldn't be telling you comes in," Jack said with a sigh. "No, I'm not saying that. You've put months of dedication into preparing for the SATs, it would be ridiculous to just give up now. But you asked me how soon you need to be doing these college visits. The answer is as soon as possible. You shouldn't be putting it off because you have midterms. You should be working your studies around this. Not the other way around. It's about prioritisation, Troy."

"I actually get all of that. I really do. I quit the yearbook committee today, since I hadn't even done anything for it anyway. And I already told Kelsi that she'd better not be going to write another composition for the drama club where she expects me to audition, because I won't be. And well, as for my classes – if you went and talked to my teachers like you used to, then you'd know that it's not like I'm producing genius level work. Basketball is my priority, it always has been."

Jack nodded. "Okay. So I'm going to ask you again. Have you looked at your schedule yet?"

Troy let out a long winded sigh, and scratched the back of his neck. "The weekend after championships," he finally said. "If for some reason we don't make it, then I'll set up something for that weekend too. Maybe with Connecticut or somewhere. But let's set up Butler for the weekend after championships. I can fly there on the Friday night, back on the Sunday night."

Jack grinned. "Atta boy. Let's go look at flights now."

"Can we do it after dinner?"

"No time like the present."

"But I can hear mom's pot boiling over."

Jack leapt up, dashing toward the stove in the kitchen. Troy merely shook his head, and refocused his attention to his SAT notes.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Comments, remarks, requests, criticism, suggestions, feedback, roses and rotting tomatoes can be directed to the Review button - see it, it's just below this line... :-) -Dani xo


	5. Chapter 5

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **Thanks one and all for the fabulous support. Oh, and Audrey rocks my world. Enough said.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_I love you with everything that's in me  
Did you know that?  
You'll be the first that's ever been so close  
You should know that  
I've been loving you since the beginning  
For what it's worth I've always been waiting for this moment_

_**Backstreet Boys 'Let's Do It For Love'**_

* * *

Troy blearily opened his eyes, feeling the weight of something heavy on his left thigh. He glanced down and saw his SAT prep folder splayed open and resting on his lap, and realised he must have fallen asleep while reading through his notes. Troy glanced over at his bedside table to look at the time, and immediately sprang awake.

"Fuck!"

He was due to arrive at Gabriella's in approximately nine minutes. Immediately Troy leapt for his cell to dial her number, and put her on speaker phone.

"_Morning!"_ Gabriella's bright and chirpy voice came through the speaker.

"I-just-woke-up-so-if-I-am-a-tiny-bit-late-don't-panic-I-promise-we-won't-be-late-to-school," Troy said in a rush, as he pilfered through his drawers and hastily pulled out boxers, jeans and a blue and green striped polo.

"_My mom is still here, should I ask her for a lift?"_

"If you want, it's up to you. But I am male and I can get ready in about thirty seconds." He realised he needed to wear something Wildcat themed given there was a pep rally at lunch for the first Playoff game that night. So he tossed the polo shirt across the room and went hunting through the drawer again, locating his red t-shirt with silver Wildcats lettering. He also grabbed his basketball uniform and tracksuit, tossing them onto his bed ready to pack in his gym bag.

"_Okay then. Don't rush, we don't need to be early."_

"I'll see you soon, love you."

His cell phone was placed onto his desk and he hurried toward the bathroom with his clothing items. He took the quickest shower of his life, knowing that he desperately needed to shave so he needed to save time. He emerged from the shower; pulled on his boxers, jeans and t-shirt; and then turned to the mirror to hastily slap shaving cream onto his chin. Troy miraculously managed to avoid cutting himself, but he did succeed in squirting shaving cream onto his shirt. He sighed in exasperation and pulled the shirt off and threw it against the wall in annoyance. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, content that it would have to do. He stumbled back toward his bedroom – and was met by the back of a certain petite, dark haired girl; wearing a pair of grey jeans, a red tank top and a white cropped midriff cardigan.

"Hello?" Troy said questioningly, pleasantly surprised to see her there.

Gabriella turned around from where she was packing items into his gym bag and smiled broadly. "Morning you," she said, and strode over to press a quick kiss to his lips.

"How…"

"My mom was leaving so I got her to drive me here. And I know about the key in the flowerpot by the side gate, remember?" Gabriella explained. She gestured toward his backpack and gym bag that were both sitting on his now neatly made bed. "I packed your school bag and your gym bag, but I would just make sure that I got everything right with your gym bag, I got those smelly disgusting socks you wear all the time…"

"Hey! They're my lucky socks," Troy said defensively.

".. or underwear you wear for matches, like I know you can't wear boxers but…"

"How long was I in the bathroom?" Troy pondered out loud, and came over to look through his gym bag.

"I don't know, but mom was literally walking out the door when you called. I could hear the shower still going when I arrived."

"Spot on," he declared in reference to her gym bag packing efforts. He then moved to search through his drawer to find another shirt. He settled upon his long sleeved white shirt with red sleeves and pulled it over his head.

"Excellent," Gabriella declared, pleased with herself. "Were you up late studying?"

Troy nodded. "I woke up with my SAT folder on my lap, so I didn't even set an alarm before crashing. Of course mom started work early today, and also dad had to pick this morning to be going into school ridiculously early and not give a second thought to me."

They headed out to the kitchen. Troy moved toward the pantry to grab a couple of slices of bread and a jar of peanut butter, while Gabriella opened the fridge.

"Well your mom was looking after you," she commented with a smile, pulling out the packed lunch Lucille had made for him.

"I don't know how I'll survive in college," Troy confessed. "I think two minute noodles are going to be a major part of my diet."

He didn't even bother to toast the bread, just dipped each slice into the peanut butter jar. Gabriella pulled out both the juice and milk cartons, grabbed two glasses and poured him a glass of each. Troy grinned in amusement at her knowledge that he would want a glass of each.

"This is very domesticated," he remarked.

"Does that scare you?" Gabriella asked, a smile toying on her lips.

"Not at all," Troy answered honestly. "Now be a sweetheart and grab my water bottle from the freezer while I take a leak."

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose and laughed as he moved toward the bathroom. "Very charming."

* * *

"W-I-L-D WILDCATS! You know you're on! W-I-L-D WILDCATS! Come on, come on!"

Friday's pep rally was the unveiling of a brand new set of cheers, with the cheer squad stepping it up a notch for the playoffs. The success of the first pep rally of the year had been emulated with the following pep rallies; with various fundraising events being run in conjunction. Gabriella and Ryan were manning a cotton candy machine at the back of the quad, leaving the actual running of events to the girls from the cheer squad.

Ryan had hoped that Sharpay would be able to make an official announcement about plans for the Winter Showcase, however Darbus was yet to receive confirmation from all relevant faculty members. So the drama club notice was postponed, leaving East High's winter sports program as the focus of the pep rally. The efforts of members of the wrestling and swim teams were celebrated, met by genuinely excited cheers from the crowd. The girls' field hockey team had won its match on Wednesday night; consequently securing their place in their playoffs which were due to kick off after winter vacation.

The cotton candy machine was set up just beside a bench, where Taylor, Kelsi and Martha had all positioned themselves. Taylor's attendance was slightly under duress – she would have much preferred to have been at the library studying. To her own surprise she'd actually begun to enjoy the various school spirit events throughout the year, but with SATs commencing in less than twenty hours, the quad was the last place she wanted to be. She did have her notes open in front of her. The rest of the group was taking the lunch hour as a welcome relief. Teachers had allowed students in each of their classes most of the lesson as a study hall, answering last minute questions and providing final pieces of advice.

Taylor glanced up in annoyance as the cheers from the students became louder.

"Taylor, stop looking around at everyone like that! It's a pep rally!" Gabriella admonished.

"I didn't want to come, you guys dragged me here," Taylor reminded her.

"Because you have been living in the library this week, and your brain is going to explode if you don't give yourself some time off. You need to chillax!" Martha advised.

"Chillax? _Chillax?_" Taylor repeated. "The SATs are tomorrow and you want me to CHILLAX?!"

"Who here likes basketball?!" Paula's cry rang over the speakers.

The cheers of support from the student body reached their loudest point yet, as the cheerleaders began the traditional process of introducing the East High basketball team member by member. Taylor leaned over to Martha. "I support these guys, I'm friends with some of them, I know the rest of them, and I have even come to enjoy watching basketball. But I so don't understand why everyone is _shrieking _at them," Taylor said witheringly.

Martha smiled sympathetically at Taylor.

"Gimme a J… Gimme an A… Gimme an S… Gimme an O… Gimme an N… what's it spell?! JASON!"

Both Martha and Kelsi leapt to their feet, cheering madly.

"GO JC!!!" Martha shouted.

Taylor rolled her eyes, her focus returning to the study notes in her lap. She clapped politely when Chad was introduced; and glanced up at Gabriella in amusement when she stood on her chair behind the stand to call out to Troy. He was the final person introduced, and as the cheers were dying down and he was acquiring the microphone from Paula, Gabriella called out, "Love you baby!"

Troy's eyes sparkled as he looked out and saw Gabriella wildly applauding from her place standing on the chair. He flashed a toothy grin and looked directly at her as he winked.

"So firstly I'd just like to thank the organisers of the high school basketball competition for putting our first playoff game the night before the SATs," Troy began, to be met by a light laughter. "You guys have been so awesome with supporting us throughout the competition this year. If you've never played competitive sport, then just take my word for it when I say that having people supporting us from the crowd is massively motivational and we're really grateful. If you're not in senior year then we'd love to see you guys come out to support us tonight, here at East High, the game begins at 7:30. To the rest of the seniors, good luck with the SATs tomorrow, we'll forgive you for not coming along to support us tonight. I'll probably see some of you around in the library this afternoon, feel free to come by, we're doing a big group study thing, the seniors from our team and the cheer squad are going to be there, and a whole bunch of other people. And I might be killed for saying this, but my girlfriend will help anyone with any last minute tutoring required."

"Yeah Gab!" Chad called from behind Troy.

Gabriella made a face at Troy, to which he responded with a cheeky, sheepish smile.

"And so I guess there's only one thing left to say," Troy said, and glanced around at his team mates.

"WHAT TEAM?" The team bellowed.

"WILDCATS!" Students shouted in reply.

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS!"

"WILDCATS!"

"GETCHA HEAD IN THE GAME!"

* * *

SAT Countdown.

Thirteen hours and seven minutes.

Playoffs Countdown.

Twenty two minutes.

The bleachers of the East High gymnasium were fast becoming filled. Across the auditorium where the Albuquerque Academy supporters were gathering, they were sitting casually, laughing, joking, relaxing. East High's support base wasn't affected by the December SAT date for East High seniors; with parents and siblings out in greater force and the younger grades of East High making up for the slightly dented appearance of senior students.

Meanwhile in the Wildcats locker room, Troy was in the midst of his pre-game self motivational session. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and he looked up to see the Assistant Coach.

"Troy? Miss Montez is out in the main corridor. She didn't say so but I suspect she may have been looking for you."

A smile formed on Troy's face and he leapt up and shot out into the corridor that separated the boys and girls areas. His smile brightened further upon seeing her. Gabriella was glancing around somewhat curiously, not having spent a great deal of her time in the area. She glanced up, seeing him approach. He was dressed in his kit ready for the game, with his white and red warm up jacket over the top.

"Hey," Gabriella greeted him, pressing a chaste to his lips. "How did you know I was here?"

"The assistant coach said he saw you out here."

"Oh. I just wanted to come say good luck once more."

"Thank you," Troy said, truly appreciative of her presence. She had a calming aura upon the nerves that he'd felt building up over the last half hour. He'd been able to distract himself with SAT study throughout the afternoon, but once his focus shifted solely to game mode, the butterflies had emerged.

"I'm going to come back for the end of the game," Gabriella told him. "I'm just about to go do another practice essay question."

"Are you hungry? Did you eat dinner? I can get you some money and you can…"

Gabriella's palm rose and rested on his chest. "Troy," she said softly. "I'm fine. I ate a sandwich and I have a granola bar in my bag. Don't worry about me. Now go on. You go finish getting ready."

Troy nodded. "Thank you. Just seeing you now… it helps a lot, you've no idea how much."

"You can do it, Wildcat. I know it," Gabriella said, and pressed her lips to his for one final tender kiss.

* * *

The Albuquerque Academy cheer squad was the first to appear in the entrance from the locker rooms, lining up on either side and cheering as the boys emerged on court. The girls then made their formation in front of the Alligators supporters, allowing the Wildcats cheer squad to make their way out to cheer out their team. As the boys emerged, the cheerleaders led the crowd in the traditional, "What team?" chant, waiting until all the boys had emerged before the final, "Getcha head in the game!" was shouted.

Jackets were peeled off and the two teams took the court for a last chance five minute warm up. The Wildcats tended to stick to basics, not wanting to wear themselves out or give away too much about their game too early. Troy had taken to adopting the signature of an impressive three point jump shot in the last seconds of warm up, this game being no exception. When they trotted back to the bench, Chad grasped onto Troy's shoulder.

"Don't look now, but I can see scouts up there," Chad said, his eyes flickering in the direction.

"I'm not looking at all. I'm not playing for them, I'm playing for the team," Troy said defiantly. He glanced around at his team mates. "All right guys, huddle! Let's do it!"

* * *

_**Friday December 7, 2007**_

_**Playoff Game 1 **_

_East High Wildcats72_

_Albuquerque Academy Alligators59_

"WHAT TEAM?!?!" Chad bellowed.

"WILDCATS!" The resounding response from the audience came.

"WHAT TEAM?!?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?!?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WILDCATS!!"

"GETCHA HEAD IN THE GAME!"

Troy was in a light headed daze as Paula, Monica, Liana and the rest of the senior cheerleaders bound over and planted congratulatory kisses to his cheek. Chad also came over, the boys exchanging the secret manly handshake which Troy could fortunately do in his sleep.

"Hoops, you were on fire tonight!" Chad exclaimed.

"Thanks man, you too" Troy said, before Chad ran off to shake hands with the next team member.

"Honey!" Troy heard his mother exclaim, and come rushing from the stands. Troy didn't even protest as she gave him a very public kiss and a hug. "You played so well tonight, sweetheart!"

"Thanks mama," Troy said quietly.

Lucille studied Troy carefully. "Are you okay?" she asked immediately.

"Yeah just… really tired," Troy admitted.

"Come sit," Lucille beckoned, and immediately led her son toward the bench area. She acquired a bottle of Gatorade, tore off the seal and placed it ready and open into his hands. "Do you feel faint?"

Troy shook his head. "I don't think so. I just went all out in the last ten minutes, they were coming back at us really hard. I was knocked around a bit. I think I just needed to sit for a minute."

He then glanced around the room. "Is Gabriella here? She said she was going to come for the end of the game."

"I haven't seen her," Lucille replied honestly.

"Troy!" Jack Bolton's booming voice sounded, clamping onto his son's shoulder. "You were so in the pocket tonight, especially in those last ten minutes, you really dug deep."

"Thanks Coach," Troy said simply.

Jack paused and took a closer look at Troy. "You okay?"

"I'm just tired is all. It was a rough game," Troy said dismissively.

Jack glanced at Lucille, parent mode overtaking coach mode for a brief moment.

"We're not going to debrief tonight. You can hit the showers and head home, or just head home and shower up there if you'd rather. You need to get a good sleep ready for tomorrow."

"Thanks," Troy said gratefully. He recalled post game debriefs during playoffs the previous year lasting for almost an hour.

"Expect Monday's training to go longer, we'll debrief at the beginning," Jack explained.

"Did you hear who won the other games yet?" Troy asked.

"You'll be playing Freedom next week, they beat Highland. West High won their game straight up after school. And the fourth game finishes in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, I'm gonna get my sh… stuff," Troy corrected sheepishly, glancing between his two parents. "And go find Gabriella and get out of here, and just shower at home," Troy announced abruptly, standing up from the bench.

"Are you okay to drive?" Lucille said worriedly. "If you're not, I can drive you home, and Gabriella too."

"I'm cool, thanks," Troy said, shooting his mother an appreciative smile.

* * *

Troy had retrieved his belongings from his locker in the gym. He hadn't found Gabriella loitering anywhere outside the gym, and when he'd called her cell phone she hadn't responded. He was approaching panic mode, but somehow had the common sense to head toward the library. Surely enough, he found her in the private study corrals. She was hunched over her notes, pen flying across the page. She wasn't the only one around, a few other students were also in the area. He approached quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. His hand came down softly to touch her on the back.

Her head snapped up as she jumped a little, startled by his presence. Slight confusion came over her face and then realisation when she glanced at her watch.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she whispered.

"Sshh it's fine," Troy hushed her, smiling comfortingly. He pulled up the chair from the next desk and collapsed into it.

"I was just doing this and I was going to come over and somehow I must have lost track of time and…"

"Gabriella, chill," he said, attempting to placate her. "It's fine babe, I told you that you didn't need to come."

"How was it?" she asked, biting her lip in anticipation.

Troy smiled. "We won."

She repressed an excited squeal which came out more so as a squeak, and threw her arms around him. "Congratulations," she murmured into his ear. "I really wish I could have been there."

"You were," Troy said intently, gazing into her eyes for a moment of silent adoration.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, cupping his chin gently.

"I'm just really exhausted. Are you ready to bail?"

Gabriella nodded, and proceeded to efficiently pack up her belongings and place them into her bag. Arm in arm, the pair exited the library and headed in the direction of the parking lot. Chad, Jason and Zeke were in the midst of a brief discussion between Zeke and Chad's cars.

"Hey guys, congratulations on the win," Gabriella said, greeting each of them with a hug.

"Thanks Gab," Chad said.

"You all studied and ready?" Zeke asked.

"Studied? Yes. Ready? We'll see," Gabriella said with a small smile.

Troy was leaning against Chad's car, not even finding the energy to partake in any further small talk. Gabriella sensed the signal, and it was a signal she agreed with whole heartedly.

"Okay you, let's get out of here. I turn into a pumpkin if I'm not home before 9:30 when I have SATs the next day," Gabriella prodded Troy, grasping at his arm. He nodded in agreement.

"Good night all. Awesome game tonight guys. See you's tomorrow," Troy said, nodding at the group.

Tomorrow.

SATs had been a faraway, distant concept. The present had caught up with the future.

The future was tomorrow.

* * *

When it came to important events, Gabriella was always one to be extremely early. She set her alarm clock, an extra portable alarm, the alarm on her cell phone and set up a series of calendar notes on her cell phone to also go off. There was physically no possibility of sleeping through an alarm. She'd also requested to Troy that they leave really early. She was a worst case scenario person. What if Troy got to her house and his truck didn't start, what if there was a massive traffic jam. Enough time needed to be allowed so that contingency plans could be followed if required, and still arrive at the designated location punctually. She'd pointed out to Troy that to get to the SAT Test Center – which for their test date was Highland High School – not only would they need more time because it was further away, but that they were heading through an area notorious for its traffic build ups.

7:45am was the stipulated arrival time at the examination classrooms. Troy and Gabriella arrived at the school at 7:15am. However they weren't the only people already present. Taylor, Martha, Jason and Kelsi were already present, sitting on a grassy patch out the front of the school. The notes which had simply formed an extension of Taylor were still clutched within her left hand, her right index finger trailing along each line as she read. Kelsi and Martha also had notes out but weren't quite as fixated on them. Jason was sitting and looking somewhat bleary eyed, his head drooping and his eyes fluttering closed every so often. He would then snap his head back up, resembling an awake person for a few seconds before his eyes drooped closed again. Troy tip toed up behind Jason, the rest of them watching in amusement.

"WAKE UP!" Troy bellowed in Jason's ear.

"I'm awake!" Jason protested.

"No you're not. Get off your ass, you wuss," Troy said, and punched his friend in the arm lightly. "You have to stay awake during this test, Jase. You're not off to a good start. Go for a run around or something."

Jason glared at Troy witheringly. "Fuck off, Bolton, I'll be fine."

"Maybe that is a good idea, Jason," Kelsi said tactfully. "At least stand up and move around."

She stood up herself, and Jason obligingly stood up with her. Martha didn't want to feel left out, so she also stood up to join the rest of the group. Taylor was content to linger in her bubble of vocabulary words, and remained sitting.

"Good morning everyone!" Ryan's cheerful voice sounded as he entered through the front of the school, with Sharpay in tow. Sharpay had her own set of notes which she was frantically reading over. She wasn't even watching where she was walking, was just absentmindedly following in Ryan's footsteps and nearly banged into Troy.

"Woah," Troy said, holding his arm out to stop her.

Sharpay glanced up momentarily. "Sorry," she said briefly, and took a step backward and then looked back down at her notes.

"Sup boys and girls!" Chad announced. He and Zeke had walked in from the parking lot together. "Guess whose car decided to break down this morning?"

"You should just sell that heap of shit and buy a better car," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

Chad pulled out his wallet, and mocked searching through. He pulled out his video store membership card. "Think they'll accept this instead of cash?"

The mood among the group Saturday morning was a bit different to what the mood had been like the day before. Gone were the spirited colours, the celebratory cheers. Instead, the mood was an intensely serious electric vibe of culminated anticipation. Since they'd taken the ACTs the year before, the SATs had been the focus. The day had finally arrived that they'd been talking about for months. Test scores weren't life's be all and end all. But a great SAT score was certainly viewed by most as a first step of solidifying the likelihood of being presented with desirable opportunities.

Taylor stood up suddenly. "I'm going to my examination room," she said abruptly.

"We all should," Gabriella said, and she quickly moved forward to put her arm around Taylor and ask softly, "You okay?"

Taylor nodded and responded shortly. "Fine."

"It's this way," Chad said, motioning to the left.

"No, it's this way," Martha said, gesturing to the right.

"I studied the map, and we've been here for basketball heaps of times and I'm telling you…"

"Chad," Martha interrupted, and pointed to a sign reading **'SAT Examinations This Way'** with an arrow pointing to the right.

"Oh," Chad said sheepishly.

As they headed through the school, quiet greetings were exchanged with some other classmates as they passed. There were also students from Highland High School sitting the examination, and a smattering of randoms from other schools throughout the region who'd taken an earlier examination and weren't happy with their test results. Zeke had swung his backpack around and had it in front of him, and he was rifling through in search of his stationery items.

"Where is my eraser?!?! I brought two and I can't find them anywhere!" Jason exclaimed, fishing through his backpack.

"I have a few spares," Martha said assuringly.

"Oh, it's okay, I found one," Jason said, clutching onto the white eraser triumphantly.

They followed the signs and located the corridor filled with the SAT rooms. People were gathering in the corridor, loitering around their requisite classrooms. Students had already been informed of their room assignments according to the alphabetical allocations. Zeke and Troy were in one room; Martha, Jason and Chad next door; Sharpay and Ryan in the next room along; and Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi just down the corridor. Sharpay didn't even say anything, with her notes still in her hands she wordlessly kept walking along the corridor in search of her room.

"Is she okay?" Zeke asked Ryan, his voice filled with concern.

"She gets nervous before big exams," Ryan explained. "I mean, really really really nervous."

"The girl will sing and dance and act for anyone who will watch, but she gets nervous before exams?" Chad asked incredulously.

Ryan shrugged. "Go figure. I'm gonna go sit with her. See you guys after!"

"I'm going as well," Taylor said.

"Does anyone need the bathroom?" Gabriella asked, glancing around.

"I'll come," Kelsi said.

Gabriella pressed a quick kiss to Troy's lips. "Good luck."

"You too."

The Wildcats parted ways, heading to their requisite classrooms.

Years of talk about these exams.

Months and months of preparation.

Weeks of intense stress.

And it would all come down to the next five hours of their lives.

* * *

Kelsi placed her pencil down on the desk. She'd completed the final section, gone over her responses twice, and concluded that there was nothing more that she could write. She knew from discussions with her friends that a lot of people had a habit of going through their answers over and over again. For example, Kelsi had no doubt that with Gabriella's genius she would have finished each section long before the time was completed, but nevertheless would have gone over each answer meticulously with a fine tooth comb. Kelsi was one who if she finished early and went through her answers, she would begin to doubt her responses. She would then change answers – and then it would inevitably wind up that her original, instinctive response had indeed been correct. And so Kelsi decided then and there that there was no point in continuing.

She turned over the paper and closed her eyes. A small smile filled her face as it occurred to her that if she was her boyfriend, she could have put her head down and had a nap. Jason was capable of falling asleep anywhere. All Kelsi had was the silence to entertain her, the sound of the clock ticking, of people breathing, of the occasional foot or pencil tapping. There were only a few minutes remaining but it was the longest few minutes of Kelsi's life.

A few rows forward, Gabriella was going through her answers painstakingly, one by one. She'd taken her time in the first instance, learning from her PSATs and other practice sessions that if she went at her natural speed she finished with a ridiculous amount of time spare. And so she had taken her time answering, and was now in the process of glancing from her answer page to the question booklet, ensuring no errors had been made, that she'd filled in every answer bubble, that the lead pencil filled in the entirety of each of the circles, and that that she'd filled in her details correctly.

Taylor was frantically going through each of her answers. She'd found a decent pace, and finished with ample time remaining to check over her responses. However she'd encountered a question she wasn't sure about and went back to redo it again, changing her answer from D to B, then back to D, then back to B, and then finally back to D again. She then had to rush through to check her other responses. In perfect timing, she checked the final question just as the proctors announced that the time was up, that all writing must cease and pencils were to be placed down.

The collection of test papers was a blur. Taylor didn't even recollect her paper being taken, she just recalled staring at the head of the person in front of her one moment, then looking down to see that her paper was gone.

She was the first of the three girls in their room to leave – as they left alphabetically – and stood waiting for Gabriella and Kelsi just outside. Gabriella was only two people behind her, and grabbed onto Taylor's arm.

"Oh my God I can't believe it's over," Gabriella exclaimed, now that they were free of the room of silence.

"Neither can I," Taylor said, a little blankly.

A few moments later and Kelsi appeared.

"Oh my God it's over!" Kelsi exclaimed. "I am convinced that I totally blew the essay!"

"I'm sure you did fine," Gabriella said assuringly.

They remained in the sea of people leaving their rooms, just following the swell of the crowd toward the front doors. Just as they passed the first room, Troy appeared in the doorway to join Zeke who was standing just by the door. Zeke gestured over to where he could see the three girls within the masses.

"Yo girls!" Zeke called, his hands cupping his mouth.

About a dozen girls all looked over; fortunately Kelsi was one of them.

"Hey!" Kelsi exclaimed. "How'd you go?"

"That pretty much blew," Zeke said with a half hearted laugh.

Troy ducked and weaved through the people to slip in beside Gabriella and press a kiss to her cheek. "Was it just me, or was that harder than all the practices combined?"

"Hmm, I thought the math was easier, but the English was harder," Gabriella mused.

"I thought the opposite," Kelsi contributed.

"How much did you write for the essay?" Taylor asked Troy urgently. "I know they said quality over quantity but I kept thinking that I hadn't written enough and I went back to add more and…"

"There was an essay?" Troy asked jokingly. "Ohh is that was the blank page was for? I just drew this picture of a basketball court and was working on plays for the second playoff."

Gabriella giggled and thwacked him on the arm. "Troy!" He smiled cheekily.

"I was being serious," Taylor said impatiently.

"I know that Tay, and the truth is that I don't remember. I would finish a section and then it totally left my brain. I don't remember anything, it's like my brain doesn't want to remember it. It's repressed the whole experience," Troy attempted to explain.

"I'm the same, I hardly remember anything," Kelsi agreed.

Taylor pursed her lips. "Zeke? How much did you write?"

"I bet about a tenth of what you would have written, so don't look to me for comparison," Zeke commented.

Taylor anxiously turned to Gabriella. "What about the question about the Chinese restaurant, what answer did you have for that?"

"I don't remember," Gabriella said calmly, lying through her teeth.

"Don't lie, you remember! Your brain remembers stuff like this!" Taylor insisted.

"Taylor, chill," Troy advised.

Taylor glared at Troy momentarily. Gabriella sighed, and rubbed her friends back soothingly. "Taylor, there's no point in going through it. You can't change your answers. Going through it is just going to make weeks of waiting for results even harder. So seriously, you need to try to relax and just focus on the fact that it's over."

They'd reached the outside of the building and moved off the footpath to wait out of the way for the rest of their friends. Gabriella pulled Taylor away a little from the others.

"I think I would feel better if you would just tell me the answers so I can prepare myself."

"Taylor, you know as well as I do that the English half of that exam was really subjective. I can't guarantee you any of my answers were correct. And I really don't understand how they mark the essays. So again, I'm not seeing the point in going through anything."

Chad, Martha and Jason appeared from the building. The latter two were walking calmly, talking to each other. Chad, however, was running along excitedly, weaving between people and pumping his fist in the air. "WE SURVIVED THE SATS!" He was shouting for anyone who would listen. He ran up to some students he didn't know who attended a nearby school, and clapped one of them on the back before shouting merrily once more, "WE SURVIVED! WE DID IT!"

Chad spotted where the rest of the crew were all hanging out on the lawn, and ran over to stand between Troy and Zeke.

"I feel a desperate need to get extremely drunk. Right now," Chad declared. "Who is with me?"

"Hell yes," Zeke declared, and the guys exchanged a high five.

"JC, you in?" Chad asked.

Jason and Martha had just reached the group.

"Am I in for what?" Jason asked.

"Beer," Zeke explained.

"Uhhh maybe?" Jason said questioningly. "I'm kinda tired."

"Go home and have a sleep and then there will be beer. And lots of it," Chad said. "Bolton?"

"Yeah maybe," Troy said vaguely, not particularly feeling the inclination to drink at all. "Sleep will be first. Then I'll see."

"Where is this beer coming from? And where are you planning to consume it?" Martha pointed out.

Chad waved his hand away at her. "Details, details. One of the footballers will do something, I'm sure. If not, we can loiter around at the park."

He moved over to where Gabriella and Taylor were standing just away from the group.

"So, freaky smart girls, how piss easy did you find that?" Chad queried.

"It was okay," Gabriella said vaguely.

Taylor didn't respond, she now had her calculator out and was trying to work through a formula.

"Tayor, stop it," Gabriella reprimanded.

"McKessie, walk with me," Chad said, taking Taylor by the arm.

"Chad…"

"No arguments. Come on," he urged, and gave Gabriella a small smile before leading Taylor away. They walked in silence over to a bench which was positioned under a shady tree. "Sit," Chad prodded, and she obliged him.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

Taylor sighed and looked up at him. "I don't know. It's… surreal. My life has centred around preparation for today for months, studying, seeing tutors after school, doing practice exams. And now it's over and I know there's nothing more that I can do. It's…"

"It's out of your control?" Chad supplied.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Can I take a raincheck on the Starbucks plan? I just… I don't feel like it."

Chad nodded. "That's cool, I understand. It is just a raincheck though, you're postponing not cancelling?"

Taylor nodded. "Definitely." She leaned forward, her head resting in her palms.

"Do you feel okay? You look a little…" Chad paused, searching for the word. "Well, pale, if that's possible."

"I don't know. I don't feel sick but I just don't feel right."

"Give me your keys and let me drive you home," Chad requested imploringly.

"It's okay, I'll be fine. You go hang and celebrate with your beer."

Chad shook his head. "That's not til later. I think everyone will be going off to do their own thing now. And my thing is driving you home."

Taylor sensed the stubbornness in his tone and didn't really have it within her to argue. She wordlessly reached into the front pocket of her bag, retrieved her keys and handed them over. Chad quickly jogged over to the Wildcats.

"I'm gonna drive Taylor home," Chad said, waving her keys in front of them. "I'll text some people, surely someone's parents are away, and let you guys know."

They all nodded and said their goodbyes, and watched as Chad led Taylor out to the parking lot.

"It seems crazy that of all of us, Taylor would have been the most prepared and yet she's the one freaking out," Zeke commented.

"That just means she's the one who put the most pressure on herself," Martha pointed out. "I mean we all want to do well… but Taylor wants to get into Harvard so desperately. And the fact is that for her, this exam is the be all and end all."

Ryan approached his group of friends, Sharpay trailing slightly behind him.

"Hey guys, how did you go?" Kelsi asked.

Ryan wrinkled up his nose. "Okay. I thought I might have gone worse."

"What about you, Sharpay?" Zeke asked.

Sharpay tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder. "The SATs are irrelevant to me. Juilliard doesn't care about silly essays and vocabulary. Ryan, come on, we can't be late for rehearsal."

"Just a second. Were we going to hang or anything tonight?" Ryan asked, glancing around at everyone.

"There was a mention of beer," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes.

"Great. Keep me posted. We're in rehearsal for our Christmas performing arts showcase til about five, but after that I'm up for whatever."

"Ryan!" Sharpay said impatiently, her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah yeah, settle down. We've got heaps of time."

"We'll let you know," Troy said with a nod.

Ryan smiled and departed with Sharpay.

"Right, I think I'm going to take off," Troy said with a yawn.

"I was thinking about chilling with some DVDs," Jason mused. "Do y'all want to come over?"

"Sure," Kelsi said immediately.

Martha hesitated, waiting for Zeke's response.

"Sounds cool," Zeke said.

"I'm in," Martha said.

Troy hesitated and glanced at Gabriella. "Uhh… I kinda just want to go home. But, if you want to go…"

"I don't think I'll stay awake for the length of a movie," Gabriella said honestly. "But we might see you guys later on if Chad sorts something out."

The remainder of the group headed toward the parking lot, Jason going with Zeke and Kelsi going with Martha to follow behind the guys; and Gabriella and Troy to his truck.

"Coming to hang at mine?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. "Onward we go."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella entered the Bolton household and Troy immediately went to the fridge to grab a glass of juice for each of them. There was a note on the fridge from Troy's parents informing him that they gone to the grocery store. The thought didn't even cross his mind that he and Gabriella would have a bit of privacy. Instead he picked up his glass of juice and led Gabriella through to his room. Troy put his glass down onto his bedside table, kicked his shoes off and collapsed on his bed. He patted the space beside him, and Gabriella was more than willing to oblige. She similarly slipped her shoes off and then cuddled up beside him.

"So, how are you feeling? Really?" Troy asked, caressing her thigh gently.

Gabriella shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "That is not a real answer."

She smiled. "I appreciate that you asked me. Most people… they'll ask me with this tone where I know that they don't really care what I have to say. If I said that I found it really hard, they'd just assume that I was trying to make them feel better. People just expect that I find it easy, they expect I'll do well."

Troy shifted onto his side, his arm draped over her middle."I know what that's like. If I get a jump shot, it's just the norm. If I miss, it's like, what the hell?"

"Exactly. And that's how I feel here. I wish there were no expectations. If I do well, I would like to feel excited about it, not complacent."

"But you don't really care about other peoples expectations do you, it's more about the expectations you put upon yourself?"

"Maybe," Gabriella conceded. "And you?"

"I'm too tired to comprehend that it is over. It was like last night, when the buzzer went and I had no energy suddenly. The minute they said the time was up, it was like my brain stopped functioning, I had no energy to care about how I went or whether this question was right or whatever."

They laid in silence for a moment. Gabriella turned onto her side, facing away from him and allowed him to pull her closer into him.

"I feel so tired," Troy whispered in a hushed done by her ear, his arm encircling around her waist a little tighter.

"Then sleep," Gabriella murmured.

"What about you?"

"I want to sleep too."

"Do you want me to take you home to sleep?"

"No. Here is good."

That was all the convincing Troy needed. "Kay."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Apologies for taking a while to get this chapter up, I write ahead and the current chapters I'm writing have been absolute hell and I keep getting distracted by other stuff. Not to mention work/Christmas related stress. So yes... forgive me please. And please review with your thoughts. :-) -Dani xo


	6. Chapter 6

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter Disclaimer – **Acknowledgement to the genius of Shakespeare for the line I have utilised.

**Author's Note – **Kudos to Kylie (cj. xox. dancerella; also known as 'the other half of my brain') for assistance with Lucille's grocery list; and also with the provision of some technical dance terminology. And thanks as always to the fabulous Audrey for beta-ing.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Dance with me_

_For this moment in time_

_My darling, just dance with me_

_If only for one night_

'Dance With Me' - Drew Seeley

* * *

Lucille and Jack Bolton returned home after an arduous trip to the grocery store around Saturday lunch time. Jack had agreed to accompany his wife under the guise that it would be a quick trip. A quick trip became a two hour adventure. In particular, it was the scrutiny over what needed to be purchased that had made the trip so lengthy.

"Ugh," Jack grunted under the weight of the canvas grocery bags he had pulled out of the trunk. "I think you went a bit over the top here, sweetheart."

"Isn't a mother allowed to purchase a few of her son's favourite foods?" Lucille asked, as they entered the house.

"A _few_ of her son's favourite foods?" Jack repeated incredulously. They entered the kitchen and placed the bags onto the bench. Jack acquired the bag which he had purposely made Lucille put through as a separate bill – wanting to know just how much she had spent on him.

"Lucky Charm cereal, Oreos, triple chocolate fudge ice cream…" Jack began listing, as he took the items out of the bag and lined them up along the counter top.

"Which you will inevitably consume half of," Lucille interrupted.

Jack continued. "… an entire carton of cream soda cans, a package of mini Baby Ruth chocolate bars; and then we begin the countdown of his favourite meals. For tonight alone we have barbeque ribs, steaks, an entire bag of potatoes…"

"He loves my mashed potato! And don't be silly Jack, the entire bag of potatoes isn't for tonight."

"And then we have the ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese for tomorrow, and then chicken parmigiana on Monday…"

"We have to eat, Jack, what's wrong with selecting meals that I know my son will enjoy?"

"Fine, I'll allow the chicken and steak and spaghetti, but all this other garbage? Troy is in the middle of a high intensity athletic competition. Are you trying to get him out of shape?" Jack asked.

"Oh please, the amount of training that boy does, you'll have him working off the carbs in no time," Lucille said dismissively. "I'm more worried about his teeth rotting, personally."

"Anyway… on top of favourite food, we have the latest issue of Sports Illustrated…"

"… which you will undoubtedly also read."

"And new socks? Why on earth does he need new socks?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, I actually may have ruined his lucky socks in the wash this morning," Lucille confessed, her voice lowering. "So hopefully this will soften the blow."

"You should have bought him condoms, those he would appreciate," Jack said quietly under his breath – but evidently not quietly enough.

"Jack!" Lucille exclaimed, mortified.

"Oh, come on. You know it's true."

"We are not discussing this," Lucille said stiffly. Troy's truck was parked out the front, so she knew he was home after his exam that morning. "Troy?" she called out.

Jack rolled his eyes and returned to the garage to retrieve the final bags from the car.

"Troy?" Lucille called again. She glanced out into the backyard, and seeing no sign of him moved toward his bedroom. She knocked on the door. "Troy?"

She paused and waited. She didn't hear a response but went ahead and opened the door and peered into the room.

There were many things that could leave a permanent scar upon a mother, things which she should not be subjected to viewing under any circumstances. There was the first time she'd witnessed her son and his girlfriend making out rather zealously in the backyard; or going back further to when he was fourteen and she walked in on him 'reading a magazine' which to the present day she didn't know how he had acquired.

And now to add to that list was the sight of her son asleep, cuddled up with his girlfriend. It didn't matter that they were fully clothed or that they were on top of the comforter. What mattered was that the door had been closed and the pair were so tightly entwined, in a manner that was simply not natural for a pair of innocent individuals to be discovered in. Lucille remained standing, staring in disbelief. When Jack re-entered the house with the final set of grocery bags, he spotted Lucille's frozen stance in the entrance to Troy's room and peeked around the corner to see what she was looking at.

Jack was about to crack a joke, and ask whether she was rethinking his condom suggestion – but upon seeing the mortified look upon his wife's face, he thought better. He reached out to close the door.

"Lucy, they're just sleeping. They're probably tired," he said quietly. "You saw him after the game last night, he was exhausted."

"They may sleep, but not like… that…" Lucille said, glancing toward the door.

"What, you're going to wake them up and tell them they must remain two inches apart?"

"Five inches more like it."

She moved her hand toward the door handle, but Jack held her back. "Lucy."

"Let me at least leave the door open. That's a house rule anyway, that they aren't allowed to be in there with the door closed," she pointed out.

Jack had no come back, and so allowed his wife to quietly ease the door open. One final distasteful glance into the room and she walked away, heading back into the kitchen.

"These things need to go into the fridge," she murmured, picking up the meat and other dairy products she'd purchased.

She turned back toward the bench, her hand grazing over the top of the Lucky Charm cereal box. When Troy was a little boy, he used to argue with his mother in the cereal section of the grocery store, and insist that she had to purchase Lucky Charms. She would reserve it for special occasions, or as a reward for good behaviour. He'd grown out of the fixation, however every so often Lucille would purchase it and she would see the bright smile on Troy's face upon seeing it in the pantry.

"Is this one of these 'my little boy is growing up' moments?" Jack queried gently.

Lucille looked at her husband somewhat sheepishly, her eyes shining with slight tears. "Maybe."

* * *

Meanwhile, Chad had driven Taylor back to her house following the SATs. The entire ride had been void of conversation, with the soft sounds of Sarah McLachlan filling her Jeep. Taylor hadn't invited Chad inside, however he took it upon himself to follow her into her house. She found a note from her mom on the kitchen counter detailing that she was at the mall.

"Do you want something to drink?" Taylor asked, and then added upon second thought, "Other than beer."

"Juice would be great."

Taylor obtained two glasses and poured a drink for both Chad and herself. She then went to sit at the dining table. A pile of her textbooks were in an organised stack at the far end. She absentmindedly reached out for her drama textbook.

"Maybe I should start organising my notes for midterms," Taylor commented. "I've been putting off doing that for a while."

"We've just taken like, the biggest exam of our lives. Don't you feel the need to just sit and chill for a bit?" Chad queried.

"No," Taylor said frankly. "I need to be doing something. You guys were right, there's no point in analysing the exam because I can't change it. But I need to be doing something. If not organising my midterms notes, then I could start planning for decathlon season, or plan the next chemistry club event, or attend to some Yearbook committee matters."

"Taylor! You're scaring me," Chad said. He yanked the textbook from her reach and placed it back onto the pile. "I get that you want to do something and not just sit and stew about it, but couldn't that something be to like, watch a DVD, or read your favourite book, or even play Scrabble?"

"None of those things are very productive, are they? Just because the SATs are over, it doesn't mean that the world stops turning. I still have all this other stuff to do," Taylor pointed out.

She reached out for her book again, but Chad held out his hand and grasped onto her arm, stopping her. "It's not about being productive. It's about taking a break so that your brain doesn't explode. I know that you get this, and there is being organised and dedicated and then there is this place that you've hit these last couple of weeks."

Taylor let out an exasperated sigh. "I have had to go to that place. I know that you think that I'm really intelligent, but the fact is that I'm no different to thousands and thousands of other people out there who have also applied to Harvard."

"Why are you so hung up on Harvard, anyway?"

Taylor blinked. "Why am I so hung up on Harvard? That's like me asking you why you'd love to play college ball at UCLA."

"I'd be happy with a guaranteed spot at the U of A, though," Chad said. "Basketball is basketball, opportunities are opportunities. Wherever they might be."

"Have you ever been somewhere and just known that it was a place that you were meant to be?" Taylor asked.

Chad paused. "Um… no?"

"That's what Harvard is like for me. I can't explain it in any other way."

"Okay. You know what Harvard likes?"

"Tell me Chad, what does Harvard like?" Taylor said, humouring him.

"Harvard wants its potential future freshman to take some time out once in a while, so that they don't burn themselves out before college has even started. And so you and I are going to watch a DVD."

"What if I don't want to watch a DVD with you?"

"Then I will leave and you will watch a DVD alone," Chad declared.

"Then how will you know that I actually watch the DVD?"

"Because you would never, ever lie to me. Would you?"

Taylor's lips curved into a small smile. "Very true."

"So am I staying or going?"

"I suppose you can stay. Just so you can make sure that I don't slip and casually bring out some study notes to sit beside me on the couch."

Chad grinned. "Awesome. So we need something funny and light and ridiculous. Not some deep, insightful, what is the meaning of life kind of movie."

"I don't own anything like what you are suggesting."

"That's why we're going to look at the box of DVDs your sister never took with her to college."

* * *

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open and she took a moment to comprehend where she was. Troy's arm draped over her side, and his blue denim clad leg entwined with her black denim one. His breathing was heavy, almost wheezing, border lining upon snoring. Gabriella carefully eased herself away from him. He stirred a little but didn't awaken; he merely repositioned himself and continued to sleep.

She frowned a little, seeing that Troy's door was open and recalling with perfect clarity that she had closed it when they came into the room. She then heard the distant hum of the television from the family room – realising then that Troy's parents must have returned home. She quietly padded out of Troy's room, closed the door behind her and then headed in the direction of the bathroom, the pressure against her bladder being the reason she'd woken up in the first place. However Lucille Bolton had moved to the kitchen and spotted Gabriella's return from the bathroom.

"Hi sweetheart," Lucille greeted Gabriella.

Gabriella hesitated for a brief moment and then smiled brightly and headed across to the kitchen. "Wow, we just totally crashed there. One minute we were talking and then the next I was waking up."

Lucille smiled. "So I saw. How was the exam?"

Gabriella knew in that moment that Troy's mother had witnessed their nap and that her suspicion that the door had purposefully been opened was accurate. But if Lucille was willing to just move past it and change the subject, so too was Gabriella. She shrugged. "It's hard to tell. I prefer things when they are objective, but even the wording in some of the math was a bit ambiguous. I know how to do the formulas, but I had to sit and make sure that I was doing the right formula and answering what they wanted me to answer."

"Can I get you anything?" Lucille asked, gesturing toward the fridge.

"A glass of water would be lovely."

Gabriella absentmindedly raked her fingers through her hair, concerned that it would be all mussed up from sleeping on it. She pulled back one of the chairs at the bench and sat down.

"What's all this?" she asked curiously, noting the chocolate bars, cereal and biscuits on the bench. "More nieces and nephews coming to visit?"

"See, I told you it was a bunch of childish garbage," Jack's teasing voice sounded as he came in from the backyard.

"Oh be quiet," Lucille said, rolling her eyes at Jack.

"Hi Coach Bolton," Gabriella said brightly.

"Gabriella, I see one of you has decided to return to the land of the awake," Jack remarked.

Gabriella smiled. "I can't explain how tired I felt after that exam. And Troy looked wrecked, even more wrecked than after the game last night. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't wake up til the morning."

"It's all over now, anyway. Care to watch some ESPN with me at all?" Jack asked, as he moved toward the television.

"Oh Jack, don't subject the poor girl to your shouting at the television."

Gabriella giggled. The landline telephone began to ring, and Lucille walked over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Mrs B, how you doing today? Not working?"_ Chad's cheerful voice came over the phone.

"No, they decided to let me have the whole weekend off for one," Lucille replied. "You sound rather bright and chirpy for someone who just completed his SATs."

"_It's over! Of course I'm bright and chirpy."_

Lucille laughed. "Well if you were after Troy, he's passed out asleep at the moment."

"_That would explain why he didn't answer his cell."_

"I can provide you with an awake Gabriella, if that is useful at all."

"_Oh, I suppose she'll have to do."_

"Okay then, here she is."

Lucille handed over the mouthpiece. "It's Chad," she informed Gabriella.

Gabriella took the phone from Lucille. "Hey Chad," she said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"_Hey Gab, have you and Troy made plans for tonight?"_

"No, we literally came back here and crashed and then I woke up and now I'm talking to you."

"_I was texting Marcus – you know Marcus, right?"_

Gabriella paused. "Ummm… should I?"

"_He's on the swim team. You've been at East High almost a year, you don't have excuses to not know people anymore! Anyway, we're having a bit of a celebration at his place. You don't need to bring anything, just a bit of money to pitch in for the fund."_

"Okay. I'm not sure yet, but I'll let Troy know. What time?"

"_A bit later on, from about 8 he said."_

"Does Troy know the address?"

"_I'll text it just in case, but he should."_

"We'll let you know. Hey, are you at Taylor's?"

"_Yeah."_

"Is she going to come?"

"_I'm trying to talk her into it, I think she will."_

"I hope you're keeping her stress free."

"_We watched a DVD and now we're gonna cook something for a late lunch."_

"You and Taylor are going to cook?" Gabriella said sceptically.

"_Yeah. Should be interesting,"_ Chad said with a laugh. _"Anyway, I'd better go, let me know if you guys are going to swing by."_

"Will do, talk to you later."

Gabriella pressed the end call button on the phone and went over to replace it onto its hook.

"Plans for tonight?" Lucille asked casually.

"I'm not sure yet," Gabriella said truthfully. "There's some get together at some guys house who I don't even know. Troy might want to go but it doesn't really interest me."

"Where might Troy want to go?" Troy's sleepy voice asked.

Gabriella and Lucille glanced up, seeing Troy standing there with mussed up hair, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, you just missed Chad, he called for you," Lucille said.

Troy shrugged. "Meh. Where might I want to go?" He slid onto the bench chair beside Gabriella.

"Just some get together at Marcus's later tonight," Gabriella said casually.

He wrinkled up his nose distastefully. "Maybe. Hey, what's all this?" Troy asked, suddenly registering all the goodies that were scattered across the counter.

"Just a few bits and pieces," Lucille said casually, with a smile toying on her own face at the sight of his reaction.

A snorting guffaw was heard from where Jack was situated in the lounge area. "A few?" he muttered.

"Ohhhh look at all this!" Troy exclaimed.

Gabriella watched on in amusement as her boyfriend tore open the package of Oreos and stuffed a cookie into his mouth, and then a second before he'd even finished chewing the first.

Jack stood up from the lounge and moved over to the kitchen area. "Troy, you'd better not eat all this garbage your mother bought all at once, you need to be careful that you don't…" Jack trailed off as he observed Troy looking up sheepishly with a mouth full of cookie.

"-ant ah?" Troy asked, and held the package out to his father. Jack rolled his eyes and snagged a cookie from the package.

"This isn't going to be a regular occurrence," Lucille warned. "I just… felt like indulging you. Since you've been working so hard and everything."

Troy went to speak, but Lucille held her hand up. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

Troy finished chewing and swallowed. "Thanks mom," he said, and then his eyes shifted over to the bag of Baby Ruths. He seized the bag, pulled it open and held it out to Gabriella.

"Would you like one?"

Gabriella promptly took one of the mini chocolate bars from the bag. "Thank you."

"I am so hungry," Troy exclaimed. "I feel like I could just keep eating and eating." He ripped his own chocolate open and popped it into his mouth.

"Have you eaten a proper lunch?" Lucille asked. Troy shook his head, and took one more Oreo from the package. His mother took the package away. "I'll make you both a sandwich then."

"I'll just have Lucky Charms for lunch," Troy said with a cheeky smile.

"Over my dead body you will," she shot back, and went to pull the loaf of bread from the pantry.

"I'm just going to call my mom and check what time she's going to be home from the office. We sorta had plans for a few girly hours," Gabriella said. She hopped down from the chair to head to Troy's room to get her phone and make the call.

"So? How was your exam?" Jack asked Troy.

Troy shrugged. "I don't remember," he said honestly. "I think it was okay. Not brilliant, but okay. It's over now, not much I can do about it."

"Do you want chicken or turkey for your sandwich?" Lucille asked.

"Chicken," Troy said decisively.

"Now, I had bought a few things for dinner tonight that I knew you would like. Steak, barbeque ribs…"

"Snap!" Troy exclaimed.

"But if you might be at this Marcus's house for this 'gathering', then let me know so I can plan to do it tomorrow." As she spoke, she quickly placed the chicken, spread mayonnaise and added a leaf of lettuce to the sandwich.

"I'll talk to Gabriella, see what she wants to do."

"Okay mom, I'll see you soon," Gabriella's voice said, as she returned into the kitchen.

"Do you want a sandwich, Gabriella?" Lucille asked, and indicated to the fillings. "I have everything right here."

Gabriella shook her head. "No thank you, my mom is going to come pick me up soon, she's just a few minutes away and said she would come by on her way home."

"What time is this thing at Marcus's?" Troy asked.

"Chad said from 8."

"So 9," Troy mused. "Well that's a yes I'll be here for dinner, mom." He turned back to Gabriella. "Do you want to go?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Uh… I don't even know Marcus. Yes, I should know him, so Chad tells me. But I don't."

"Come on, let's get your stuff," Troy prompted.

He grabbed the sandwich that his mother had finished making and brought it with him to his bedroom, Gabriella trailing behind him.

"You can think it over and just let me know later on," Troy said.

"I'm really not sure whether I want to go, but you should go regardless of what I decide. I'm sure you are interested in Chad's beer plan," Gabriella said, keeping her voice low so that Troy's parents didn't overhear.

"Not really," Troy said.

"Really?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, I would like to," he admitted. "But I won't drink, not when I have another playoff game this week. So I'll probably just go later on for a few hours. So if you wanted to come for a bit and then didn't want to say, we can take off whenever."

* * *

Ryan and Sharpay had returned home and immediately she had returned to her bedroom. Ryan had wandered around for a while. He made himself a sandwich, watched some MTV – and made a mental note about a dance move featured in the new Britney film clip. He soon grew bored of the television and found his way upstairs to knock on Sharpay's bedroom door. Upon being granted entry, he stepped inside and found her sitting on her bed with a series of scripts laid out in front of her, and Boi sitting primly beside her.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Ryan asked, easing himself to perch on the edge of her bed.

"I'm still not sure about what monologue I should be doing for my Julliard audition," Sharpay said. "There is something classic about being able to deliver a piece of Shakespeare with passion. But I think I'd prefer something a little more modern. What do you think?"

"I think you should do whichever one you do best," Ryan advised honestly.

Sharpay wrinkled up her nose. "Well that's not very useful, I deliver all of my prepared monologues brilliantly."

"I'm gonna try to finish up all of my other college applications this week," Ryan told her. "What about you? How are yours going?"

"I've done a few. Like the NYU one where they are going to contact me to come in for a musical theatre review. I'm not too worried," Sharpay said.

"Shar, it's December. You should be thinking about it. Some cut off dates have already passed and others are just around the corner."

She placed her scripts back down onto the bed. "So, that's your back up plan if you don't get into Julliard? A regular college?"

"Hopefully. A lot of colleges do have great performing arts programs," he said. "But if I don't get into Julliard next year, I'd probably audition again the year after."

"Do you think you'll get in?" Sharpay asked.

Ryan shrugged. Not getting into Julliard was something he didn't like to contemplate, but at the same time, reality dictated that it was something he needed to consider. "I know that I love to dance. And I know that my dance coaches wouldn't have encouraged me to audition if they didn't think that I had what it takes. But… I'm realistic. Lots of really amazing dancers with a passion for the stage get rejected every year."

Sharpay swallowed, her voice lowering. "Do you think I'm going to get in?"

A part of him wanted to humour her, to nod and smile and tell her that she was a shoo in. Ryan never lied to his sister; he'd never told her something he didn't believe. Sure, sometimes he might express an objection and then go along with her plan regardless. When she'd purchased a handbag which reminded him of Boi's coat, he'd told her that he thought it was a bit much, only to have her snap at him and inform him that faux fur was the new black. When Sharpay had first expressed her feelings for Troy, it had been Ryan who emphasised that Troy and Gabriella were dating, who had pointed out that regardless of how 'right' Sharpay might be for him, that Troy evidently felt otherwise.

Ryan sighed. "Shar, I think you're amazing. I really, truly do. But Julliard only take a handful of people each year. And whereas I think they'd be crazy to not take you, I would be lying if I told you that it was a guaranteed thing."

Her eyes flashed for a moment, but then they softened a little. She didn't like to hear those words, but they were the same words she'd been hearing from the teachers at their performing arts school. Even Ms. Darbus had said them. They'd all pushed suggestions of colleges with really great drama programs at her. But Sharpay didn't want to go to any of those schools. She wanted Julliard.

"So… what if I don't get in?" Sharpay asked, her eyes avoiding Ryan's.

Ryan's eyes widened, in disbelief that she'd asked that question. Asking that question was in the smallest of ways admitting that she knew that Julliard was not a guarantee, not even for her.

"Well, there's other colleges. Have you looked into the performing arts programs? There really are a lot of really great schools around, I wasn't just saying that before."

"But… I can't get into those schools by showing them that I am a performer, can I?"

"Well, not really."

Sharpay was tapping into the specific fear that Ryan had been developing. Becoming involved with student politics had inadvertently placed him around people who were academically inclined. The Gabriella's and Taylor's of East High School, who weren't going to have any trouble getting into a great college. His friendship group was peculiar in that so many of them were relying upon something alternate than the traditional college route. Kelsi also had her heart set on Julliard, and her above average grades would likely guarantee her a college _somewhere_ but not necessarily at her ideal back up. Zeke was the enigma, he spoke so infrequently about anything other than pursuing hospitality – but whether his route was going to involve college or not, Ryan could not be sure. He suspected that if Jason didn't get accepted at a film school on the basis of his project work, then he was going to have a tough time getting into a film school on the basis of his academic record.

Ryan wanted to dance. He didn't care to go to a regular college and study compulsory subjects about history or English. He wanted to dance. Full stop. Julliard was his dream. The NYU Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance was a distant second. He was relying upon getting into exclusive programs on the basis of his performance. The alternative was general theatre studies program, which would not take into account his ability to Pirouette or Grand Jeté or turn fifteen perfect Fouetté's in a row. Instead, entry would rely upon scores and grades formulated on the basis of his ability to triangulate, write essays, and identify correct grammatical patterns. None of which were Ryan's strengths.

"Ry?" Sharpay said quietly, breaking into his reverie. "I don't think I did very well today."

"You don't know that," Ryan said, attempting to placate her.

"I've been studying all week, like, I was studying really, _really_ hard."

"I know, I've seen you," Ryan said, nodding.

"But it was just… most of it is just jibberish. I don't care about what x equals. I don't care whether it's more appropriate to say Bob and I or Bob and me."

"You did okay on the ACTs though, didn't you?" Ryan asked.

"Mmm. Okay. Not well though," Sharpay confessed.

"Standardised test scores aren't the be all and end all," Ryan said, reminding not only Sharpay of his fact but also himself.

"My grades aren't very good, either. And don't tell me that I can get tutors and bring my grades up because it's a bit late to make a huge change to my GPA."

Ryan did know that. It was something he was more than acutely aware of. His grades were acceptable – the school would not allow him to act as class President if they weren't decent. But they weren't anything to brag about.

Brown eyes met blue, and in that moment, for the first time in a long time – Sharpay knew that Ryan understood.

"Shar? It's gonna be okay. I promise."

Sharpay took a breath, tossed her hair over her shoulder and forced a bright smile. "Maybe I'll just move to LA and get a job acting on a Disney Channel show. That seems to be the way to become famous these days."

"You think?"

"It's worked for Miley Cyrus."

Ryan's cell started ringing, and he fished it out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen.

"I'll just call them back," Ryan said quickly, and placed it on the bed.

"Is that your _friend_?" Sharpay asked, emphasising the word friend with a smirk.

He nodded shortly, and she quickly grasped the phone. His eyes widened as Sharpay pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello, this is Ryan's phone," Sharpay chirped.

Ryan watched in somewhat terrified bewilderment, waiting to see what Chase would say.

"And you might you be?" Sharpay asked. She smirked. "Ryan's _friend_, are you? I hear otherwise."

Ryan gasped. "Sharpay!" he hissed. "Give me the phone."

"This is Sharpay…. Oh, you know of me, do you?" Sharpay said, preening a little – and pleased that her twin had referenced her. She jumped off the bed and walked away from Ryan's grasping hands. He followed her, attempting to seize the phone from her.

"He is currently glaring at me and attempting to yank the phone from my hand. I can't imagine why."

"Sharpay!" Ryan exclaimed, stomping his foot somewhat childishly.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you boys talk to one another. We'll have to talk again soon, Chase. Toodles!"

Sharpay held the phone out for Ryan to take, which he snatched from her.

"Hey!" he exclaimed into the phone. "Sorry about that… my sister has this disorder where she likes to interfere with other people's lives."

He spoke pointedly, glaring at Sharpay. She merely gave him a bright, fake smile. Ryan moved toward her bedroom door. She watched after him in interest, his eyes brightening as he listened intently to Chase's response, and then laughed. He opened the door and closed it behind him. Sharpay smiled after him for another moment, and then turned back to one of her scripts. She glanced over the words once more before placing it down. She stood up, closed her eyes, took a deep, cleansing breath and then opened her eyes once more and transformed into character.

"Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?"

* * *

Zeke, Martha and Kelsi were hanging around in Jason's lounge room. They'd just finished watching their second DVD of the afternoon, when Zeke's cell phone sounded with a text message tone. He picked it up and scanned the screen.

"Bolton says he's not gonna drink tonight so he can carpool people down to Marcus's and back," Zeke said.

"Sweet," Jason said with a grin.

"I'm going to drive as well," Martha said. "So I can take all you guys, if you like."

"Are you sure you didn't want to have a few drinks?" Zeke asked.

Martha wrinkled up her nose. "From what Chad said, it's going to be the bare minimum of beer, beer and more beer. I'm not exactly a fan of beer."

"Don't worry, me neither," Kelsi said.

"I'm pretty sure I have some vodka left over from the party I had after the championships last year," Jason mused. "I kept meaning to bring it to all the other parties that there have been since then, but forgot."

"Really?" Kelsi said brightly.

"It won't be much, enough for a few drinks for each of you is all."

"That's all I need," Kelsi said.

"I'll still drive though," Martha said. "Really, it's fine."

"If you decide that you want to have a few drinks after we get there, I'm sure that Bolton will drive you home and you could leave your car there and get someone to give you a lift back tomorrow to pick it up," Jason said.

Martha smiled. "That's true, I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

If one thing was for certain – the East High grapevine worked magic when it came to passing on news about a social gathering. It had been about 2pm when Chad had sent out a mass text message enquiring about whether anyone had a location for a post SATs celebration. It was 2:30pm when Marcus had responded, saying he had a location but no way of assisting to supply beverages. By 2:37pm, the guys had sourced various willing older siblings to purchase the cheapest beer they could find. By 2:40pm, a mass text message was sent detailing the events.

And that very night, it seemed that half of senior year had decided that letting loose was indeed an ideal way of celebrating the completion of the SATs.

Gabriella wound up agreeing to coming along for a few hours. Both Troy and Martha seemed fairly resolute that they weren't planning to drink, so she knew that she would have an escape route if she really wasn't feeling it. Troy had insisted that she could have a few drinks and that she needn't feel guilty about drinking when he wasn't planning to drink. But the truth was that she really didn't feel like drinking. She had no opposition to hanging out with her friends – it would be the first time in a while that conversations wouldn't need to shift back to the stresses of SAT preparatory study. But she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of going to the home of someone she didn't even know and forcing herself to consume vile liquid, all for the sake of a temporary buzz. She was still relatively new to the world of parties and drinking; and it wasn't a world which she automatically felt the need to turn to.

Troy arrived to pick up Gabriella just before 9pm; and then headed on to pick up both Taylor and Chad, the foursome squeezing into the truck. Both Chad and Taylor were already verging on tipsy. Troy suspected that Chad had a stash of some type of liquor, which he had passed onto Taylor.

It wasn't very different to any other quickly thrown together party. An average stereo system cranked up at a deafening volume, a few bowls of chips scattered throughout the house. There was a jar in the kitchen for people to contribute some money to the alcohol fund – and a series of coolers filled with cans of beer.

By 11pm on Saturday night, Troy was regretting the offer to be designated driver. The role wasn't just about being responsible and not drinking and therefore being able to drive people home. It consequently became the role of babysitter, the role of ensuring that his friends didn't choke on their own vomit or accidentally drown in the pool.

"I can't believe you're not drinkin," Chad slurred, an arm wrapped around Troy's shoulder.

Troy glanced down at Chad as he attempted to support his inebriated friend. "Something tells me it's a good thing I'm not."

"You've gone soft. Gabrela's fault," Chad declared, struggling with the multiple syllables of Gabriella's name.

Troy rolled his eyes. "No. I just want to stay healthy, with the second playoff game next week and all. I'll save myself for next Saturday at NMS."

"Don't forget class trip. And… the party. After the dance."

"You actually think we'll be able to sneak alcohol with Darbus around at the senior trip?" Troy asked doubtfully.

"We'll find a way," Chad said confidently – before almost tripping over his own feet. Troy hauled Chad back up.

"Okay, dude, you need to sit down, come on," Troy urged, and yanked Chad along with him. He spotted Gabriella sitting with a small group of people in the family room, including Jason, Ryan and Martha.

"JC!" Chad shouted, as Troy deposited him. Chad collapsed between Jason and Martha.

"Sup man!" Jason greeted him – not quite as alcohol affected but nevertheless feeling the effects.

"I love beer," Chad declared. "Beer good. Even if Bolton's bein' a pussy boy."

Troy rolled his eyes and slid in to sit beside Gabriella. "Shut up, Danforth."

"Have some beeeeerrrr!" Chad said, thrusting his can out.

"If I have some beer, then you'll be walking home."

"Martha can drive me," Chad said, putting an arm around Martha's shoulder. "Can't you? Drive me n Hoops."

"Troy, if you want to have a few drinks, I really don't mind driving you guys home," Martha offered. "I drove my mom's Landcruiser, so within two trips I can get everyone home and then a few more."

Troy held up his hand. "Thanks but no thanks."

"Pussy boy!" Chad declared, and Jason started laughing.

"Pussy boy!" both Chad and Jason said in sing song.

"Shut the fuck up!" Troy exclaimed. He wasn't really offended, but it was grating on his nerves.

"See, Evans here, Evans is drinking," Chad said, pointing to Ryan's cup of beer – and subsequently tapping it and causing liquid to spill over the edge.

"Nowhere near as much as you, it seems," Ryan remarked with a grin.

"You guys are such a great presi… presid… denshal team," Chad said, pointing to Ryan and Gabriella. "Evans is cool and has a few drinks… and Gab… is very, very, very, very hot."

Gabriella's eyes widened and she blushed.

"Dude," Troy said warningly.

"Dontcha think she's hot?"

"I do, but _you _are not allowed to say that out loud," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Ahhh you know I'm taken," Chad declared.

Troy smirked, finding it ironic that the drunken Chad could acknowledge that despite that he was technically single – at heart, he was taken.

"Yeah man, I know."

Troy stood up and strode in the direction of the kitchen. He hunted around in the fridge, and then found the can of cream soda that he had hidden in the back. Troy popped the top open, tipped his head back and let the cool liquid guzzle down his throat. He sensed a presence in the door way, and glanced over to see Gabriella standing watching him with a smile toying on her lips.

"Is Chad pissing you off?" Gabriella asked.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Man I feel sorry for people being around me when I'm drunk and they're not. Do I act like that?"

"A little. Maybe not to that extreme."

"He's still Chad, he's just Chad magnified times ten."

"Are you regretting offering to be designated driver?" she asked.

Troy shook his head. "Nah. I figure that I make a big deal out of doing it when I really don't want to drink, and then next time whenever I want to drink it'll be someone else's turn to go out of the way to try to help me."

"And here I was thinking you were being very selfless," she teased.

He motioned to the cup of beer that Gabriella was clutching onto. "Is that the same beer that you started with like, an hour ago?"

Gabriella nodded sheepishly. "I really hate beer."

"You kinda hate it here, don't you?" he asked. "I saw that look of boredom on your face when I lugged Chad over."

"Hate is a strong word," Gabriella said ambiguously. "It would be better if Taylor and Kelsi weren't running around being stupid."

"You want to go, don't you?" Troy asked.

"No, it's fine," Gabriella insisted.

"I can drive you, it's not a problem."

"It's only an hour or so until you'll start taking this lot home," Gabriella said, gesturing back in the direction of where their inebriated friends were hanging out.

"I think I might go insane having to put up with them for another hour."

"It's only Chad who's frustrating you, and that's because even a sober Chad knows how to pull at your strings," she pointed out.

"Well, if I avoid him then he can't very well pull at them, can he?" Troy said, a gleam in his eye.

She furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"I say that we pass the time that I promised I'd stick around for within one another's company," Troy suggested in a hushed voice, stepping a little closer.

"Umm… I'm not trying to dent your ego but I'm really not comfortable with the idea of going upstairs in the house of someone I met for three minutes when we first arrived," Gabriella said tactfully.

"I'm not suggesting that," Troy said. "I am suggesting a good, healthy, old fashioned session of making out."

"Making out? Since when do you and I only make out these days?" she questioned teasingly.

"All the time!" Troy exclaimed. "Like at school when I was stressing out before one of my games. Or pretty much every morning in my truck."

"Troy. I'm not objecting," Gabriella said, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. You're not?"

"No. Why would I?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **I enjoy the irony that I took like over twenty thousand words to cover my Halloween party chapters in Someday: Once Upon A Time... and yet I just covered an entire party in that tiny space up there. Yeah... they ran around drunkenly and played games and shotted and chugged beer. And Troy and Gabriella made out. Then they went home. That's... pretty much it.

Five sleeps til Santa arrives! Well for me he arrives on Monday because my parents are going away for Christmas; and so we're doing our Christmas Monday lunch. And I'm doing Christmas with my friends on Monday night. So how about you give me a Christmas present and review? :-)

In all seriousness... if I don't update again before Christmas (which I'm not sure of as yet, we shall see how it goes) Merry Christmas to all! And... erm... Happy December to those who may not celebrate Christmas :-P

-Dani xo


	7. Chapter 7

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note – **Just a quick note in relation to Gabriella's childhood and growing up locations and what not. I had a brief outline of her past way back in _Here With You_ (my first crappy fic which technically is one of the prequels to this) but some of the finer details I've taken creative license to alter a little. So if anyone read it recently or just has some memory for finer details is thinking about inconsistencies – just… ignore them. This fic is filled with them, if you pay really close attention. I've made my peace with them and I'd like you to do so as well :-)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_I've been empty too long  
The time is now  
The tender night has gone  
And the time has gone  
Let's make this moment last  
And the night is young  
The time is now  
Let's make this moment last_

Moloko 'The Time Is Now'

* * *

"You didn't check your blind spot," Gabriella reprimanded.

Troy glanced over at his girlfriend momentarily. "Excuse me?"

"I'm watching you drive. I really want to drive a bit before I start taking my drivers ed lessons, I'll feel embarrassed having a stranger see me looking like an idiot. And since no one is willing to give me that lesson, I am learning through observation. And when you just changed lanes then, you just didn't check your blind spot."

"I did too! I just looked very quickly. You must have missed it," Troy said defensively, before switching the focus of the comment. "And I thought Chad was going to give you a driving lesson?"

"Yes and I've asked him since he first agreed, and he still says that he will. But I said to wait until winter vacation. Anyway, his car isn't running after it broke down before the SATs on Saturday morning."

"Okay so once he fixes his car, you have to hound him. It's only fair, especially since you've been tutoring him a lot."

"You just don't want me to start asking you to teach me again," Gabriella teased.

"It really is because I don't think it's practical to learn in something like my truck. Or your mom's Tarago," Troy said diplomatically.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The Wildcats were in the home stretch leading toward winter vacation. It was Wednesday morning of the second last week of school. The monotonous drag of study, training and meetings created a situation where throughout the term it had felt as though time couldn't possibly move slower for the Wildcats. However time suddenly had flown by, and there they were with two days until the final playoff game, four days until their senior class trip, just over a week until the winter ball – and then it was finally winter vacation, with a whole two glorious weeks off school. Two whole glorious weeks which Troy and Gabriella in particular were looking forward to, with both of their families heading back to snowy Colorado over New Years Eve once more. They were staying in different ski towns, but they were a manageable distance apart.

Troy pulled into the East High student parking lot, automatically turned left to head toward his parking spot – and was affronted with the sight of the rear end of a red Honda Civic in his parking spot.

"Someone parked in my spot!" Troy exclaimed.

"_Your_ spot?" Gabriella enquired in amusement.

"Well, I've parked there every day this year. If that doesn't make it my spot, I don't know what does," Troy grumbled.

"The spot right next to it is free, just park there," Gabriella pointed out.

"But that's Chad's spot."

"You just said that Chad's car still isn't running! I think Taylor was going to pick him up again. Or maybe Zeke. Whichever way, it's available."

"Well, I guess I'm gonna have to, aren't I?" He swiftly turned into the spot she had indicated; and as he cut the engine his truck came to a coughing, spluttering halt.

"That didn't sound very good," she said tactfully.

"She ran so well for a few months, and just lately she's started to play up," Troy said with a sigh. "Maybe it's because she's annoyed about having her spot taken."

Troy jumped out of the truck and ran around the front to open her door for her. He picked up her bag from the floor by the seat, and then held out his free hand to assist as she stepped out of the truck.

"Your truck is a she?" Gabriella enquired.

"Didn't you know that? All cars and trucks are she's."

Gabriella held out her hand to take her bag back from him, but Troy pulled it away. "I'll carry it," he insisted.

It was like the argument they would have frequently about who was going to pay for a meal – sometimes Gabriella would let Troy win so he could exude his manly pride. At other times, a swell of feminist girl power would take over and she would put her foot down and insist. Similarly, they would conduct a ritual argument about who was going to carry Gabriella's bag. On that particular morning she wasn't bothered to argue about it, which worked well because Troy was in a mood where he was to be particularly stubborn and insist upon displaying his chivalrousness.

With his backpack on, Gabriella's shoulder bag over his right shoulder and his left hand entwined with hers; the pair began the walk up to the morning group meeting spot at the fountain. Troy participated in his usual routine of exchanging handshakes, fist pumps and greetings with every other person they passed; while Gabriella was still left in slight bewilderment that she'd been at East High almost a year and yet didn't know all of these people – and yet evidently, they knew her.

"Did you see that some fuckwit took my parking space?" Troy exclaimed immediately upon reaching the earshot of their group who was waiting by the fountain.

"We did, when I drove in it was the first thing we noticed," Zeke said, gesturing to himself and Chad.

"Then I said straight away that Hoops won't be happy about it," Chad added.

"It's just a parking space, Troy," Kelsi said.

Troy whipped around, his eyes widening. "Excuse me? Kelsi. Did… did you just say what I think you just said?!"

"Oh God, take it back, take it back," Martha murmured.

"Then please do enlighten me as to why this parking space is so special," Kelsi requested.

Troy dropped Gabriella's hand and placed her bag on the ground, before jumping up to sit on the edge of the fountain.

"There are three reasons why my parking space is so important to me," Troy declared. "Number one - it's at the end of the parking lot closest to the side footpath to the gym. Number two – it is perfectly provided with shade from one tree in the morning, and then a different tree in the afternoon. And number three, I can see it from two of my classrooms, and also if I lean out the windows at the far end of the gym really far."

Gabriella was struck by the mental imagery of Troy calling a time out during basketball practice to run and go and check that his truck was okay, and found herself giggling.

"Are you laughing at me?" Troy demanded.

Gabriella stood in front of him, her hands resting upon his knees. "I love you," she said simply.

Troy softened, a smile tugging his lips up as he leaned down. "Okay, in that case you can laugh at me all you want."

She smiled into his sweet, short kiss.

"Oh, just what every girl wants to see first thing of a morning," Taylor's teasing, sarcastic tone came from behind.

Gabriella pulled back and turned around, leaning back against the fountain between Troy's legs. "Good morning Taylor," she said brightly.

"Troy, I noticed that your parking space was taken. Ouch," Taylor said.

"See! She gets it!" Troy said triumphantly.

"Gabriella, by any chance would you like to come to New York with me?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella blinked and shook her head a little, uncertain that she'd heard the question correctly. "Um, sure, pick me up at 4?" she quipped.

"I'm being serious."

"And I'm making fun of just how casual you made that question sound. What's this about?"

Taylor sighed. "Columbia sent me another letter and my mom thinks that I should take them up on the offer to go visit and check out a freshman class and all that. She even called the guidance counsellor about the issue."

Her annoyance was seeping through her tone. She didn't appreciate her life being discussed behind her back, even if the intentions were good. The fact that such conversations took place about her suggested that people questioned her methods. It meant they were discussing her focused approach.

"Maybe she's right and it _is_ a good idea," Gabriella said cautiously.

"That would be awesome, you girls running around loose in New York City," Chad said enthusiastically.

"There's no way that my mom would let just you and I go alone," Gabriella mused.

"Not even if they sent a cab to pick us up at the airport and took us straight there?"

Gabriella pursed her lips. "Maybe. But, if I was going to go to New York, then I would want to try to convince my mom to let me miss both a Friday and a Monday of school, and try to visit not only Columbia, but also Cornell and maybe NYU."

"Oh, did Cornell send you another letter?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

"Woah, what's this? _Another_ letter?" Troy repeated. "You mean, these colleges that you told me you'd applied to, they send you letters? It's not just you sending them letters?"

Gabriella turned around to face him once more. "Well, yeah."

Troy jumped down off the fountain. "You never mentioned that."

"It's not really relevant to me since it doesn't change anything. I haven't actually received official acceptances from anywhere yet, and I still don't know where I want to study," Gabriella pointed out. She hesitated, before asking in a lower voice, "Are you upset that I didn't tell you? It wasn't like I didn't tell you on purpose it just… I don't know. I didn't mention it. It's just normal for me; I mean colleges have been sending me letters for years."

"That makes sense. I suppose I should've just assumed they'd have contacted you already. I mean… it's you." The unsaid being, _you being the amazingly freaky genius girl that you are._

"So back on point. New York?" Taylor asked Gabriella, cutting back into the conversation she'd originally initiated.

"I'll look into the times of some of the freshman classes tonight that are on Friday's or Monday's and see if it's doable; and I'll talk with my mom about it. She goes to New York every so often for work anyway, so maybe she'll have something coming up that we can tag along for like last time when we went to Boston with her."

* * *

"And now that Miss McKessie has updated us on the yearbook, the chemistry club and the scholastic decathlon competition; I would now like to make an announcement on behalf of both the East High drama club and also the faculty," Ms. Darbus announced. "Our plans for our winter musicale after Christmas break have been somewhat impaired by a series of budgetary and logistical restraints imposed upon our association. After a truly inspired suggestion by our very own Miss Montez…" Gabriella blushed and ducked her head, and felt Troy's hand reach over and squeeze her on the arm. "I have received support from the East High faculty to proceed with somewhat of a talent showcase for our winter production."

Sharpay and Ryan both clapped, Gabriella and Kelsi both smiled brightly.

"If you are in a music class, in a band, in the choir, if you take a drama class, if you take a dance class – you can be expected to participate in the show, with each class required to put together an act. It's not only the performing arts sector who will be involved. There will be an art gallery featuring the works of the visual arts students; a short film featuring excerpts of projects completed by film and television students will be aired; the hospitality and family science students will provide catering for the event."

Both Jason and Zeke's attention had been grabbed slightly.

"Additionally, there will be opportunities for students to audition their own acts. It can be anything – perhaps you can perform magic, or you perform stand up comedy, or you have a ventriloquist act. I would encourage all students to tap into the depths of their creative spirits and take this opportunity very seriously. More details will be delivered in the forthcoming weeks, but essentially, this is your opportunity to put together your own act, in your own time, to audition, and if accepted as being an exemplary exhibit of East High talent, there will then only be one or two compulsory dress rehearsals. Sharpay, would you like to share with your classmates the working title for our winter extravaganza?"

Sharpay blinked. She had vague recollection of declaring in their meeting the previous week that she would name the showcase. She cleared her throat and smiled. "I'll let Ryan tell you," she said grandly, as though providing Ryan with the honour. She turned around to look back in the room toward her twin. Ryan forced a smile in return. "Uh… thanks Sharpay."

"No worries, Ryan!"

"Well?" Ms. Darbus prompted.

"Umm… well…" Ryan racked his brain, glancing desperately at Gabriella to his side before looking back around at his classmates. An idea hit him, his face lighting up. "East High's Got Talent," he declared triumphantly.

Chad let out a snort, while Ms. Darbus clasped her hands together. "Wonderful," she declared.

Before any further remark could be made, the bell rang signalling the end of homeroom.

"Class dismissed. Don't forget that your final submissions for senior trip cabin allocation requests are due by lunchtime today," Ms. Darbus called over the din of students standing and gathering their belongings.

"Oh how exciting! I'm so glad you guys found a way around the budget cuts!" Martha exclaimed.

"Can we expect a bit of a dance audition from you, missy?" Ryan asked with a grin.

"Maybe," Martha said. "Since I only just found out about it, I haven't exactly had time to plan."

Kelsi turned to Troy and Gabriella. "Okay, so, I know what you told me Gabriella but I got this bit of a melody stuck in my head and so I…"

"Kelsi, no," Gabriella said firmly.

"Kelsi no what?" Troy asked, evidently confused.

"It's just one song!" Kelsi said, pouting a little.

"But I told you he won't want to," Gabriella hissed.

"Is the he in that sentence me, and do I get a say in this?" Troy asked, his palms facing upwards questioningly.

"I started writing an original song, like, it's not for a composition, it's just a sorta pop rock ballad duet," Kelsi began, and rushed through her sentence before Troy could interject. "And I thought that maybe if I finished it in time, you guys would like to use it to audition for in the show."

"And I already told Kelsi that you're going to be busy…" Gabriella began to say.

"Busy is an understatement! Kelsi, I think it's great that you're writing music, but you have to get me singing it out of your brain. When we come back from winter break, there's a chance I'm not even going to be here for quite a few weekends, and the time that I do have here is going to be crazy. I'll be doing whatever we have to do for drama class and that's it."

"It's just one song, and I guess I thought that…"

"We can argue about this later, I have trig," Troy said abruptly, deflecting the topic. He picked up his backpack from the floor. "Let's go."

Ms. Darbus had quietly observed the interaction from her desk, where she was flipping through her notes for her first period freshman drama lesson.

"Mr. Bolton?" she called as Troy passed her desk.

He froze in his stride and spun around. "Yes?"

"May I be graced with your presence for a few minutes during your free period today?"

"Uh, well I was planning to…"

"Mr. Bolton, this is not a question, it is a request. I'll see you second period."

* * *

Troy headed straight from trig back to his drama classroom, wanting to get whatever it was that Darbus wanted to see him about out of the way. He waited outside patiently in the corridor as some stragglers left the classroom, before knocking politely and entering.

"Hey Ms. D," he greeted her. "You wanted to see me?"

Ms. Darbus nodded, and gestured for Troy to grab one of the chairs from the front row to pull up.

"I couldn't help but overhear your brief conversion with Kelsi and Miss. Montez at the conclusion of our homeroom this morning. I just wanted to enquire as to why you appear so fraught at the concept of taking part in the winter showcase?"

"Because I don't have time," Troy said flatly.

"And if you had time?" Ms. Darbus enquired.

Troy shrugged. "I don't know."

"I just find it rather peculiar that for the fall musical, you went out of your way to assist in creating a rehearsal timetable which in large part was tailored around you, one which ensured that your schedule would be hectic to say the least. And now you're being offered the chance to partake in a production which will require minimal designated rehearsal time, and you're baulking?"

"It was different then. It was the beginning of the season. And…"

"And now it's the end. There will be one audition during your official season. The show itself will be one night, and it will take place during your off season between the school season and the representative season. I would have thought this would be ideal for you situation, to allow you to participate in both with minimal conflict."

"You seem to have learnt a bit about the basketball schedule," Troy remarked.

Ms. Darbus smiled coyly. "Well, you're living proof that one need not narrow their interests and knowledge to one field. Tell me, how are your college applications coming along?"

"Well I should still have a few left to do over the next couple of weeks depending on which schools contact me during playoffs."

"Ah yes. The recruitment process which elevates you above the route of the regular application procedures."

Troy narrowed his eyes a little. "Um. Well… if you want to put it like that."

"I finished grading your monologues, I have to add a few additional comments to some students feedback so I withheld from handing out the results yesterday. Would you like to look at yours?"

A couple of weeks earlier, students in Ms. Darbus's drama class were assigned a small assessment piece, provided with the script of a monologue to prepare and perform in class. Ms. Darbus opened a folder sitting on her desk, flicked through the pages and pulled out a mark sheet to hand to Troy.

"An A plus?" Troy said disbelievingly. He blinked, questioning if he had read the sheet properly.

"Yes. An A plus," she confirmed, an amused smile on her face at his incredulity.

"Wow," Troy breathed, staring at the page. "I um… I've never gotten an A plus for anything other than a gym prac before. Well, and on physics lab reports that I do with Gabriella…"

"Well, you earned it. Your performance was… it really was very impressive." Ms. Darbus wasn't one to hand out compliments to just anyone, a fact which Troy was highly aware of.

"Um… thank you," Troy said, somewhat bewildered. "Was there anything else? I kinda got the impression you were leading somewhere before."

Ms. Darbus gave him a small smile. "You seem to spend a lot of your time trying to convince people that there is no reason on earth why a person cannot pursue multiple interests. Perhaps it's time to heed your own advice."

* * *

Varsity athletes at East High received half a credit for their participation in the athletics program. They would have two health science classes each week, studying health and sports physiology; and then given two additional free periods which were designated as work out periods. On Wednesdays, the work out period took place directly after lunch. Often the senior members of the Varsity basketball squad would hit the gym during lunch with whole team for a quick game. No such plans were made that day; Jason was spending all of his free periods and most of his lunch breaks in the film lab editing his movie; and Zeke was working on a computer applications assignment due at the end of the week which he had yet to begin. Even with the pressure of SATs removed, it was still a crazy time of year. Taylor, Gabriella and Martha spent their lunch hour in the yearbook office. Kelsi and Ryan had retreated to the top floor of the cafeteria to work on drama club plans. Leaving Troy and Chad to wolf down their tuna surprise and head to the gym to begin their weights work out early.

Troy was lying back doing a bench press, with Chad spotting him.

"My dad called last night," Chad said casually. "Eighteen."

"Oh yeah?" Troy grunted between presses. "Are you and Jayme going up to spend the holidays with him?"

Chad nodded. "Yeah. Nineteen. He also called to talk to my mom, though."

"Really?"

"She sent him a letter requesting an official divorce. And that's twenty." Chad took the bar from Troy and set it back onto his holder. Troy wiped his sleeve across his sweaty forehead, and then stretched his right arm across his chest, and then his left.

"Well, they've been separated a while," Troy pointed out quietly. "I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner."

"I think mom thought they'd get back together again, like how they did last time, you know before she started seeing David. That's why she never changed her name. But she's decided to start going by Ms. Ellis."

"Sheesh, I'm never going to remember that." Troy stood up and motioned for Chad to take his place, and the guys traded places.

"It's good though. I think she's thinking like… new house, new start… clean slate. Kinda thing."

"When's moving day again?"

"Like the day after we get back from the senior trip. I don't know when I'm supposed to finish packing. I've done bits and pieces but mom wants me to like, go through all my shit. I think I might just have to wait til we move, and go through it as I unpack."

"I could come round and help, if you want?" Troy offered. "Tomorrow after training?"

"I think Taylor is coming to help, well she's coming tonight and I think she's also coming tomorrow."

"Taylor McKessie is going to not study and instead help you pack?" Troy said with a teasing grin.

"She says that we can study and pack at the same time," Chad said. "What's up with chicks and multitasking like that?"

"I happen to admire the female ability to multitask," Troy mused, a coy smile on his face.

"Dude! I wasn't talking about sex!"

"Neither was I!" Troy said defensively.

"Yeah right."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Shut up and lie down. We don't have long til lunch is over."

Chad grinned and reached up to grasp onto the bar. "Aye aye, Captain."

* * *

Troy entered the house after getting back from dropping Gabriella home after his training and her student council meeting; promptly dropped his gym bag and backpack in the hallway before he headed into the kitchen. He was humming a tune under his breath, and opened the fridge door. He scratched the back of his neck as he peered around, trying to decide what to drink. Finally he pulled out a carton of orange juice, opened the top, tipped his head back…

"Troy Alexander," Lucille admonished. "How many times do I have to tell you to _not _drink juice or milk or any other beverage from the container? Especially while we have company."

Troy spun around, and was taken aback to see Gabriella and her mother standing with his mom.

"Oh! Hi!" he exclaimed, his surprise evident.

"Hey!" Gabriella said brightly.

"Hello Troy, how are you today?" Elena asked.

Lucille took a glass out of the cupboard and placed it in front of Troy. "I'm good thanks Ms. Montez." Troy turned back to Gabriella, somewhat distractedly. "I did just drop you off at home, like, fifteen minutes ago, right? I didn't bring you here and somehow space out about that fact?"

Gabriella giggled. "Yes, yes you did drop me off at home."

"Your mother asked me weeks ago if I would show her some of my Mexican recipes, and we ran into each other at the grocery store earlier and spontaneously decided that Gabriella and I would come over here tonight," Elena explained. "So I can show her and you can get fed."

"Excellent, mom could do with some cooking tips," Troy remarked, to be met by a thwack against the back of his head from his mother.

"What was that?" Lucille demanded.

"Only kidding, mama," Troy said with a cheeky smile. He finally poured his glass of juice which he downed in a few seconds, and then poured a second glass. "Would either of you like a glass?"

"So tell me why it was that it took you fifteen minutes to get home after dropping Gabriella off?" Lucille queried.

"I went to get gas," Troy said simply. "So I wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow."

"Mmm okay. You've got mail on the table, by the way. And do you know what time your father will be home?"

Troy shrugged. "Not a clue. He was in his office when I left the gym."

Mother and son simultaneously moved toward the table in the corner where the telephone and mail were sitting. Lucille grabbed the phone, and then waved Elena and Gabriella toward the sofa.

"I'll just call Jack and find out when he's going to be home," she told them.

Troy was only a few steps behind them, clutching onto the three letters that had been awaiting him on the table. He automatically collapsed onto the couch to Gabriella's right; Elena positioned to Gabriella's left.

"College mail?" Gabriella enquired quietly.

Troy nodded. "Normally they've been contacting dad… it's kinda weird getting something in the mail."

"Well go on, open them," Gabriella encouraged.

Troy glanced through the letterheads, one in particular capturing his attention. He decided to leave that letter until last, and instead ripped into the other two first. Lucille reappeared and settled into the arm chair closest to Lucille.

"Jack's just a few minutes away."

Gabriella was tempted to lean in closer and read along with Troy, but instead held herself back and diverted her eyes away from the letters he was scouring so intently.

"I bet you've got a giant pile of these, Gabriella," Lucille commented, filling in the silence as she too waited in anticipation.

Gabriella sent Lucille a small smile. "I wouldn't say giant. A small pile."

"A medium pile," Elena cut in, smiling proudly.

"Are you planning to go visit any of them? I know you had that flying trip to Boston a month or so back?" Lucille asked.

"Hopefully. I wanted to get the SATs out of the way first. I've had contact already with most of the schools I've applied for, so hopefully most of them will send official acceptances. And then it's just a matter of choosing between them."

"Which would be the difficult part," Lucille said.

Gabriella nodded, glancing at Troy for a brief moment. "Yeah." She nudged Troy, wanting to deflect the attention from herself. "Well?"

"They all basically say the same thing. They give me contact details of someone to call to chat further, and tell me that they have a program for potential freshman for next year to come check out the school."

"What schools are they?" Gabriella prompted.

"Temple – which is in Philadelphia and I can already toss that one over here," Troy said, literally throwing the letter behind him and discarding it onto the carpet. "Boston College – which… for various reasons I don't think will be right for me. And… well… USC."

"USC!" Gabriella exclaimed. "That's awesome! That's awesome, right?"

"That is really really really awesome," Troy confirmed, his eyes sparkling a little as he stared down at the letter.

* * *

"But what if I need something from these boxes before we move?" Chad complained.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Chad, you're away from Friday and not back until Wednesday, then move next Thursday. I pretty much guarantee that in the few hours you are going to be at home, you will not need any of these DVDs or CDs. You've got your Ipod and you said you're going to burn a road trip CD for the drive down to Las Cruces."

Chad sighed. "Okay fine. We can take them downstairs."

Taylor went to pick up one of the boxes by herself and Chad immediately moved around to pick up the other end. They shuffled out of Chad's room, down the hallway, downstairs and toward the garage where boxes were gradually being taken for temporary storage until moving day. They then went back upstairs to bring back down the second box they'd packed. The garage door went up at that moment, signalling that Chad's mother had returned home from work. The garage had gradually been filled with too many boxes to allow her to park in there, so her car was in the driveway.

"Hi Taylor," Trina said cheerfully, as she appeared in the garage with a plastic bag in either hand.

"Hi Mrs… Ms. Ellis," Taylor quickly corrected herself.

"I brought Chinese home for dinner, I felt like splurging. So I hope you're hungry. Chad did tell you that I said you should stay?"

Taylor nodded. "He did, and thank you for the invite."

"Not a problem Taylor, you're welcome anytime. Especially when you're helping my slacker son get organised," Trina said teasingly, as she passed through and observed the boxes which the pair had just brought down, which were neatly labelled with 'CHAD'S ROOM – DVDs, CDs'. If Chad had been left to pack alone, she suspected all of his belongings would have been tossed into random boxes the night before they moved.

"Mo-om," Chad complained. "You know I've been busy! Coach has been riding us and the SATs were killer and…"

"I know that. Which is why I've been telling you for weeks that if you just packed a little bit at a time then you wouldn't now have a week to pack, a week in which you're not here for five nights of it."

Chad rolled his eyes, and just followed his mother back through the house – pressing the button to close the garage door along the way.

"Chad, can you go ask your sister to come down for dinner," Trina requested.

Chad moved over to the foot of the stairs. "JAYME!!! GET YOUR INVALID ASS DOWN HERE FOR DINNER!!!"

Trina rolled her eyes. "I could have done that."

"I saved you from straining your voice," Chad pointed out.

The clumping of Jayme traversing down the stairs with her crutches could be heard. Taylor helped Trina to lay out the takeaway Chinese containers.

"Stop calling me invalid!" Jayme exclaimed upon entry into the dining area, glaring at Chad.

It had been a few weeks since Chad's sister had broken her leg. The first couple of weeks were somewhat of a novelty, with the attention and people signing her cast. But the novelty had worn off and it had reached the point of _get this hunk of plaster off my leg __**now**_ _or I will scream!_

"So, what's the after dinner plan, Tay?" Chad enquired.

"Well, I figure we can start by getting you packed for both the trip to Las Cruces and for the senior trip; and just leave a few extra changes of clothes our for tomorrow and Friday. Then you should be able to pack all the rest of your clothes."

"Isn't it a bit early to be packing clothes?" Chad said dubiously. "I might run out."

"I highly doubt that will happen. You have more t-shirts than any teenage boy I know; I swear we could pack half your shirts and you'd have enough left for over two weeks. Seriously. Even Troy isn't that bad, he even has the same shirt just in multiple colours."

"You mean the long sleeved one with the coloured sleeves?"

"Yes, that one."

Chad jumped up to head to the fridge. "What does everyone want to drink?"

"Juice please," Trina requested.

"Me too," Jayme chimed in.

"Sounds great," Taylor said agreeably.

* * *

After dinner at the Bolton house – which both Troy and Jack were excitedly grateful for the addition of the new recipes to Lucille's cooking repertoire – Lucille emerged with an apple pie and ice cream, serving out liberal amounts for everyone. Just as the dessert was dished up, Elena felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. She'd already warned Lucille and Jack that she was expecting a couple of work related calls, but nevertheless glanced down at it somewhat in annoyance and then looked up apologetically.

"Sorry, I have to take this; I've got clients calling me about…"

"It's fine," Lucille said, waving her hand away.

Elena smiled gratefully and answered the call as she left the room. "Hello, Elena Montez speaking," she said crisply.

"I hope I never have a job where people expect to be able to contact me at all hours of the day," Gabriella said, glancing forlornly in the direction of where her mother had disappeared.

"Better her being perpetually contactable than having to move again, right?" Troy queried.

Gabriella nodded. "That's a given. Lucy, this apple pie is incredible!"

Lucille beamed. "Why thank you, Gabriella. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as your mom's brownies, though."

"Nothing is as good as Ms. Montez's brownies. Hmm except your mashed potato…" Troy mused.

Lucille raised an eyebrow. "I would almost wonder if you are going to ask me for something, with that compliment popping out like that."

"No, it was actually completely genuine."

"No that's fine, I appreciate the call… Not a trouble, I gave you my after hours number for a reason… Okay, I'll be in touch… Thank you, bye."

Elena returned to the dining room looking a little grim.

"What?" Gabriella said immediately, fearing the worst. "That's the same look you get on your face each time that you would come home and tell me that you've been transferred again. Oh…"

"No," Elena said firmly, immediately quashing that thought. "Nothing like that."

"Oh…" Gabriella said, a hand resting over her heart in relief. "Then what?"

"You know how I had booked a room at the same lodge at Keystone again, since we liked it so much last year?"

"Yes…" Gabriella said warily.

"There has been an electrical fire in the lodge we were to stay at."

"Oh no!" Lucille exclaimed.

Elena nodded grimly. "Long story short, our booking has been cancelled, the deposit will be refunded and apologies are sent. There's no way that they can repair the damage, and all comparable accommodation is booked. They had to break down the bookings according to booking date to determine who they will be unable to cater for."

"Well, we'll just have to find somewhere else in the area," Gabriella said matter of factly. "Keystone has more than one lodge. Or, we could go stay somewhere at Breckenridge," she added, brightening at the concept of being closer to Troy.

Elena coughed. "Gabi honey, finding accommodation over New Years this late in the year is nearly impossible, unless you happen to have a few thousand dollars spare. The receptionist just told me that the lodge has already contacted all of the nearby locations and there is a scarce amount available, and none for the entire length of our vacation."

"Surely there is something available. We can make a few calls…"

"Absolutely I will call around, but honey, you should prepare for the fact that there's a chance nothing will come up in the area," Elena said gently.

"It doesn't have to be in that area, anywhere in Colorado is fine. Anywhere within driving distance from home. We can drive from here if you want, it's only like five hours…"

"More like six and a half," Elena said. "If we got a good run."

"We can sleep in the car if necessary. Or, we could hire a campervan. That could be fun."

"Honey, I didn't say we _can't_ go. I just said that I will have to look around. If there's nothing over New Years, we can go a few weeks later. I'm sure you'll be able to miss a few days of school without falling behind, and…"

"But we have to go there over New Years!" Gabriella protested. "We go back every year and… we just… we just have to! Find something! We have to go see him!"

Gabriella felt her eyes filling with tears, even staring at her half empty dessert bowl she could feel the concerned stares infiltrating her. She abruptly stood and tore in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. Troy turned to watch after her, hesitating for a moment, wanting to go after her. Elena's soft voice cut through the silence in the dining area.

"Diego is buried at a cemetery near Littleton, which is where we last lived as a family," Elena explained quietly. "We go back to Colorado over each New Years, every year since…" Elena swallowed. "… since we left."

"You'd think that there should be something available, the lodge should try to make sure they can find you something. Even if you have to like, change motels midway or something," Troy said optimistically.

"I suppose all I can do is make a few phone calls tomorrow. Right now it's too late to do anything about it tonight."

Troy's reasons for wanting the Montez's plans to work out weren't completely altruistic. Not only did he want Gabriella and her mom to be able to follow through with their yearly tradition, but he was also greatly looking forward to winter vacation that year. Even with the distance between Keystone and Breckenridge, they'd worked out plans that would allow them to see each other. Gabriella had spoken animatedly about the possibility of spending a day in Littleton with Troy, showing him where she'd grown up. There was also a certain amount of symbolism about the couple being able to return to the place where their journey had began almost a year earlier.

Gabriella returned to the dining room, her eyes red and puffy. She slid back into her seat stiffly. "I'm really sorry, that was rude of me," she said softly, unable to look up at anyone.

Troy reached over and caressed her thigh comfortingly. Her hand fell upon his, stroking the back of his palm to subliminally let him know that she was okay. Elena was also glancing over at her daughter, making a brief moment of eye contact. Elena and Troy had both been so focused upon Gabriella and ensuring that she was okay, that they missed the silent conversation between Lucille and Jack. Twenty years of marriage had bestowed upon them the ability to converse through a series of glances and facial expressions.

"Umm… we might have a solution to your problem," Lucille offered gently. "As I've told you, we're staying at one of the accommodations in Breckenridge, we know someone who knows someone and got a really great deal. It's a three bedroom condo, one of the bedrooms has twin singles and there's also a fold out sofa couch. So, we would be more than happy to suggest that we share the condo."

"Yes!" Troy exclaimed.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to intrude," Elena said quickly.

"It really wouldn't be intruding. I think we all know that these two would have found a way to spend at least half the vacation together, even when we were in separate towns," Jack said rolling his eyes and gesturing to Troy and Gabriella.

"I'm not sure…" Elena said, feeling a little put on the spot by the offer.

Lucille sensed Elena's awkwardness about accepting immediately.

"Why don't you keep it in mind, think it over?" Lucille suggested. "You can do a ring around the accommodation places at Keystone and Breckenridge and see if anything comes up. And we can get together and talk about it in more detail later."

* * *

Somehow, Taylor managed to get Chad organised for both his New Mexico State visit with Troy, and also the senior class trip; with a bag packed for the former and a fresh pile of clothes laid out on his bed ready to switch over in the brief time between the guys returning back to Albuquerque and then due to arrive at the school for the bus to leave on Sunday afternoon. Chad walked Taylor out to her Jeep after a long night of organising, sorting, packing, studying – and laughing.

"Thank you for all your help tonight. I think only you would find a way to pack and do homework at the same time, and even allow me to find the experience somewhat enjoyable," he said with a grin.

"You're welcome. And we did get a lot done, didn't we? You even helped me flesh out my plan for my English assignment, how I'm still not sure."

As they paused by her Jeep, she fished around in her bag for her keys.

"Hey Tay?" Chad asked, somewhat tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Our 'dat' last weekend was okay, wasn't it? I mean… the coffee never happened, but the DVDs and the party… we had fun, didn't we?"

Taylor smiled. "Yeah, we did."

"Maybe we should try it again."

"And when is this supposed to take place, between your playoff game and then partying at NMS and the senior trip and the dance and then…"

"You just said it," Chad interrupted.

"Huh?"

"The dance."

"You're asking me to go to the dance with you? As your… date without an 'E' dat?"

"Well… I would've asked you to be my date with an 'E', except I wasn't sure what you would say. So… I thought I'd just play it safe and stick with the 'dat'."

"Chad?"

"Yeah?"

"If it helps, I would've said yes."

"Interesting. That does help."

The pair fell silent, coy smiles upon both faces. Chad cleared his throat and leaned over to open the front door of Taylor's Jeep.

"Well, thanks again for the help with the packing and stuff. I'll see you tomorrow," Chad said.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed, hands on hips.

He laughed lightly, before averting his eyes to the ground for a moment and taking a breath. "Taylor, would you like to come to the winter dance with me as my date?"

Taylor paused, pretending to contemplate the question. "Hmm. I'll have to check my schedule and get back to you."

"Bitch," Chad muttered jokingly.

She laughed. "Yes Chad. I would love to be your date to the winter dance," she said, turning serious.

Chad smiled broadly. "Awesome."

* * *

Gabriella had been home for about three minutes when her cell phone rang. She smiled upon seeing whose face was on the screen.

"Hey," she said softly. "Can't get enough of me, can you?"

"Never," Troy replied very seriously, causing Gabriella to giggle. "Are you… are you okay?" he said, somewhat hesitantly.

Gabriella knew what he was referring to without asking. "Yeah. I kinda… I don't know why I reacted like that. Just the possibility of not going really freaked me out."

"That's perfectly understandable. Do you think if your mom can't find anything else, that she'll agree that you guys can come stay with us?"

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know. I hope so."

"I hope so too."

"And I'm sure your motives are completely innocent, Mr. Bolton," she teased.

"I actually wasn't referring to anything like that. If this happens, I suspect our parents will put us in opposite ends of the house and set booby traps along the hallway to prevent midnight trysts."

Gabriella giggled. "Quite possibly." Her eyes flickered over to her desk where her homework assignments were laid out in a neat pile. "I have to finish my creative writing piece," Gabriella said regretfully.

"Yeah I have stuff to do too. I'm even going to stay off AIM or I'll just get distracted and be so busy IMing everyone that I'll never get anything done."

"Wow, that's willpower," Gabriella remarked. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh huh. Love you."

"Love you too."

"Oh and Gabi?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I pick you up early tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'm normally ready before you arrive anyway. Why though?"

"I need to get there early to make sure I get my parking spot."

* * *

**Author's Note – **I wish I had a chapter that wasn't sort of filler-ish to put up as my official Merry Christmas chapter. Oh well, it's another chapter nonetheless. And now, I will DEFINITELY not be putting up another chapter before December 25 haha. **_Happy Holidays_** once again to one and all!

Oh... here is a Christmas present from me to you. A tiny preview of next chapter :-)

_"Maybe… if I think you play well… then you may receive a congratulatory reward." She brought his hand to her face and lightly sucked on the tip of his index and middle fingers, her lips lingering for a moment. She then pulled away and stared into his eyes, ensuring that he had understood the innuendo of her statement. The deer in headlights expression upon his face indicated that he had understood loud and clear. Troy swallowed, a coy smile upon his face._

_"Every time I think I totally get you, you go and say something like that and just blow me away…" Troy paused and smirked. "No pun intended."_

-Dani xo


	8. Chapter 8

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **This chapter is a little on the short side for me (average to long for most authors, ha) because this chapter and the next were originally one chapter; then after being beta read a scene in this chapter and a scene in the following chapter both were expanded a LOT and it was just so long and had a natural break so I figured I'd break it. So yes… enjoy.

Thanks to all the authors whose fics I read who updated in the last day or so - kicking my bum into gear to hurry up and be ready to update again, haha.

And thanks to Audrey for being so patient with this chapter... and every chapter... but especially this chapter. :-)

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_I'll wait for this moment  
When our lips collide  
And almost stop the earth  
You're in my arms tonight_

_**Aiden 'Moment'**_

* * *

Gabriella was pacing backwards and forwards in the corridor outside the locker rooms. Five minutes earlier, the Assistant Coach had spotted her – just like before the first playoff game. However this time, he'd approached and asked kindly, "Would you like me to ask Troy to come out?"

She'd blushed and stuttered a response that he didn't need to come out, it was only if he wanted to. Five patient minutes of waiting and Gabriella was wondering whether he was going to make an appearance.

"You planning to stay for the game this week?" Troy's teasing voice came from behind her.

Gabriella spun around, smiling at him. "Yes. In fact, I already have my seat reserved. And I have urgent good luck messages to deliver from the people who are sitting around me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Your mom is sitting behind us, and asked me to give you this," Gabriella said, and pressed a kiss to Troy's cheek. "And you get one of these each from Kelsi, Martha and Taylor." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "And this is from Ryan." She clasped his right hand and shook it firmly. A coy smile curved onto her lips. "And this one… is from me." She pressed her lips to his, initiating a soft, lingering kiss.

"Mmm, I like yours the best," Troy murmured, his forehead resting against hers for a moment.

Gabriella giggled. "Anyway, you should go back and focus. I just wanted to come say good luck."

"Can I have one more good luck kiss?" Troy requested.

"Since you asked so nicely."

Once again their lips met in a soft and lingering kiss, but this time it morphed into a deep, probing kiss.

"Maybe not such a great idea, now my brain is focused… further south," Troy said, somewhat throatily.

A sudden idea crossed Gabriella's mind, and in a moment of brash boldness, she suggested, "You could channel the two required focuses together."

"And how does that work exactly?"

She took a deep breath, and took his hand in her own and picked it up. "Maybe… if I think you play well… then you may receive a congratulatory reward." She brought his hand to her face and lightly sucked on the tip of his index and middle fingers, her lips lingering for a moment. She then pulled away and stared into his eyes, ensuring that he had understood the innuendo of her statement. The deer in headlights expression upon his face indicated that he had understood loud and clear. Troy swallowed, a coy smile upon his face.

"Every time I think I totally get you, you go and say something like that and just blow me away…" Troy paused and smirked. "No pun intended."

* * *

Gabriella returned to her seat in the grandstand, still with a smile upon her face.

Ryan touched her gently on the arm. "What are you smiling about?"

She coughed. "Nothing."

Lucille Bolton reached down from her seat behind Gabriella to touch her son's girlfriend on the shoulder lightly. Gabriella turned around to see Lucille gesturing over a few sections away.

"Scouts," she said quietly.

"How do you know?"

"Jack's trained me on the signs to look for."

"Surely scouts don't go all over the country to watch high school basketball matches?" Ryan commented.

Lucille shook her head. "No, I think they go off the rankings and just the general grapevine gossip and only follow up in particular areas where there are a few potentials. Jack seems to think that there's a chance of attracting a few scouts here throughout playoffs because the games are staggered; the West High match begins a half hour after today's game finishes. There are also playoffs happening in other nearby regions throughout this whole week. Sometimes they'll invite the student to come check out the campus without having actually seen them, see them play and then make the offer."

"Like what Butler will do with Troy?" Gabriella asked quietly.

Lucille nodded. "We can assume."

* * *

"AND THE EAST HIGH WILDCATS ARE HEADED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!"

The announcement over the P.A. system was drowned out by the shrill cheers and screams from the grand stand. Gabriella's voice was feeling hoarse from the amount of screaming she'd been doing – and the ears of Kelsi and Ryan who were seated on either side of her had bore the brunt of her vocal onslaught.

"WHAT TEAM?!" Chad bellowed out to the crowd.

It was a chant that never seemed to grow old. No matter how times one chanted it, it never failed to induce a feeling of school spirit that could not be gained via any other mechanism. Gabriella's first game that year had been a whirlwind of emotions, it being her first time attending the entirety of a high school sporting game. She'd been overcome by just how enraptured she'd been with every moment of the game, by just how emotionally involved she felt in the process. As the season had gone on, she'd only come to feel even more drawn in.

It was the most anxious couple of minutes, when the team emerged victorious and they were politely shaking hands with their opponents and the referees. The slightest of signals from the cheer squad was all that was needed for family and friends to pour onto the basketball court. Gabriella didn't hesitate to rush out to the playing area, and pulled Troy away from Liana who was excitedly congratulating him.

The moment Troy felt her hand on his arm, he spun around and grabbed her by the waist, pulled her in close and crashed his lips down to meet hers in a lazy kiss, before engulfing his arms around her.

"Did we really win?" Troy murmured into Gabriella's ear.

"You really won."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Gabriella pressed another soft kiss to his lips. "You were really amazing tonight Troy, truly."

"I really felt it tonight," Troy confessed.

"It?"

"The vibe, the buzz. It was more than just going through the motions. I haven't felt it in a while," he confessed quietly.

"Well it showed that you were feeling it."

"Gabs!" Chad called, jogging over to the pair.

"You played so well tonight!" Gabriella exclaimed, holding out her arms to meet Chad with a hug. "You must have felt those eyes watching you guys."

"Did you see the scouts too?"

Gabriella nodded. "Mrs. Bolton pointed them out. She thinks she saw two lots of scouts actually. One pair of them left half way through; maybe to make sure they made the other game on time. She was sitting behind me and at one point she grabbed my shoulder and said, 'they were looking in the other direction when Troy made that shot!' I don't know how she was watching the game to see that Troy had made a shot and watching the scouts at the same time."

"That's like when she is in the living room and I go into the kitchen and she isn't looking at me and yells at me to not drink juice from the carton," Troy said knowingly. "Eyes in the side and back of her head, I swear."

"Dudes!" Zeke exclaimed, standing between his two team mates and a hand each ruffling at Troy and Chad's hair. "I can feel it, back to back championships just inches away!"

"Don't get too far ahead," Troy said warningly.

"Troy!" Kelsi squealed, darting over to give Troy a hug. She then turned to Chad. "Chad!" And finally, "Zeke!"

"You guys were awesome tonight," she proclaimed to the three of them.

"And as usual, Kelsi, your support was awesome," Chad declared, his arm draped across her shoulder.

Kelsi giggled. "Why thank you."

Jason had trailed behind her and now reached the group. Gabriella gave him a quick congratulatory hug.

"Dude," Chad commented, and not so subtly wiped at his lips.

Jason just stared back at Chad blankly. "Huh?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Kelsi said with a blush, and reached over to wipe from his mouth. "I was wearing lipstick," she explained to him.

"Oh, you coulda left that. I don't mind people knowing that we were kissing," Jason said with a cheeky smile.

Kelsi thwacked his arm lightly. "I do, thank you very much."

* * *

Jack Bolton was on court, cheering excitedly with his team, going around to each of his players and congratulating them. He sensed a presence behind him, and turned around to see a couple of men in suits smiling broadly.

"Coach Bolton? Hi, I'm Coach Grant Keegan and this is David Stanton. We're from California State University and doing a bit of a whirlwind tour of some of the high school basketball tournaments happening in the South West. Your guys played an excellent game tonight."

"I was very happy with the performance. We've got a fairly fresh team, with only the four seniors, and the younger guys have really stepped up over the last few games," Jack gushed enthusiastically.

"Your son is very impressive, I think he has one of the best shooting techniques I've ever observed at high school level," said David.

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, Troy puts in a lot of effort into his game, into training and improving his technique. And he's still got plenty of room left to continue to grow and develop."

"I was really interested in the dynamic between Troy and… is it Chad Danforth?" Grant asked.

Jack nodded. "Chad and Troy have been playing on the same team for years – and before playing on a team, playing out in the backyard. They form an excellent partnership on court."

* * *

Troy somehow managed to pull Gabriella away from the rest of the group.

"So… were you satisfied with my performance," Troy murmured into Gabriella's ear.

She smiled coyly. "Well…"

"Captain, awesome game!" Pablo exclaimed, coming from behind to clap Troy on the back and give him a quick fist pump.

"You were really awesome too man," Troy replied, almost yelping at his team mate for the interruption.

"Eh, I barely played."

"It's not about how long you play, it's about how hard you play," Troy advised.

"Thanks bro," Pablo replied.

"Pablo!" a couple of the junior cheerleaders squealed, dragging him away – to Troy's relief.

"What were you saying?" he enquired with a coy smile.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around him in a hug, her lips lingering by his ear to whisper lowly, "I was indeed very satisfied. So much so, that it only seems fair that you too can be satisfied."

"Please, _please_ tell me that you have a logistical plan for where this can take place. You can't just dangle these suggestions in front of me and then tear them away," Troy begged.

"I'm working on it. If it has to be up a dark street in your truck, so be it," Gabriella declared.

Troy's eyes hazed over a little. Between the general tension of the lead up to the final playoff game, sexual tension as a result of a lack of 'activity' over the past week, and now Gabriella's sudden brazen offer – he was at a point of struggling to keep his anticipatory arousal at bay.

"Hoops!" Chad said, literally coming to stand between Troy and Gabriella. "Who do you think those suits are talking with Coach?"

Troy glanced up, having not been paying the slightest bit of attention to anything around him. His focus was upon aiding Gabriella in the search for a private haven.

"Dunno, man," Troy said distractedly.

"Troy!" Lucille exclaimed.

"Chad!" Trina Ellis (formerly Danforth) cried simultaneously.

The two mothers had made their way on court and through the throngs of excited youths; to embrace their sons tightly. Lucille proceeded to plant kisses all over Troy's face.

"Mo-om!" Troy complained, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

Each of the mothers gave the other boy a quick congratulatory hug before turning back to their own sons.

"Now, Trina and I are planning to go and grab a glass of wine..."

"Be responsible and be home by ten," Troy said cheekily.

Gabriella stifled a giggle and Lucille rolled her eyes. "We'll go wait outside, you boys had both better hurry up. You don't want to be arriving in Las Cruces too late, especially not when you'll be training tomorrow."

"Chad!" Chad whipped his head up, seeing Coach Bolton hurrying over to him. "There's some guys here who want to talk to you."

"Me?" Chad said, flummoxed.

"Yes you. They've been taken into my office."

Chad remained rooted on the spot. "Are you sure it was me they wanted to talk to?" Chad asked, glancing over at Troy momentarily.

"Of course they'd want to talk to you!" Troy exclaimed. "Go!"

"You heard him, go," Jack urged.

Trina gave her son a half hug. "I'll wait outside to say goodbye."

Chad nodded a little dumbly and quickly headed in the direction of the locker rooms and offices.

"Let's go wait outside," Lucille said, putting an arm around Trina.

"Son, you played really, really well tonight," Jack said, clapping Troy's back. He then lowered his voice. "Don't worry, the scouts are only from Sacramento State, you don't want to go there anyway."

"I wasn't worried. Chad's game has been awesome and improving this year, he deserves the attention too," Troy said honestly.

"I'm taking the rest of the boys out for celebratory pizza – won't be the same without their captains, but you boys have more important places to be, don't you? We'll have to do a full team thing before the championships, what do you say?"

"Sounds great, Coach."

"Anyway, I'd better go round the boys up," Jack said, and headed over to where Zeke and Xavier were talking with some of the cheer squad.

"So… back to the original point…. can I just clarify that your mom and Chad's mom are going out, and your dad is taking the rest of the team out for pizza? Leaving your house empty?" Gabriella asked slyly.

Troy's eyes widened in sudden excitement, but then darkened upon realising the flaw to her brainwave. "Wait, I'm supposed to take Chad though. I was just gonna take him home, get his stuff, then swing by my place to get mine."

"Well now, you are going home to get your stuff and then you can go pick him up. I'll make sure he gets a lift home. You – go shower up."

"Good as gone," Troy said, and practically sprinted in the direction of the locker rooms. Along the way he ran into Taylor who was on her way back from the bathroom, exchanging a hurried 'congratulations' – 'thanks so much' before continuing on his way. Taylor was somewhat mystified, and shook her head with rolled eyes as she headed over to Gabriella.

"I think everyone and her mother was in the bathroom," Taylor complained. "Have you seen Chad? I want to congratulate him on the win. I ran into most of the rest of the guys on my way back over here."

"Chad is currently in Coach Bolton's office with some college scouts." Gabriella's eyes brightened as she shared the information with Taylor.

"Really? Is that where Troy was just rushing to?"

"Umm no it's just Chad in the meeting. Uh… did you want to wait for Chad to congratulate him and find out what happened?" Gabriella said slowly.

"Yeah I would actually, is that okay?"

Taylor and Gabriella had made plans to go grab dinner and hang out for a little while. "That's fine but um actually… can I ask you a favour?" Gabriella asked a little hesitantly.

Taylor looked at her friend warily. "What?"

"I'm still definitely up for hanging tonight. But um… Since you're going to wait for Chad anyway, do you think you could give him a lift home? The plan was for him to go with Troy and they were going to just swing by each of their houses to pick up their stuff… but umm…. I'm going to go with Troy now so he can finish packing. Then he'll pick Chad up from home. And I'll call you later and then we can hang," Gabriella said, attempting to make the scenario sound as innocent as possible.

Taylor rolled her eyes, knowing very well that there was to be no such 'packing' occurring. "That boy has corrupted you, I swear."

* * *

Chad emerged from the gym feeling a little dazed. His mother and Mrs. Bolton had been waiting, he gave them a quick run down of the events, assured them that he and Troy had everything organised and did his final farewell until he returned from the senior trip the following week. He exited from the corridor and glanced around just outside in search of Troy.

"Hey!" Taylor exclaimed, rising and darting over to where Chad had emerged from the gym.

His face broke into a broad grin upon seeing her. "Why, hello."

"Congratulations, you played an awesome game," she said, and then paused contemplatively. "Well, I think you did. I still don't really understand basketball."

Chad laughed. "I keep trying to explain it to you…"

"… and I keep tuning out. I was going to come down after the game but I desperately had to use the bathroom and I got back and I'm told you've been whisked about by some scouts. What happened?!"

"Umm… these guys want me to come check out a college. They seem really serious about it."

"Where are they from?"

"Sacramento."

"Are they good?"

Chad coughed. "Umm… in terms of rankings? Not really. But I don't really care about that. They've got a lot of seniors on the team, and they're losing one of their juniors to another school and another one is currently being NBA scouted. Anyway, point being, they're looking to recruit lots of people and they've already got a few really awesome players signed on. And from the sounds of it, I'll be able to get decent match time and maybe even a starting position from next year, so…" he trailed off. "Sorry. You don't care about this, do you?"

"On the contrary, of course I care about it," Taylor insisted. "This is really fantastic, whether you want to go there or not it's awesome that they want you."

"And can I point out that they want me, just me. Not me and Troy, just me. Speaking of Hoops, have you seen him? He's meant to be giving me a ride so I can go get my shit."

"Evidently Troy is not available to give you a ride Gabriella is going to assist Troy to finish packing…" Taylor said tactfully. "And he is going to pick you up from home."

"He told me he finished packing…" Chad said, the moment he said the sentence realising what was really going on. "Ohhh. Right. So you're stuck with the chore of driving me home, huh?"

"I'd hardly call it a chore."

* * *

Every time when Troy thought that he couldn't possibly love his girlfriend more – she would do something which would make him fall that tiny bit further in love with her. Sometimes it was something small – like he'd look over at her in drama and she'd be smiling at him; or when she'd randomly send him a text saying that she missed him.

Or when she instigated random blow jobs.

The drive back to his house was somewhat dangerous, driving a little faster than his usual speed – his usual speed being a little higher than the speed limit. Along the way, she had pressed the occasional kiss to his cheek, and had sat with her left hand rested upon his knee, and then his thigh. She was rubbing gently, to the casual observer almost absentmindedly. Every so often, her hand would brush a little higher, causing Troy to take a sharp breath and put his foot down a little harder on the pedal.

Between her innuendo filled remarks and brushes of the hand, Troy was done with the teasing. The moment they entered his house and closed the door behind them, his hands captured her by the waist and pulled her in for a steamy, lustful kiss. He had her backed up against the front door, grinding the beginning stages of his erection into her sex. It was then Gabriella who pulled away from the kiss in the entrance way for the purposes of moving the activity toward his bedroom.

In the midst of a series of lingering, probing kisses his red zip up East High sweatshirt and blue denim jeans had been discarded, along with her white low vee neck cardigan, red tank top, dark grey denim skirt and black three quarter leggings. In the midst of removing her leggings, Troy had growled into her ear, "You have to stop wearing so many layers of clothing."

Finally, he allowed his eyes to cast down her body, approvingly gazing at her white with tiny red polka dotted lacy matching bra and panties set.

"Even my underwear is Wildcat themed," Gabriella remarked coyly as his smoky cobalt gaze scrutinised her body. She then looked at his red and white plaid cotton boxers. "But then again, so is yours."

Kissing quickly resumed; with Gabriella nestled back comfortably among his pillows, in the place of limbo between lying down and sitting upright. She had wordlessly orchestrated their positioning upon the bed, her knees drawn up and spread wide apart allowing him to kneel between her legs. She'd deflected his attempts to change the positioning to facilitate a more 'mutually satisfying' encounter. She knew her ache would dissipate; it was yearning to do this for him was the prevalent motivating force. Allowing Troy to simply lean forward, clutch onto the basketball motif head board of his bed, and revel in the sensations she was inflicting upon his organ.

Grunts and groans illustrated the rapture Troy was experiencing as a result of having the warm, wet cavern of her lips and mouth encased around his hardening length. He found it difficult to identify the tangible difference between the sensation of making love and the ecstasy of having her lips and tongue performing their magic. It wasn't so much about the sensation, but more so the associated connotation. Thus far, their love making had been gentle and tender and loving. A blow job was about one thing and one thing only.

"Oh fuck baby… so fucking good…" Troy groaned. One of his hands remained clutching to the headboard, the other reached down to thread through her wavy mass of hair and tuck the flyaway silky strands back behind her ears.

Approximately three months had passed since that Thursday afternoon when Troy had gone to Gabriella's one afternoon with the naïve expectation of studying, a little making out and some more studying. Since she had so tentatively began to explore his body, since she had so boldly requested to see 'it', which resulted in using her slight hand to bring about an unexpected and yet heavenly climax. The three months since then had been a gradual build of experimentation, gradually touching and feeling and tasting each others bodies. Gabriella wouldn't claim to be an expert on the art of oral stimulation, however she had reached the point of developing a healthy curiosity for experimentation. She wanted to understand each and every inch of Troy's body, and consequently how her touch could affect him.

Her mouth languorously pulled back, releasing his member with a distinctive pop. She trailed a teasing circle around the head with her tongue once and then twice, before drawing a line down his shaft until she reached his balls. One tentative stroke of the tongue was all it took to induce a carnal groan from Troy. She grasped at his rigid length with her right hand, allowing her to tilt her head to the side and continue to trace a lazy circle around his right and then his left teste. Her moist lips ever so tentatively gave a small suckle, before widening her lips in an emulation of a one sided French kiss. The ragged pants from Troy as she simultaneously stroked with her fist and teased with her tongue and lips informed her that she was doing something right – filing a mental note away about the sensitivity of his testicles. One final suckle and a languorous line traced in a circle, and she allowed her tongue to travel up the length of his shaft, from the base to the head.

Once again she captured the tip of his length with her lips, swirled her tongue around his length before he became submerged among the slickness of her mouth. Troy's eyes rolled back into his head, his ragged pants escalating into a guttural groan. He surged forward a little, fortunately his grip onto his headboard assisted his balance. Nevertheless he drove a little further into Gabriella's mouth.

"Sorry…" he managed to pant, seeing the slight wince on her face.

Her hands which had been lightly resting upon his hips ghosted backward until they were cupping his ass, squeezing each of his cheeks lightly as she continued with the repetitive up down rhythm which every so often was broken up with a pause to circulate her wet tongue around the head of his length. His hips began to rock backward and forward instinctively, her hands which were grasped upon his buttocks assisting to ensure he didn't enter further than was within her realm of comfort.

Some girls find the task of orally stimulating their partner to be a chore; a mere task that takes place along the path to the ultimate act of sex; an act performed in the hope of him reciprocating and providing his own form of oral stimulation. For Gabriella, it wasn't like that in the slightest. She genuinely enjoyed the act. It wasn't really the act itself – it was the consequence of the act. It was the eroticism of it, it was the raspy pants and grunts and groans which emitted from his mouth which told her that he was deriving much pleasure from it – and made her feel good about being about to be the bringer of such rapture. And now, between the heavy make out session and hearing the sounds that Troy wasn't trying to mask in the slightest – Gabriella was almost regretting having been so adamant that the experience was all about him. Almost subconsciously, her right hand dropped from its position upon his ass, fell upon her own taut abdomen and ran down to slightly trail the tips of her fingers over the material of her lacy white with red polka dotted boy short panties, which were now damp with the evidence of her arousal. She let out a muffled gasp as she then allowed her fingers to delicately enter beneath the material, lightly connecting with her nub. She knew that all that would come about would be a short brief orgasm which wouldn't even compare to anything she could experience at his doing. However she was desperate to satiate the fire in her belly, so desperate that she hadn't even really made the decision to do what she was doing.

Troy's eyes were closed as he merely clutched to the bed head, rocked backward and forward slightly and revelled in the ecstasy she was inflicting upon him. He vaguely had registered that one of her hands had left his ass, and then it took an additional minute or so to register that there was more of his hips thrusting into the wet, warm cavern of her mouth; and less of her creating the movement herself. His eyes fluttered open and glanced down, wanting to check that everything was okay – and let out a moan upon realising what was going on. She could desist from doing anything to him if she liked, in exchange for doing what she was doing. Even with her panties obstructing the view, there was no doubt of what was going on. It was undoubtedly the hottest view Troy had ever experienced. In the foreground, her mouth encased around his length, sliding backwards and forwards and creating an unimaginably sensational friction; each time she was at the head allowing her tongue to tease at his sensitive head. The next layer of vision provided a magical view of the succulent swell of her pert breasts, which were heaving slightly in time with her own raspy breaths. And then in the background, a vision which had the ability to render any red blooded male hard and speechless – a woman toying with herself, pleasuring herself.

"Fuck baby," Troy breathed, his eyes still wide as he gazed down at her.

Gabriella's eyes flickered up for a brief moment, suddenly comprehending herself just exactly what she was doing. She wasn't perturbed or embarrassed; she was too far gone for that. If anything she was spurred on, there had been no doubting the twitch of his member as he'd first observed her, there was no mistaking the pure lust in his eyes at that moment.

"Look at me," he urged. "Watch me, baby."

Obediently, Gabriella's gaze floated upwards again, her chocolate orbs fixed upon his intense stare. At that moment, the image Troy was looking at became even hotter.

"Shit Gabi…" Troy gasped, the overwhelming build of sensation approaching the climactic finale.

Her right thumb encircled her bud somewhat frantically, her bobbing head building into a consistent rhythm as she knew he was approaching his climax. Her left hand which had been kneading his ass drifted around, now interchanging between pumping at the base of his shaft while allowing her lips to focus upon the head, and then upon lightly stroking and teasing his balls. One of his hands was back raking through her hair and then lightly massaging at the base of her neck. His pants and stuttered expletives matched the swell of ecstasy that was rising, soaring, building – and then finally arrived, a long guttural moan surrounding a flurry of expletives among the panted chant of her name.

And in that moment – she felt her own climax arrive, brief and short as anticipated but completing its purpose of fulfilling her inner desire. Troy watched in fascination as her face contorted and her muffled moan sounded. She released the tip of the length from her mouth, her ragged breathing still taking place as she swirled her tongue around the head of his length in one final teasing act. Troy shifted his weight and collapsed onto the bed, struggling to regulate his breathing.

"Fuck Gabi… that was… fuck…" Despite Troy's unintelligible remark, the meaning was depicted flawlessly. "You were… fucking hell."

Gabriella was incapable of responding, the wave of embarrassment hitting her amongst the decline. She merely closed her eyes, concentrating on regulating her breathing. She felt Troy's weight shift on the bed, he'd rolled onto his side. He captured her lips in a fiery kiss, which despite her being slightly mortified she could only reciprocate the kiss as a matter of instinct. Kissing her after she'd orally pleasured him never bothered Troy – he'd overheard a detailed conversation or two in the locker room with guys saying they refused to kiss their girlfriends until they brushed their teeth or at least gargled some water. Troy wasn't fussed, in that moment he could see her slight discomfort and the only thing that made sense was kissing her.

"Gabi baby… that really was amazing," Troy murmured, lingering just shy of her face, his breath tickling against her lips. "That was… fuck… you were so... fuck…"

"Lost for words, are you Wildcat?" Gabriella managed to ask, blushing.

"Uh huh." He nuzzled against her, peppering kisses over her cheek and forehead. "Don't be embarrassed," he said breathily. "It's natural. And… it was really, _really_ hot." He kissed her again, this time the kiss was slower, gentle, tongues dancing playfully. His hand fell upon her abdomen, rising to cup her breast. Gabriella pulled away from him, her breathing a little ragged.

"I think we should stop there. You kinda need to go pick up Chad, I can hardly believe your cell phone hasn't been ringing."

"I turned it off," he informed her with a coy smile. "And… we can arrive at like midnight, Chad won't mind."

"The guys whose dorms you're crashing at might," Gabriella pointed out.

Troy sighed, resigned to the fact that Gabriella, as per usual, was right. "I'm gonna miss you baby, even though I'll be seeing you Sunday."

"Will you be thinking about me?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Troy pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Always."

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter Disclaimer: **Acknowledgement to A Simple Plan for the lyrics from 'Addicted to You' which I have utilised. Acknowledgement to www dot cosmopolitan dot com for an excerpt from the article _Your Orgasm – Guaranteed!_

**Author's Note: **Again I thank Audrey for her patience with this chapter, it is about a million times better than it would have been thanks to her patient and constructive guidance. :-) A few people have made suggestions for something along the lines of what I wrote in this latter part of this chapter, I'd already began writing it and so it was interesting to see that you guys are totally on my wavelength! :-)

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_Cause I'm missing you tonight  
'Til I finally close my eyes  
I am caught up in this moment  
So caught up  
Cause you're right here by my side_

Since October 'In This Moment'

* * *

Two hours after the Wildcats won their second playoff game – securing a place in the championships following winter break – a rusty white Ford pick up was cruising south on the Interstate 25. Its occupants had turned up the music to a decibel which only those in the 13 – 25 year old demographic are capable of withstanding. Troy's engine by the day was sounding less like a content cat purring and more like a person who'd spent their life smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Nevertheless, he had installed a CD player and a decent set of speakers – trademarks of a vehicle belonging to a teenager in the 2000's.

"_I heard you're doing okay but I want you to know, I'm a dick… I'm addicted to you…" _Chad didn't sing, he warbled. The fact was that Troy knew that Chad was capable of singing well – but Chad wasn't about to advertise that fact.

"You singing that to Taylor?" Troy asked.

"Just singing Hoops. And if you tell anyone, you know I'll make your life hell… _I try to make you happy but you left anyway…"_

Troy merely smirked and joined in with his own warbled singing voice.

"_I'm trying to forget that I'm addicted to you, but I want it and I need it, I'm addicted to you…" _

Road trip music was an absolute prerequisite to the trip. After the excitement of the frat party, it was the general concept of an unsupervised weekend away which appealed to the guys. The unspoken and yet mutually recognised advantage of the trip was that the guys were looking forward to simply hanging out with each other. Senior year hadn't been exactly smooth for Troy and Chad. A multitude of reasons, some small, some bigger, some intangible – had resulted in the first few months of senior year being fairly tumultuous for the boys. At the worst point, it had reached the point of fist fighting and literally giving one another the silent treatment. In general, there'd been a simmering feeling of tension, knowing that things just weren't quite right.

When you've known someone for more than ten years, arguments tend to escalate. Issues with one another are bigger, they represent issues that may have existed for years and never been dealt with. Their lives had been through a massive transition throughout the back half of junior year, with their friendship altering to accommodate new friends and relationships and plans for the future. In many ways, what they'd needed was exactly what had happened – one giant blow out, a shouting match accompanied by punches being thrown. Allowing the tension to be released and then allowing for the bridge to be rebuilt. A rebuilding which was still a work in progress. From the outside, it appeared that they'd moved on and things had returned to normal. Still, they both knew that it was somewhat tentative, and the opportunity to hang out one on one was certainly a positive movement forward.

It wasn't about going back to where they used to be – it was about moving forward to a better place.

The song came to an end, and Troy reached out to turn down the music far enough to allow them to converse without shouting over the din.

"So. You and Taylor, going to the winter dance," Troy said casually.

Chad nodded. "Yeah."

"That's good, yeah?"

"It is. I mean, I wouldn't have minded to go to the party tomorrow night as a single man but…"

"Technically you're not actually dating again, you're just going to the dance," Troy pointed out.

Chad let out a half snort half laugh. "Can you imagine if Taylor found out that I hooked up with another chick?"

"Well, she was surprisingly cool with you and Kayla hooking up at Paula's Halloween party," Troy pointed out.

"It's different now, we're in a better place again. But nah… it's good. I'd wanted to ask her out again for a while, but it seemed a bit soon since we broke up last. The timing seems right now."

"You think it'll work this time?"

Chad shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not gonna try to plan it. I'm just taking it one day at a time. It's like we're starting new. It's not like you and Gab, being together for a year and planning for the future and shit."

"It's not a year yet. It's been just over 10 months since we started dating. And… we're not planning for the future, not really."

"10 months is like, forever in high school."

"Sometimes it feels like forever – forever in a good way though. I almost can't remember what it was like before she was around. But then other times it feels like it's flown by so quickly…" Troy trailed off and cleared his throat. "But yeah."

"You know, I always used to think I'd get laid before you," Chad commented.

Troy glanced over at his buddy, eyebrows raised. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you had a few girlfriends but none of them were serious and I knew you weren't gonna just do it with some random chick. But I also knew that none of the girls at East High were gonna be good enough for you." Chad paused. "Except maybe Paula, if she hadn't rejected you."

"I'm glad she did," Troy said seriously. "The 'what if' game is scary. Things coulda been so different. It wouldn't have worked with us, she and I wouldn't be friends any more and I wouldn't have gotten together with Gabriella."

"No point in playing what ifs. Things happen for a reason, man. And the way I see it, you've got like, the whole world at your feet. Just appreciate it and live for it."

* * *

"Oh my God, I so should not have eaten that," Taylor said with a groan, placing her fork back onto the plate. "You have the rest."

Gabriella glanced down at the final section of the large double chocolate muffin. "Are you sure?"

Taylor nodded. "Yes. And eat it before I change my mind."

Gabriella stabbed the final piece and waved it around in front of Taylor. "Last chance…"

"Eat it."

With one swift movement, the final piece of chocolatey goodness was engulfed and then swallowed.

"Amazing," Gabriella murmured. "I want the Starbucks muffin recipe."

"They don't make them. They'd order them from somewhere," Taylor pointed out, reaching out to pick up her mug of hot chocolate.

"True." Gabriella slipped off her ballet flats and tucked her feet beneath her on the cushy lounge. Starbucks was pretty much the only public place where Gabriella could actually feel so at home that she could do such a thing. They'd been lucky to snag the corner lounge, with a couple departing just as the girls received their drinks from the counter.

"How's your drink?" Taylor asked.

"Caramel frappachino, can't go wrong," Gabriella declared. "Do you like the peppermint twist in your hot chocolate?"

"I do actually, it's a nice change."

"Sometimes a change is good. But sometimes it's nice to go back to the familiar," Gabriella said.

Her double entendre wasn't missed by Taylor. "You're not talking to Troy honey, I pick up sly comments like that."

"Maybe I wanted you to pick up on it," Gabriella teased. "Miss 'I'm going to the winter dance with Chad Danforth' McKessie."

"I don't see it as going back to the familiar. It's like we're moving forward, you know?" Taylor mused.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I get that."

"We went so fast the first time. I mean… I know that we took forever to finally go out. But once we started going out, I felt like because we'd already been hooking up occasionally, we skipped this whole stage of the relationship. Which didn't help when things went wrong."

"I guess it says something when things can go so wrong and yet you still have strong feelings and want to go back and try to make it work again."

"Yeah. It does."

* * *

The store directory of the Cottonwood Mall seemed a lot less threatening than it had the last time that Martha, Taylor, Kelsi and Gabriella had gathered together in search of an outfit for Kelsi's first date with Jason.

"What should I get Troy for Christmas?" Gabriella asked the girls.

While the other girls were looking at the Women's fashion locations for inspiration about where to look first, Gabriella was looking through the men's fashion, music and electronic stores and sporting goods stores.

"I thought we were here to look for dresses for the winter dance?" Taylor said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm having enough trouble with my own Christmas shopping, let alone worrying about what you should get your boyfriend."

Gabriella sighed. "Sorry. It's just every time I am at the mall, I keep thinking how close Christmas is and how I am still freaking out about what to get him."

"Ask his mom for ideas," Kelsi suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Gabriella mused.

"Are you guys doing something for Christmas, just the two of you?" Martha asked.

"If my mom and I end up staying with the Bolton's at Breckenridge, we were going to do our own New Years sort of as a Christmas and New Years combined."

"Aww!" Kelsi said. "That's so sweet. And don't worry, I'm stressing about what to get Jason. And not only do I have Christmas, but then it's his birthday in January."

"Ooh can we go to Claire's? One of the girls at my dance class was talking about the new line of accessories," Martha said.

"Yes, let's go," Taylor said, eager to move the group forward. The sooner they started shopping, the sooner the shopping would be over.

As they headed toward the escalators to the upper level, Gabriella's phone sounded with her text message tone.

"Oh no, and it starts… the boyfriend texting," Martha teased.

Gabriella smiled, not needing to correct her because it was indeed Troy. Her fingers were flying across her keypad to respond to his message.

"They've done like a campus tour and just had a weights session and met the rest of the team. Last night they only met the ones who live in the dorm rooms where they are crashing," Gabriella relayed for the group.

"Do you think either of them really wants to play for New Mexico State?" Martha asked.

Gabriella and Taylor exchanged glances. "I don't think Troy really knows what he wants," Gabriella said vaguely.

"Chad was made another offer last night, he seemed pretty excited about it," Taylor revealed.

"Where was that for?" Kelsi asked.

"Sacramento State, in California."

"That's a long way from Harvard," Martha remarked.

Taylor shrugged. "Yes," she said simply.

Meanwhile Gabriella's fingers were still flying away on her keypad.

**Man Im exhausted and weve only had 1 workout. Still hav 2 play with them later.**

_You love it, don't deny it!_

**Yeah I do. Cant wait 4 the party 2nite tho, the guys have been talking bout it all morning.**

Gabriella's eyes narrowed. _You mean, the party with the kegs and all the hot college girls?_

Her phone immediately began to vibrate, the instrumental version of Kelsi's song 'The Music In Me' sounding from the speaker. She glanced at the screen before picking up the phone.

"Hel-looo," she said brightly.

"Hi Troy!" Kelsi called.

"What did you mean by that text?" Troy asked immediately.

"What do you mean, what did I mean?"

"Referring to the hot college girls. What about them? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just… hang on…" Gabriella covered up the mouthpiece to turn to her friends. "You guys go ahead, I'll be over there in a second." She glanced over to where there was a bench available in the middle of the arcade, and moved over to sit down.

"I didn't mean anything by it," she said.

"Gabriella, this is me. You don't have to pretend. Are you… are you worried or something?"

"I'm not worried per se. I just…" she sighed, glancing around at the shoppers who were passing nearby, none of them giving a second glance to the teenage girl on her cell phone. "… I guess I feel a little weird, knowing you'll be there all hot and like a shiny new toy; and they'll be there all… old and hot and experienced."

Troy's response was a snorting guffaw. "Are you being serious?"

"Like I said, I'm not actually worried, it's not as though I don't trust you."

"Is this… oh my God, is this what last night was about?" Troy asked incredulously. "I mean, it was totally hot but a little out of character for you."

"Uhh… maybe a little," Gabriella confessed. "I know, I know it's stupid."

"Stupid is an understatement." Troy sighed, glancing around and seeing that the other guys were finishing up with their break. "Gabriella, I have to go. But… you're cool right? You know that you can just get rid of all these thoughts?"

"They're as good as gone," Gabriella promised – crossing her fingers as she spoke.

* * *

"Oooh look at these!" Sharpay gushed, spotting a pair of long black silky gloves.

Ryan and Sharpay were in a dance and costume wear store after their morning dance rehearsal. Ryan was in need of a new pair of jazz sneakers, and whereas Sharpay had a collection of ballet toe shoes, jazz boots, jazz sneakers, tap shoes and chorus shoes in various colours; she wanted to arrange for a new pair of chorus shoes to be made with blue sequined detailing to match one of her costumes for their performing arts schools Christmas showcase. He'd already purchased his new sneakers, Sharpay had arranged for her shoes to be made – and now she was browsing through the costume department.

"Hey Shar, do you want to head to the Cottonwood Mall for a bit after we finish here?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay was admiring her glove encased hand. "Hmm?"

"Shar?"

She glanced up. "Oh sorry, what?"

"Do you want to go to Cottonwood for a bit?"

"Why?"

"I thought you might want to go look for a new dress for the winter dance. You said you weren't happy with the one that you bought."

Sharpay paused contemplatively. "Maybe." She then noticed that Ryan's cell phone was out and in his hand. "Why do _you_ want to go though?"

"Well, some of my friends are there but I'm not planning to hang with them. I really thought it'd be fun for us to hang. Maybe start looking at some Christmas presents for mom and dad. Since your credit card should be pretty much empty at the moment."

"I do want to go to Sunglass Hut to look at the winter range," she mused, and then nodded. "Okay. Good idea."

* * *

"That is gorgeous!" Martha declared. "Chad is going to flip out."

Taylor spun around in the dress just outside her changing room in Macy's. "You think?" she asked dubiously.

"You have to buy that," Kelsi agreed. "It's perfect."

"Gabriella, how is yours going?" Taylor called into the dressing room next door to hers.

"I don't know. I really love two of them, but I can't decide which one," she called out. She opened the doors and stepped out.

"Oh my God that is perfect for you!" Kelsi gasped.

"It's really fancy though. It's more like a prom dress," Gabriella pointed out.

"Then you should get it for the prom!" Martha said. "Then while we're all running around stressing about it, you'll be kicking back, knowing you've got everything sorted."

"I don't know about getting something from Macy's, lots of girls will shop here," Gabriella pointed out, biting her lip.

"They have a dress registry for proms," Taylor said. "They record when someone from a particular school has bought a dress, so they make sure no two people from the same school buy the same one."

"Really?"

The other three girls all nodded in confirmation.

"Put the other one on to show us," Kelsi requested.

* * *

Ryan and Sharpay arrived at Macy's just as the girls were departing, crossing paths along the way.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"Hi Sharpay," Kelsi said, glancing at Sharpay who was standing back a little further.

"Hey. Looks like you all scored some pretty things," she said, gesturing to their bags.

"Indeed. It's only early afternoon and we officially have our dresses organised," Taylor said proudly. "See, this is what happens when you are organised and efficient."

"Gabriella even got her prom dress already!" Kelsi said excitedly, gesturing to the second of Gabriella's bags.

"Can I see?!" Ryan asked.

Gabriella somewhat shyly pulled out the top of the dress so he could see it.

"Oh wow!"

Sharpay peered over, not one to be left out of a fashion conversation. "That's really gorgeous," she said genuinely, lightly touching the material.

"Thank you," Gabriella responded simply.

"If you didn't already have Troy wrapped around your finger, you would after he sees you in that," Sharpay remarked.

"And you all got your dresses for the winter dance?" Ryan enquired. "Can I peek? Then if the guys ask me for advice about ties and corsages and colours, I can give them hints."

The girls obligingly showed off their dresses. Sharpay glanced at each of them, trying to appear nonchalant but actually impressed with the selections that each of the girls had made.

"Seems that Macy's have a decent range at the moment. I hardly ever shop here, it's too mainstream for me," Sharpay commented.

"Show me yours, Gabriella," Ryan said.

Gabriella pulled out her dress for the winter dance, which Ryan smiled at broadly. "Very hot," he declared, eliciting a giggle from her. "And Christmasy."

"You should wear your hair in an updo," Sharpay advised.

"An updo? I'm not very good with hair and stuff," Gabriella said dubiously.

"Just get one of your cheerleader friends to help you," Sharpay said, waving her hand. She then paused and said contemplatively, "Or, I guess I could show you. If you bring some bobby pins to this silly class trip they're making us go on, I can show you one day."

Gabriella smiled. "That would be awesome. Thank you."

Kelsi's phone began to ring and she separated herself a little from the group to answer the call.

"No worries," Sharpay said, a little stiffly.

"Anyway, we're going to head in. We're looking for Christmas presents for the parentals," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "Have fun with your whole girly day, and we'll see you all at the bus at school tomorrow."

* * *

Kelsi's phone call had been from Jason, informing her that he and Zeke were at the Cottonwood Cinema and asking if the girls wanted to come see a film. Despite having been originally adamant to have a girls only weekend, they decided to relent for a couple of hours, knowing they had the whole night ahead with a sleepover at Martha's house planned. They'd filed into the theatre to see Madagascar 2 – being the only film the whole group could somewhat agree upon – and taken seats along one of the side rows about half way up.

"I wanna see!" Jason said, trying to grasp the shopping bag from Kelsi's grip.

"No!" she squealed, holding it away. "I don't even know if I'll wear it, I might return it."

"You can't return it!" Gabriella exclaimed, overhearing her comment.

"Why wouldn't you wear it?" Jason asked.

"Because it will look silly."

"Kelsi, you're like really hot, you couldn't possibly look silly. Unless it's like, pink sequins or something," he added as an afterthought.

"You think I'm hot?" Kelsi asked, blushing slightly.

"Well, yeah," Jason said, as though it were obvious.

"You've said that I'm cute and pretty and gorgeous but never… hot…" Kelsi trailed off, blushing slightly.

"Of course you're hot. And the fact that you don't believe that I think that just makes you even hotter."

Kelsi was closest to the wall, and Jason was beside her. He had automatically pushed up the arm rest between them, and slung his right arm across the back of her chair. She didn't notice his foot sliding over toward her shopping bag which was on the floor. Carefully, his foot landed on a bit of the bag and was able to drag it over toward him.

"Jason!" Kelsi exclaimed, and grabbed the bag back.

"It was worth trying," he said with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't show you anyway. If I do wear it, I'll want it to be a surprise."

"Trying to impress me are ya?"

She blushed. "Something like that."

Jason leaned toward her to press a kiss to her lips, but Kelsi blushed a little and hesitated, aware that just a few rows behind them were some other patrons, and of course their friends. Jason sensed her hesitation and held back. He then grabbed his hoodie which he'd slung over the back of the chair and put it over their heads, causing Kelsi to giggle uncontrollably.

"Is this better?" he enquired.

"Maybe."

The order along the row was Kelsi by the wall, then Jason, Zeke, Gabriella, Taylor and Martha. Gabriella couldn't help but observe Jason and Kelsi's playfulness with a slight smile upon her face.

"They're so cute," she said softly to Taylor.

Taylor wrinkled up her nose. "Cute. Totally. Not. If they're just going to make out, they should go up the back," she responded lowly.

"I can't remember the last time I came to the movies and was actually going to be able to watch the whole film," Gabriella remarked.

"Can we all move down one seat?" Zeke requested, from where he was seated beside Jason.

Kelsi overheard the remark and pulled away from Jason, took the hoodie away and handed it back to Jason.

"That will _not_ be necessary," she said firmly to Zeke.

* * *

Troy Bolton was wasted.

He wasn't tipsy, or slightly inebriated. There was no word to describe his state other than wasted. He was stumbling around in the common area of the frat house, people who he'd apparently met talking to him as though they were long lost friends.

"Bolton, buddy, how you doing man?"

"Awesome!" Troy would proclaim with a bight smile, and continue along his way.

The sea of faces blending into one another. He found his way into the courtyard and blinked at the sight of two girls wearing short shorts and t-shirts, drenched in some type of liquid. For a brief moment in his drunken state he thought to himself that they must be feeling pretty cold; yes it was southern New Mexico but it was still night time in December. He knew he was drunk, but he was almost at the point of wondering whether perhaps he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. Girls don't run around with saturated t-shirts in the real world.

He stumbled back inside and toward the staircase, obtaining another cup of beer from the keg along the way.

* * *

"And you guys tease me for texting Troy when I'm not with him. I don't think Kelsi has put her phone down since we left the cinema," Gabriella teased.

The girls were scattered throughout Martha's bedroom, surrounded by magazines, make up, hair products, and copious amounts of junk food. They'd already eaten dinner and watched a DVD. Now, Martha was giving manicures and pedicures to everyone, and Taylor was currently sitting at the desk with her legs stretched out, allowing Martha to place separators between her toes. Gabriella was lying stomach down on Martha's bed flipping through a Cosmo magazine. Kelsi was lying beside her, cell phone in hand.

"I'm not that bad. He only texted me a little while ago just asking if we are having fun."

"Tell him I said hi," Martha said. "Taylor, what colour do you want?"

"Just the pale pink, I guess," Taylor said somewhat dubiously.

_**Cant u at least give me a clue bout wat ur dress looks like? Dont u want me 2 get u 1 of those flower things.**_

Kelsi giggled. _A corsage?_

_**Yeah, that. And do i have 2 wear a tie. **_

_I don't think you have to wear one, it's up to you. I really don't mind. Ask the guys whether they're gonna get fully dressed up._

"Hey Gabriella?" Kelsi asked suddenly. "Do you know if Troy is going to wear a tie next Friday night?"

Gabriella laughed lightly. "I doubt it. I'm expecting a button up shirt, a sports coat and a nice pair of jeans. Maybe slacks, if Mrs. Bolton talks him into it. Hence why I didn't want to wear the really fancy dress for the winter dance."

"Why do you ask?" Martha asked.

Kelsi gestured to her cell phone. "Jason asked me if he has to wear a tie. I don't care if he wears a tie, but I told him to just ask the other guys what they are wearing."

"Okay all finished," Martha said to Taylor. "Go sit and wait for them to dry. Kelsi, you're next."

Taylor shuffled over to the bed, and glanced at the page which Gabriella was intently reading.

"Lie down on the table with your butt near the edge. He enters you while standing between your legs…" Taylor read out loud.

Gabriella snatched the magazine away from her eye line. "Taylor!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. Although, I have to say I don't think you and Troy are quite ready for sex on the kitchen table yet."

Gabriella's phone began to ring, Troy's photo flashed up onto the screen.

"Speak of the devil," Taylor remarked. "So much for girls only."

"I won't talk long," she promised. "Why helloooo," she answered with a bright smile.

"_Gabiiii baby, I wish you were here," _Troy declared somewhat despondently. He had precariously set his cup of beer down onto a small table in the dorm room, and collapsed onto the low foldaway cot which was squeezed in between the two beds.

Gabriella giggled and covered up the mouth piece. "He's drunk," she informed the girls.

"Surprise, surprise," Taylor remarked with a roll of the eyes.

"Do you miss me, do you?" Gabriella asked flirtatiously.

"_I miss you, I want you. I want you really bad right now." _The temperature in the dorm rooms was set higher than Troy's liking and the room was stuffy. He couldn't be bothered to stand up again, so instead he struggled to remove his t-shirt, getting caught up in the material. _"Wait! Don't talk! Wait! I can't hear you! Wait a minute… okay…"_ The phone returned to his ear. "_Can you come down here?" _Troy requested with a pout.

"I don't think that'll be happening. Besides, by the time I got there you'd be passed out," Gabriella pointed out.

Troy missed her voice. The party was fun, but in all the insanity he'd lost track of Chad over an hour earlier. And the guys from the team and other people he'd met were nice enough, but none of them were particularly vested in making long term friendships with the high school kid. He'd last seen Gabriella just over twenty four hours ago and he was feeling a desperate ache to see her again.

"_Can you just… talk to me?" _he requested. He shifted about uncomfortably, his hand falling to his fly, undoing his pants. He proceeded to kick them off, not willing to stand up to do it, and so rather ungraciously wriggling about to berid of the item.

"About what?"

"_Anything… just wanna hear your voice."_

"Um okay… well, like I told you in my text before, today I went shopping with the girls. And then we ran into Zeke and Jason at the mall and so we all went to the movies. And now we're all at Martha's house and just hanging out being girly."

"_Oh yeah. Did you buy a dress for the dance?"_

"I did. It's really gorgeous," Gabriella gushed.

"_What does it look like?"_

"I can't tell you that!"

"_Mmm doesn't matter, you'll look hot no matter what you wear."_

"You have to say that," Gabriella said with a blush.

"_What are you wearing now?" _Troy's tone was somewhat breathy but somehow Gabriella didn't notice.

"Flannel PJ pants, and your blue t-shirt."

"_Mmm…"_ There was no mistaking the strangled groan in Troy's reply.

Gabriella's eyes widened. She knew that groan, she _loved_ that groan. She quickly covered the mouth piece. "I'll be right back, I won't be long," she said brightly to her friends, and snatched up a hoodie.

"You do realise you'll see him tomorrow, right?" Taylor pointed out as Gabriella quickly darted out of the room.

"Troy… what are you doing?" Gabriella asked, her voice low as she headed along the corridor. Martha's parents and brothers were all asleep, and when she reached the living area she sat on the sofa, her knees drawn to her chest.

"_Please just keep talking baby…" _Another throaty groan sounded over the 's blue plaid boxers were proving to be cumbersome; he quickly seized the waistband, lifted his backside and yanked them down from his hips.

"Where are you? Why can't I hear the party in the background?" Gabriella enquired, still finding it difficult to register what she knew he was doing.

"_I'm in the dorm room alone. The guys are down there getting more wasted. I had to stop for a while coz the room's spinning and I hafta drive in the morning."_

"Where's Chad?"

"_Umm…. I saw him playing beer pong before. There's another guy here that NMS are trying to recruit and he has a girlfriend. So we all banded together in a 'fuck off and stop telling us to hook up with the hot college chicks' pact. But they disappeared."_

"You think the college chicks are hot?" Gabriella enquired, amused at this statement given their conversation that very morning.

"_I can't lie, I have eyes, course they are. But nowhere near as hot as you."_

Despite his drunken candour, Gabriella was nevertheless touched by the genuineness of his remark. "That's… almost sweet."

"_Okay so why don't you tell me about the bikini you're gonna bring on vacation." _Troy's tone was low and breathy.

"Troy! We're going skiing!"

"_There's a hot tub. Fuck I hope you stay with us. It's gonna be so good baby." _Another low groan emitted over the phone, causing Gabriella to blush, unable to pretend that he wasn't doing what he was doing. _"Please talk to me Gabi, about anything. You can talk about math if you wanna."_

"You really want me to talk about math?" Gabriella asked coyly. "While you're doing what I think you're doing?"

"_Well, I'd really like you to be doing a whole lot more than talking,"_ Troy said suggestively.

Gabriella gasped, and glanced around in the living room, confirming that no one was around. "Umm… did I tell you that when we went to the movies this afternoon, Jason and Zeke said that Paula told them that Monica is going to have an after party for the winter dance," she told him, deflecting the innuendo.

"_Oh good. We can get some privacy there."_

"I find it ironic that you see a big after party as a chance to get privacy. Are you going to be training during our free periods on Thursday afternoon? If not, you can come over to my house. We can umm… study…" she suggested slyly.

"_No training. And no studying either,"_ he said, practically growling._ "Can you please keep talking baby?"_ Troy was practically pleading with her. _"Why don't you tell me… bout Littleton. And where you're gonna take me."_

"Umm… okay…" Gabriella said timidly. "Littleton is in Arapahoe County. Umm… there's… a historical museum which is pretty good… and… I really like the Hudson Gardens. They're really pretty." Her breath hitched. She was struggling to remember anything about her home state, struggling to even think while she could hear his erratic breathing and grunting. She partly wanted to just block it out, but another part of her was simply transfixed by what he was doing – and what she was being provided the opportunity to inadvertently assist him with.

"_Ohh fuck…" _Troy panted, his fist moving faster.

Gabriella glanced around the Cox living room once again, and rose to her feet and headed toward the patio. There was a cushy patio chair just by the doorway, where Gabriella sat, her left knee propped up with her arm hugging it, her right hand clutching her cell phone to her ear. It was as though she thought if she held the phone closer, it would prevent the conversation from being overheard.

"How far are you?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"_Not too far."_

"What are you… what are you thinking about?" she whispered.

"_You baby… all you," _Troy said throatily.

Gabriella swallowed. "Umm… we can… maybe I can show you my… um… my school, I went to Mark Twain Elementary… and…" Her distracted sentence cut off at another of his strangled groans. "Is that good?"

They were both acutely aware that she wasn't referring to the plan to show him her school.

"_Fuck yes…"_

"Are you still thinking about me?" she asked. Her voice was so quiet that he could barely hear.

"_Yeah… fuck I wish you were here. On your knees…. Your lips on me… fuck it was incredible last night… You were so hot… do you wanna touch yourself now for me?"_

"Maybe," Gabriella whispered. "But I can't. How close are you now?"

"_Almost… there…"_

Gabriella clutched to the phone a little tighter. "Pull a little faster baby," she cooed softly into the mouth piece. "For me?"

Troy's strangled grunts escalated into a full blown groan of undulated ecstasy, reaching his climax. Gabriella froze, stopped talking, her own chest heaving in simultaneous movement with the sound of his ragged post orgasmic pants.

"Troy?" she whispered.

"_Fuck that was good. You're not even here and you're fucking amazing."_

Her cheeks were flushed – and she felt warm in more places than just her face. "Umm… glad I could be of service."

A light snore began to sound through the phone. Gabriella giggled slightly, hoping that Troy was at least covered up by a comforter and not sprawled out naked for his temporary dorm mates to see him in all his glory.

"Good night Wildcat, sweet dreams."

* * *

**Next Time on _Someday - _It's the East High Senior Class Trip. Woo hoo! **


	10. Chapter 10

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter Disclaimer – **Acknowledgement to Fountains of Wayne for the lyrics from 'Stacy's Mom' that I have utilised

**A/N – **This is directed toward anyone who had _not_ read the first part/the entirety of the first part of this series – or who needs a '**recap' re. some original characters**. Paula, Monica and Liana are all members of the cheer squad. Paula is the head cheerleader, is good friends with the Wildcats and particularly good friends with Troy. Monica and Zeke used to date. Liana is notoriously flirtatious and is rather 'friendly' with the boys.

Also, just to clarify, that I am using an **07/08 calendar** for this fic and writing as though they graduate in 2008 – although this story will actually be finished in '09. But yeah… just acknowledging this. So T/G met on the NYE of junior year aka eleventh grade a.k.a the second last year of high school; which was the NYE of 06/07. In this story, it is currently December 2007. Not December 2008.

A continued everlasting **infinite thanks to Audrey** for her beta-ing brilliance.

And finally – if anyone missed it or doesn't have me on their Author Alert,** I posted a TxG one-shot called 'Equifinality'** that I wrote for the ZA Secret Santa Fic Exchange, which is dedicated to the fabulous Nel (Persephone Lemonade) so check it out if you like. :-)

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Day possesses no key here  
Where moon sheds the cold twilight  
This moment is eternity_

_Nightwish 'This Moment Is Eternity'_

* * *

Gabriella couldn't remember the last time she'd been on an overnight class trip and actually _wanted_ to go. There had been a few over the years; the middle school she'd attended in eighth grade had a class trip for each year level; a biology camp in freshman year which involved camping by a lake and studying marine and plant life. Each time she had begrudgingly attended.

But this time, she was actually looking forward to the occasion. It wasn't really a trip with a purpose. She knew that there was a lake, and suspected there would be sailing or some other boating activity – which she wasn't particularly looking forward to. There was a ropes course at the camp which was technically designed as a team building trust activity – and she was a little scared about there being a high ropes section. Although the student council had been told to 'organise' the night time sessions, they'd actually been given very strict guidelines and the plans were pretty dorky. But despite the negatives, it was three nights to hang out and spend with her friends. It was the first time when she'd been to an overnight trip and actually had a solid group of friends that she was looking forward to hanging out with. Friends to stay up late past curfew whispering with and to save her a seat in the mess hall. A boyfriend to sneak kisses with – who Gabriella had no doubt would try to coerce her into sneaking around to facilitate a whole lot more than kissing.

Elena Montez watched in a moment of surreal disbelief at just how content her daughter was as they arrived at East High, ready for Gabriella to get on the bus and head to the recreation centre which was about two hours east from Albuquerque for three nights. Her daughter had excitedly grabbed her small suitcase and her pillow from the back, given her a quick hug and practically pushed Elena back into the vehicle. She watched from the drivers seat with a reminiscent smile as Gabriella pulled her suitcase across the lot toward where some of her friends were waiting by the bus; Kelsi with a small suitcase similar to Gabriella's, Zeke with a suitcase and a plastic Tupperware container under his arm. She let out a small sigh, gave her daughter one final wave good bye, and then drove away.

"It's the Gabster!" Zeke called brightly.

Gabriella set her suitcase down, and stood with them forming a small circle. "Please don't ever call me that again," she requested politely.

Gradually the Wildcats gathered; the girls greeting each other with hugs even though they'd seen each other just hours earlier when leaving Martha's house. The gathering East High seniors were divided into home room groups; with Mrs. Carrol and Mr. Lambert's classes on the first bus; and Ms. Darbus and Mr. Newman's classes on the second bus. Jack Bolton was present, to Troy's relief he wasn't chaperoning the trip. He was just there to assist with head counts, ensuring that all present students had paid and handed in parental permission slips. The plan was for Troy and Chad to stop at their houses only to pick up fresh clothing and then to drive straight to school; where Jack would take Troy's keys and come back with Lucille later to drive the truck safely home.

Jack was moving items of luggage from the drop off zone where students had been asked to leave their bags, to the storage area under the bus. Ms. Darbus approached, checking off the name tags on the bags in accordance with the list of students who had been marked as present.

"Now, as a parent and not as a teacher – a word of advice is that you're going to have to keep your eye on my son and his girlfriend," Jack said lowly.

Ms. Darbus rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your son would be highly impressed if he knew you were making such a remark to me, Bolton."

"But I'm serious, Darbus. They're like…"

"Ahhh, to be seventeen and in love again," Ms. Darbus interrupted somewhat whimsically. Jack folded his arms, glaring at her momentarily. She sighed, and returned his stare. "Jack, I give out detention to students who have a cell phone within my vision. You really think I'm going to tolerate any funny business? Especially from the class vice president and the basketball captain who are role models to other students?" Ms. Darbus asked, hands on hips, eyebrows raised.

"I suppose not," Jack relented. His cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket; he pulled it out and read a text he'd just received from his son.

_Dad, were running l8. Just getting off I40. Shuld b on time. Can u plz tell Darbus?_

Jack sighed impatiently, rolling his eyes at the typical behaviour of Troy and Chad.

"Let me guess, your son and Mr. Danforth are running late?" Ms. Darbus remarked wryly, seeing the perturbed expression upon her colleagues face.

"It seems so."

The arrival of the Evans' twins interrupted the exchange between Coach Bolton and Ms. Darbus. The appearance of any other student wouldn't have been such a big deal. However Sharpay didn't arrive anywhere without making an impression. A class trip – which she didn't even particularly want to attend – was no such exception. A long black stretch limousine pulled up – and as teachers and students looked on, they half expected a red carpet to be rolled out from the doorway. Instead, the driver of the vehicle, Hernandez, dashed around to the passenger side to open the door – and out stepped Sharpay. Students had been informed that dress code for the trip was warm and casual, with one nicer outfit to be brought. The student council had also advertised that any funny little costume items that students may have, might be useful to bring.

Sharpay, of course, had deemed 'casual' as meaning a pair of light wash designer jeans; tall black Ugg boots; a white, fitting turtleneck; and a neon fuchsia cropped puffy jacket. She stood with her dog carrier perched on top of the limo, having plucked Boi from within as she now farewelled her beloved pet. Ryan had swiftly followed her out from the vehicle. They had a whole series of cars at home, Mrs. Evans was perfectly capable of driving and had come along in the limo to farewell her children – and so he hadn't been impressed when Sharpay had insisted upon arriving in the limo. He kept his head down and went around to the back with Hernandez, retrieving his own suitcase as the driver took out Sharpay's.

Ryan had managed to successfully do a great deal of the damage control at home. He'd convinced Sharpay that Boi was _not_ allowed to come with them. And he'd talked her into only bringing two oversized suitcases, as opposed to the original three and a half she had already packed. He'd also calmed her down with her last minute 'it's not fair, why are mother and daddy making us go on this trip?' Sharpay hadn't been on an overnight school trip since elementary school. Back then, she hadn't reached the point of caring about sleeping in a single bedin a dormitory and having to eat in a mess hall. Ryan pointed out to her that it would be a good means of preparing for dormitory life in college, and that everyone was going and that she would be left out of the gossip if she didn't attend. The final calming point had been revealing student council plans for the third night of entertainment, plans which hadn't been released to anyone yet.

In many ways, he didn't blame his sister for her hesitance. He wasn't exactly suited to dormitory life or random outdoor activities either; especially not during winter. But he recognised it was only for three nights and that as class president there was no option but to attend. Ryan approached the camp like he did with everything in his life – with an optimistic smile. It was a chance to have fun with his friends for a few days, to get away from his father's increasingly incessant talks about colleges and majors that didn't interest Ryan in the slightest.

As Ryan and Hernandez took the suitcases over to the pile, Derby Evans emerged from the limousine and went over to some other parents to engage in social chit chat. Ryan stopped by to greet his friends, exchanging handshakes with Jason and Zeke and hugs with the girls.

"How's everyone today?" Ryan asked brightly.

"Tired. This is way too early," Jason grumbled.

"It's a quarter to two," Kelsi pointed out, squeezing her boyfriend on the arm.

"It's a Sunday and a quarter to two," Jason clarified, before declaring breezily, "I should still be at home in my boxers and a wife beater."

"You think Sharpay brought enough stuff?" Taylor asked, gesturing toward the two oversized pink suitcases. "I'm surprised Darbus let her bring that much."

"I sorta embellished upon the truth and said that some of it was props that I'd brought for the third night of entertainment," Ryan admitted quietly. "I'm pretty sure that Ms. D saw through the lie, but it was enough for her to say it was fine."

"What is the third night of entertainment?" Zeke asked.

Gabriella and Ryan exchanged knowing smiles. "You'll find out later today," Ryan said with a mysterious smile.

"Ryan?" Sharpay's voice sounded from behind. It wasn't her usual demanding, snappy tone. Rather, it was imploring and vulnerable – alike to her tone when she wanted something which even she knew wasn't within her rights to have.

Ryan turned around to look at her sister who was still clutching onto her dog, stroking its fur.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure I can't bring Boi with me?" Sharpay asked.

Ryan sighed. "I'm sure, Shar. Besides, he won't want to come."

"Hello Boi, aren't you so…" Gabriella began to say in a baby voice, and reached out to hand toward the dog to pat him. Boi promptly emitted a low growl, causing Gabriella to trail off and snatch her hand away.

"Boi!" Sharpay reprimanded, holding him out in front of her and looking at him sternly. "Be good!" She then glanced at Gabriella, who appeared a little hurt. "Sorry, I think he's a bit intimidated by all the people here."

"It's okay," Gabriella said, giving Sharpay a small smile.

The Evans twins returned to the limousine to hand Boi over to Hernandez and to farewell their mother. Sharpay and her mother exchanged a small kiss on each cheek, whereas Ryan and his mother had a big hug and exchanged their private index finger kisses. Ryan practically had to drag Sharpay over to where students were gathering closer to the bus, preparing to board.

"Good bye Pumpkin! Bye Duckie!" Derby called loudly.

Zeke and Jason couldn't even try to hide their laughter. "Which one are you, Pumpkin or Duckie?" Zeke snorted.

Ryan merely glared and didn't say anything.

"He's Duckie," Sharpay answered promptly.

"Sharpay!"

"What? I don't want them thinking she calls _me _Duckie."

Finally students were allowed to board the bus. Gabriella was glancing worriedly out into the parking lot, she knew that Troy and Chad would be cutting it fine, but this was cutting it far too fine for her liking. The engine of the bus had been started to allow air to begin to circulate throughout the vehicle. Teachers were going along the aisles head counting. Over the rumble of the bus, the sound of blasting music was heard entering the parking lot. Gabriella looked up to see Troy's truck screeching to a halt.

"_You know I'm not the little boy that I used to be, I'm all grown up now baby can't you see? Stacy's mom has got it going…"_

The music cut and the guys leaped out to grab their bags from the tray of the vehicle and began to hurry over in the direction of the awaiting bus.

Jason leaned across Kelsi to yell out the window. "Hurry up you fu-uuu… dgers," he finished lamely, suddenly occurring to him that the teachers were gathering just outside the bus. Chad didn't hesitate to flip him off. The guys quickly handed over their bags and had their names marked off on the roll. Troy gave his keys to his dad, shared a brief manly half hug and then stepped onto the bus.

Ryan and Sharpay were seated next to each other, with Gabriella behind them with a spare seat next to her – which he deduced was for him. Across from Gabriella, Chad had slid in beside Zeke. Kelsi and Jason were behind Gabriella, with Martha and Taylor across from Kelsi and Jason and behind Zeke and Chad. Troy briefly greeted people, exchanging obligatory greetings and handshakes as he made his way up the bus toward where his friends were seated about three quarters of the way toward the back. He collapsed into the empty seat beside Gabriella, falling into her embrace and pressing a lazy, light kiss to her forehead.

"You look… umm… like shit?" Gabriella offered, taking in her boyfriend's pasty skin and the look of agony in his eyes.

"I feel like shit," Troy confessed.

"Did you drive like this?" Gabriella asked.

"Nah, I drove," Chad revealed, overhearing the exchange from across the aisle. "We just swapped after picking up our shit so that his dad wouldn't know I drove."

"I um… after I… _talked_ to you on the phone, I thought you crashed?" Gabriella said tactfully.

"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly, staring into her eyes. He wasn't apologising for falling asleep – he was apologising for the call itself.

"You already texted to apologise this morning, and I already told you it's fine and that I didn't care," she replied, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah well um, Chad and the guys whose dorm I was staying in, Jack and Shaun, they came back and woke me up. So I sorta went back to the party," Troy revealed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, and glared over at a somewhat sheepish looking Chad. "You knew he had to drive this morning and you went and dragged him back to the party?" she asked, her tone disapproving.

"Hey, it's not my fault that Troy's a weakling and can't hold his alcohol," Chad said, shrugging.

The bus began to move, slowly making its way out of the bus bay.

"Hey Gabriella, here's that magazine article you didn't finish reading last night," Taylor said, handing the magazine across. Troy automatically reached out to grab the magazine that Taylor was holding out to pass to his girlfriend, peering at the page as he handed it over.

"What is this?" he asked, suddenly perking up.

Gabriella's eyes widened and yanked it away. She turned around to glare at Taylor before turning back to Troy. "It's Taylor's idea of being funny."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Um… I'm gonna come back to this later. But right now, I kinda want to sleep. Sorry I'm not going to be much entertainment for this bus ride."

"Here, you take the window," Gabriella prompted, immediately standing up and motioning for him to slide along the seat. He didn't have the energy to protest, and after shuffling over he propped up his pillow against the window.

"Oh, before you go to sleep!" Gabriella said suddenly.

"Mmm?" Troy's lazy tone enquired.

"Mom called your mom this morning and agreed to this whole joint family vacation thing."

Troy smiled, not opening his eyes. "Awesome. Can't wait," he murmured.

Gabriella watched him in amusement for a moment, before retrieving her iPod from her small carry on bag, and then snuggling up against his side.

* * *

"Oh look, we get our own bathroom!" Kelsi squealed. "When I went to band camp – _don't_ laugh at that! – we had like, four cabins of girls sharing one mass bathroom that you had to walk outside to get to."

"It was like that at cheer camp," Paula agreed, also pleased with the bathroom situation. Two showers and a toilet for eight of them was perfectly doable, especially since there was an extra sink and mirror in the room itself.

"It was a bit cleaner at cheer camp though," Monica pointed out, her nose wrinkled up upon examining the situation for herself.

"I really like these bunk beds. This little shelf is very practical," Taylor said, gesturing to the shelves that ran long the wall of each of the beds. "And I'm glad there's a reading light."

She had already taken out a few of her possessions to place along the shelf; including her toiletry bag, her novel, a notebook and a pencil case.

"Are you sure you're okay with having the top bunk?" Gabriella asked from below her. "Because it really doesn't bother me if…"

"It's fine," Taylor cut in. "Really. It's not like we're going to be in here very often. Besides… you may come in a little later than me, so…"

"I will be in here by curfew every night and not out any later," Gabriella said firmly.

A slight snort sounded from Liana, who was sitting on her top bunk that she was sharing with Monica.

"What was that noise for?" Gabriella asked a little stiffly. She didn't exactly _not_ get along with the flirty cheerleader – but Liana wasn't Gabriella's favourite person by a long shot.

"You're dating Troy Bolton. There's something wrong with you if you don't sneak out for a late night make out session with him at least once," Liana said frankly.

"I'm also class vice president, and I'm not particularly fond of the idea of being caught in such a position," Gabriella responded.

"So you don't get caught," Liana said simply. She pointed down to her suitcase that was open on the floor. "Hey Mon, can you pass me my make up kit?"

Monica rose from where she was perching on the bottom bunk beneath Liana to grab the kit and pass it up to her friend.

Gabriella was watching as Sharpay quietly went about trying to make her bed. They'd been told to bring sheets and a pillow, and that blankets would be provided. Sharpay was holding up the sheet set that the cleaner had left for her, pouting as she attempted to make the bunk. She took pity upon her, and rose from her bed.

"Do you want a hand?" she offered.

Wordlessly, Sharpay shoved the sheets into her hands. Gabriella had been in Ryan's room a few times, and knew that Evans' twins were accustomed to having their beds made for them into neat hospital corners. The bunk that Sharpay was sharing with Paula was positioned lengthways against the wall. Gabriella found the fitted sheet, twisted it around so it was length ways, and handed Sharpay one end.

"You take that end," Gabriella instructed.

Sharpay narrowed her eyes but didn't protest, merely took the sheet from Gabriella and went to the opposite end of the bed. As the girls placed the fitted sheet onto the bed, Martha moved across to the communal set of drawers to set up her iPod speakers.

"Who wants music?" Martha enquired.

"Ohh awesome, good work," Paula said brightly, pleased that someone in their room thought to bring iPod speakers with them.

"Okay, now I'll show you how to fold a hospital corner, the cheat way," Gabriella told Sharpay. "So you take your fitted sheet and tuck it in at the bottom end of the bed, making sure the top is as high as you want it to be. Then you take this part here, fold it up like this…"

Sharpay tuned out a little as she watched Gabriella demonstrate.

"Do you want to do the other side?" Gabriella asked.

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Could you just show me again? I wasn't quite clear on the last bit."

Gabriella wasn't oblivious, but humoured the blonde and quickly demonstrated with the other side. She then handed the comforter to Sharpay. "You can do that part."

Sharpay blinked and cleared her throat. "That doesn't need to be on precisely, I just need to throw that on," she said airily, tossing the item onto her bed before turning to the task of her suitcase. She'd been horrified to see only a tiny closet and eight hooks along the wall by the door, which became the home of each of the girls' coats. She quickly took out a few of her items which needed to be hanging up, taking up about a quarter of the closet.

"Leave some room for the rest of us," Monica said a little crisply.

"You know what, I don't have anything I need to hang up," Kelsi said quickly.

"Neither do I," Martha chimed in.

"Me neither," Gabriella said. "So, you're fine to leave all of that in there, Sharpay. Oh hey look, you brought your own hangers, you could hang up a few things along your bunk maybe, if Paula doesn't mind."

Paula smiled obligingly. "That's more than okay. As long as the ladder isn't covered up so I can climb up the top."

"And hey, it'll be like your own curtain," Gabriella pointed out.

"That's a good idea," Sharpay conceded, before adding quickly, "Although I would have thought of it myself."

A loud rapping came at the door to the girls' cabin. Paula was currently standing closest to the door and went over to open it – revealing Ryan in the doorway, and Troy standing just behind him.

"Why hello," Ryan greeted her. "Just here as Student Body President to check up and make sure that everything is fine with your cabin," he droned in a speech that he'd clearly made at a number of cabins already.

Troy meanwhile was glancing around, his face brightening up as he realised that he'd finally found the occupant of a cabin he'd been trying to find.

"Your cabin is so much cooler than ours, you better not have any complaints," Troy remarked.

"What are you doing here, you're going to get in so much trouble," Paula asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, I am not. I am here as Ryan's assistant. And he was legitimately asked to do this job," Troy insisted, and strode straight into the cabin.

"Troy, get out! You can't go in there, you'll get in so much shit if Darbus sees you!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Oh please, there's like ten minutes left til we have to meet in the common area," Troy said dismissively, heading straight over to check out Gabriella's bunk.

"Wildcat, they're right, you'll get into so much trouble. They were really clear about the rules about curfews and boys and girls not allowed in each others cabins. They even threatened to suspend people," Gabriella pointed out.

He shrugged and perched on the edge of her bunk. "I'm not worried."

"You seem brighter now that you napped on the bus," Taylor observed.

"Isn't it amazing what some sleep can do for a hangover?"

"Are you guys all in the same cabin?" Martha asked.

The girls and boys had been divided into two groups during cabin allocations so hadn't heard the allocations of the opposite gender.

"Yup, we're with Zeke and JC and Chad; and also Marcus, Gavin and Wes," Troy answered.

"Hey Shar," Ryan said, spying his twin setting out her outfits in a pseudo wardrobe along the rim of the bottom of Paula's bunk. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine thank you," she said haughtily, tossing her blonde locks over her shoulder.

"Mr. Evans, what are you doing?" Ms. Darbus' voice asked from behind him.

Troy's eyes widened – now glad that he had entered the room because had he been in the doorway he would have been spotted.

"In there!" Gabriella hissed, shoving him in the direction of the small toilet room. He allowed her to push him inside – and then grabbed her arm and dragged her in with him, closing the door behind them. A few stifled giggles took place from just outside the toilet door.

"Troy!" Gabriella hissed.

He lifted his finger to his mouth, indicating she needed to be quiet. He then pulled her even closer to him, and pressed his lips to hers. As long as they were trapped inside a small room, they may as well make the most of it. She reciprocated the kiss for a moment, when his tongue ran along her bottom lip she parted her lips and granted him access to the warm, wet cavern of her mouth – but then yanked him away. He wasn't deterred, and immediately latched his lips to the smooth flesh of her neck.

"Oh okay then," Ms. Darbus's muffled reply came through the door. "Girls, just letting you know that you now have less than ten minutes to be at the common area. We're going to be indoors, so you need not worry too much about putting layers on for the cold."

"Thanks Ms. Darbus," Martha said politely.

Ms. Darbus then glanced around inside the cabin. "Where is Miss Montez?" she asked suspiciously.

"She's in the toilet," Taylor answered, technically not lying at all.

Gabriella hadn't had the will to push Troy away from his suckling of her neck, and he chose that precise moment to lightly nibble her skin – and an involuntary moan escaped from her mouth.

"Miss Montez?! Are you okay?" Ms. Darbus immediately asked, moving into the cabin.

"I'm fine!" Gabriella yelped. "I'm just… getting changed."

"Okay…" Ms. Darbus said, giving the bathroom one final glance before moving away. "Dear, if you're not feeling well, make sure you let us know and you can go see the nurse."

"I'm fine, really!" Gabriella insisted.

"All right then. Seven minutes girls. And Ryan, you'd best move to your next cabin to complete your duties."

"Sure thing, I'm on it."

There was a momentary silence before the door closed.

"The coast is clear," Martha said from outside the toilet.

Troy immediately broke into a fit of laughter.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, the toilet door bursting open. "That's not funny at all! God knows what she thinks I was doing."

"And you managed to give your girlfriend a hickey, good work Bolton," Liana smirked.

Gabriella stared in the mirror looking mortified, and then turned back to thwack Troy on the arm. "Troy!"

"Oh, you love me," Troy said cheekily.

"At the rate you're going, you're trying to change that fact," Gabriella said darkly, striding over to her suitcase to try and locate a scarf.

"It's winter, you can wear a scarf and it's all good," Troy pointed out. "Anyway I'm out of here. That was a close call. I'll see you all in the common room."

He glanced back at Gabriella who was still looking somewhat annoyed as she wrapped the scarf she'd located around her neck.

"Gabi, are you annoyed with me?" Troy asked softly.

She glanced up. "No. But I will be if you don't get out of here."

"Promise?"

"Troy! Go!"

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the class trip for the Class of 2008!" Vice Principal Summers announced.

The senior year broke out into applause, with a few hollers and whistles sounding throughout the cosy indoor meeting place. It was a large room, carpeted, with a fireplace up one end. It had been designated as one of two key meeting places – the second being the mess hall.

After arriving at camp, being given cabin assignments and then forty five minutes to settle into their homes for the next three nights; students met in the common room for the first official meeting of camp. Most of it was fairly logistical – camp booklets had been handed out on the bus and were now going through in detail. The schedule for the next few days was outlined, as well as an explanation of how students would be broken up for activities. It was a rotating schedule – with a morning and an afternoon activity on Monday and Tuesday, and a morning activity on Wednesday. Canoeing, a ropes course, arts and crafts, groupwork and leadership development, and cooking were the five activities being rotated through. Arts and crafts was an excuse to have the senior students create decorations for both the winter dance on Friday night; and the spirit week in the first week back after winter vacation. Cooking was an excuse to have students assist kitchen staff by making snacks for morning and afternoon tea breaks throughout the camp.

The cabins of students were assigned into five mixed gender groups for the purposes of these activities – through a stroke of lucky intervention; the Wildcats were all assigned to the same activities group. These activities groups were then used as the basis for who was to assist at each meal time – with assistants required to assist with both serving and clean up of each meal.

The teachers went through the various rules and procedures of camp – such as that teachers were to come around with wake up calls in the morning an hour before breakfast time; that there was free time designated within which students were confined to particular areas and banned from matriculating in each others cabins; that there would be a bed time and rules in relation to curfew that must be strictly adhered to.

The final piece of information detailed were the activities planned for each of the three night sessions. The student council was 'in charge' of running the first and third nights, with the second night designated as a 'futures exploration seminar' which noone really understood the meaning of. The first night was an indoor games night. The third, Ryan Evans took pleasure in being able to stand and announce to his classmates.

"On our final night, we will be holding a 'non-talent' show. I mean, if you have an actual talent and want to perform, go for it. But what we're wanting is for people to participate. We're not looking for technical, perfectly prepared acts, because then we would have let you know about this in advance. We're just looking for random fun, the stage is yours to do whatever you want. Maybe you can drink a gallon of water in a minute. Or you do some random impression. Or you can fold paper origami. Whatever – the floor is yours. You just need to sign up your act before the show – to either me or Gabriella – and just let us know what you need, like if you want music or something. If you have an act you want to do that you need something for that you don't have with you, let us know because we brought… a lot of random stuff. You can also consider this a bit of a trial if you were thinking about auditioning for the official East High's Got Talent show after winter vacation."

* * *

The remainder of Sunday afternoon was spent broken up into activities groups, selecting a group 'name' and going into more detail in relation to the activities that would be taking place over the next two and a half days. The activities group featuring the Wildcats was named 'The Party People' – per a dumb suggestion from Chad which no one else seemed to have a better idea to counter. The first night vibe of the senior trip was nothing short of buzzing. The volume of the mess hall during dinner time reached a decibel which small rock concerts would reach. The indoor games night went by without much of a hitch, with the Student Council being provided by the school with a list of dorky games to select the least dorky from to lead students in playing. The free hour between the games session and the 11pm curfew was spent by most hanging around in the common room and mess hall; there was a supper of cocoa and a couple of cookies provided. Troy had pressed a tender good night kiss to Gabriella's lips at the beginning of the free hour and then escaped to his cabin, taking a quick shower before collapsing into bed forty five minutes prior to curfew.

Monday morning proved far more eventful, with the 'Party People' designated to complete the ropes course. One brief high ropes section brought to surface Jason's fear of heights, with him blatantly refusing to participate. The high adrenaline of the morning was followed by the quiet calm of the afternoon arts and crafts. To Gabriella's surprise, Troy had been notably absent during their afternoon free session between arts and crafts and dinner time. With the exception of the occasional stolen kiss throughout the day, they'd hardly spent any time alone at all. She'd made a comment to this about Taylor in their cabin, which Liana had overheard and actually had the audacity to jokingly suggest that perhaps Troy was having it off with another girl. Gabriella had merely glared at the flirtatious cheerleader and immediately moved on from the suggestion.

Monday dinner time was an allocated session for the 'Party People' to assist with the meal service. During the day they'd determined who was going to volunteer for serving duty and who was going to volunteer for cleaning duty. Troy had quickly finished his meal and then seconds, and made his way over to the dish area. As students finished with their plates, cutlery and cups, they were to place them in large plastic bins ready to be taken and washed up. Gabriella immediately rose and followed him. He was holding onto the detergent bottle, preparing the sink of hot water.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked from behind.

He turned around, smiling at the sight of her. "Hey stranger," he said, greeting her with a half hug and a kiss to her forehead. "Ready for wash up duty?"

"Are you upset with me?" she asked.

Troy's face clouded into an expression of confusion. "No! Not in the slightest. Why would you think that?"

"Just… when you disappeared during our free hour. I guess I thought that maybe you would have been dragging me off into a bathroom again," Gabriella said teasingly.

"Sounds like you wish I had been dragging you into a bathroom again," Troy smirked, his hand resting on her hip.

"I may not have protested… much," she confessed, with a sly smile. "But no really, it wasn't a big deal. Just when we were hanging out during arts and crafts and then you disappeared, I thought it was a bit strange. But like, I'm not upset or anything. I just, well, I guess I thought I'd make sure that you were cool. That you weren't upset about me getting upset with you yesterday, or about Saturday night, or…"

"Gabi?" Troy interrupted. "You want to know what I was doing? The truth?"

"Uh no, just lie to me," Gabriella joked.

"I'm doing this thing in the non-talent show tomorrow night," he confessed. "I was sorta preparing."

Gabriella's eyes lit up. "Really? Like, something you could then audition for East High's Got Talent with?"

Troy snorted. "Absolutely not. This is the epitome of the _non-_talent part of tomorrow night. It's a big joke."

"Why can't you tell me what it is?"

"Because, I can't. But that's what I've been doing. If it were up to me, I would have been ravishing you in a private corner. I mean…" he lowered his voice. "A drunken wank is nothing in comparison to the real thing."

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, blushing and glancing around. "You don't actually think that we're gonna… like here, on a school trip, where there are teachers hovering about every moment of the day and we're sharing rooms with seven other people?"

"If I think practically and logically I realise that it's unlikely. But you see, the male brain pretty much works on a level where any time and any place is a viable option," Troy attempted to explain.

"Hey guys, you're getting an early start," Ryan said cheerfully, carrying over a tub of dirty plates. Kelsi was trailing behind him with a tray of dirty cutlery.

"The faster we do this, the sooner we…. Okay, so the sooner we get to go to this 'futures' seminar," Troy said. "Hmm, maybe we shouldn't be working efficiently."

"They'd just stall until we arrived," Ryan pointed out.

"True. Damn. Okay, so the sooner we do this, the sooner the futures seminar starts, and then if it ends early we get more time during the free session tonight," Troy declared triumphantly.

"Sounds like a plan."

The click-clack-click-clack of a pair of heels sounded, and Sharpay appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She was carrying her own dirty dishes.

"Oh good, there you all are," she said, and dumped her plate into the tub that Ryan had set down on the bench; and her cutlery into the tray that Kelsi was carrying. She then sat down on a chair that was in the corner.

Liana followed, carrying another tub with dessert bowls. "Sharpay, you could have helped me carry it!" she complained.

"Why?" Sharpay asked simply.

"Because you're meant to be on clean up duty as well. This tub was really heavy!"

"Oh please, the bowls are made of plastic," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "Don't you try to pretend you're some weak bimbo, Lee, I've seen you doing all those cheerleader lifts and things."

Liana sat down in a chair beside Sharpay. "Whatever," she huffed.

"Um, I'm going to go get the bucket with the plastic cups," Gabriella said.

"I'll help," Ryan said, and followed her out back into the main mess hall.

"Hey, do you know what this thing Troy is doing tomorrow night is?" she asked curiously.

Ryan's face broke into a smile. "Yes," he confirmed. "But I can't tell you. And he really can't tell you either. You'll just have to wait and be surprised. More importantly, were we still going to go in it, for fun?"

Gabriella hesitated. "I'll just check with Troy that he's okay with it."

Ryan stopped in his tracks, pulling Gabriella aside into a nearby storage room. "Why should you have to check with Troy?" he asked incredulously. "Please don't tell me that he _still_ has an issue with you and me being friends??"

"No no, I think he's cool with it all," Gabriella said.

"You think?" Ryan repeated.

"Well, we haven't really talked about it since we had that little mini fight just before the fall musical."

"Interesting."

Gabriella sighed. "Spit it out, Ry, you're never very good at hiding that you want to share something."

Ryan smiled sheepishly. "I just… I think you should talk about it, is all. I know that the current 'issue' of the relationship is the future and whether to plan for it and what's going to happen. But if you don't look after the little day to day issues in the mean time… there might not be a future to worry about, is all."

"It's ironic that I get my best relationship advice from you," Gabriella mused.

"Why is that ironic?"

"Because you're dancing about avoiding telling Chase bluntly that you're interested in him."

Ryan sighed. "Now that is complicated, you make it sound so simple but it's not."

"Why is it complicated? Because you're gay?" she asked quietly.

"Because I'm gay, because I'm not _out _about being gay, because I met him online, because he's in college, because he lives three hours away, because I haven't done the relationship thing, because I might be moving away in six months anyway, because… do I need to keep listing?"

"You like him, right?"

"Yes!"

"If anything, some of that should make it easier. So you tell him that you like him and it goes badly. You don't have to see him, you don't have to deal with him. Clean rejection, wipe him from your life, move on."

Ryan sighed. "Yeah. Maybe."

* * *

The group finished with the cleaning up – well, the group minus Liana and Sharpay who sat to the side. At least Liana half pretended to help, occasionally taking some of the dirty items from the plastic bins and placing them into the industrial sink. Sharpay remained sitting, retrieving a nail file from the clutch she was carrying and working on perfecting her nails.

The futures seminar wasn't entirely boring. The focus of the presentation was upon reaching your goals regardless of what the outcomes of your SATs and college applications may be; with information presented about community colleges and apprenticeships and other means of finding a way of working your way into your field of choice. After a group lecture, students were asked to break into discussion groups, where they were going to be given some questions to think about and share thoughts and feelings with their peers. The Wildcats immediately formed a circle – with Sharpay somewhat awkwardly glancing about the room.

"Hey Sharpay, you coming with us?" Kelsi asked, touching the blonde's arm.

"Um, do you want me to?" Sharpay asked hesitantly.

"Of course, come on!" Kelsi prompted, indicating for Sharpay to drag her chair over to join in with their group.

Meanwhile, Ms. Darbus had been around the room, handing out sheets with discussion questions to each of the groups. It wasn't an official exercise, there was no test on it, there was no bring back. In fact students were told that they weren't obliged to share with their peers, if they wanted to just sit and quietly listen they were welcome to abstain. The sheet had been handed to Martha, and she glanced at the first question.

"Where do you see yourself in 10 years, and what do you hope to have accomplished in the meantime?" Martha read aloud.

The group fell silent.

"Jeez, they couldn't have started with something easy like what's your favourite colour?" Chad said, breaking the silence. A light laughter followed.

"I'll go first, that's easy," Sharpay declared.

"Go on then, if that's easy," Chad said.

"I will have graduated from Juilliard, and be starring on Broadway in New York City and I will win a Tony Award. Between shows I will record an album which I'll win Grammy's for. And then I'll move out to Hollywood, most likely Beverly Hills, and spend some time working on films. And win an Oscar, of course. I'd also like to win an Emmy, but that may not be realistic within the next 10 years."

"Good to see you aren't setting your sights too high," Taylor remarked.

Sharpay missed the sarcasm, and smiled triumphantly. "Well, show business is volatile so I need to be realistic about it." She glanced at Zeke, who was sitting beside her. "What about you?

Zeke cleared his throat. "I want to go overseas and study with some renowned dessert chefs; then come back to the United States and establish my own restaurant," he revealed.

"I'd like to be performing on Broadway in New York, or on West End in London. Or doing choreography. Either way," Ryan said.

"I think I'm going to study education," Martha revealed.

"You're not gonna be a famous hip hop dancer," Jason teased.

She blushed. "That's a hobby, not a career choice for me."

"Well my hobby is my career choice," Jason said. "I want to have finished in film school, and I just want to be working in either movies or television, with the path looking good. I don't care if I'm not quite there yet, I just want everything to be moving in the right direction."

"That's a good attitude," Martha said with a nod.

Jason glanced to his left at his girlfriend. "Kels?" he prompted.

"I'll be doing music. In whatever way, shape or form, I'll be involved with music for the next ten years and for the ten years after that and for the ten years after that," Kelsi declared. "I enjoy song writing, both doing compositions for original musicals and lately I've been really enjoying working on some potentially mainstream music. I guess… as a tangible goal, I'd like some songs that I've written to have been recorded by prominent artists and make the Billboard Charts."

"Maybe it'll be your songs that Sharpay will win her Grammy for," Zeke suggested.

"What about you, Chad?" Kelsi asked.

Chad shrugged. "Umm… well, college ball is up next. From there… who knows. Some guys reach college level ball and they thrive with it and get even better and then opportunities arise to go further. Others just sorta plateau, it's like an extension of high school ball, just more serious. I think I want to study business. I'd be interested in getting involved in the behind the scenes of an NBA team."

"I used to think that I wanted to study science, do my post graduate, do research, make discoveries…" Taylor trailed off. "I'm not sure anymore. I think I see the next ten years as a chance to delve around and work out what it is that I'm meant to be doing with the rest of my life."

She shifted uncomfortably, not particularly comfortable with her admission that she was feeling somewhat uncertain about her direction. "Gabriella?"

"I hope to have finished my undergrad and a post graduate degree. And I would like to have worked doing research of some sort, but also worked practically. And have gone backpacking. Ohh, and have lived for at least six months in Spain, and another six in Italy – where I want to become fluent in Spanish and Italian. Oh, and I'd like to have published a novel. Oh, and own my own house. And…"

"Okay, it's in ten years, not within your life time," Chad interrupted.

Gabriella blushed. "I just… there's so much that I want to do. And I don't see it as a case of having to pick and choose what it is that I want to do from it all. I see it as a challenge to do as much as I physically can."

"She'll do it. I bet you that when we're at like our ten year reunion, Gabriella's going to list off her accomplishments and we'll all be flabbergasted," Zeke said, flashing her a smile.

She glanced over at Troy, squeezing him on the leg. "Troy?"

Troy was silent for a moment, his eyes trained on the carpet. "In ten years… I'll be approaching 28 years of age…"

"Which means you'll be nearly at the age to retire from the NBA and be rolling around in your wads of cash?" Jason supplied.

Troy didn't respond. "In ten years, I hope that I am happy and healthy and surrounded by people that I love," he said simply, glancing at Gabriella ever so slightly. "The rest… I dunno about. I don't really care about it either. If I get the happiness and health and am around people I wanna be around… then I'll have everything that I could want."

Another silence fell among the group of ten.

"I think Troy's answer beats all of ours put together," Kelsi said softly, smiling at Troy.

* * *

At 10:30pm, Troy and Gabriella were sitting by the edge of the lake, each dressed warmly plus Troy had brought along a spare blanket from his cabin for them to sit on and have wrapped around them. He was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, whereas Gabriella had her legs tucked to her right side, leaning to the left onto Troy's right shoulder.

"It's so beautiful here," Gabriella murmured.

"It doesn't bother you that it's out of bounds?"

"A little. But you seem to do this to me. Like over summer with the golf course, and swimming in the pool," she pointed out wryly. "I went along with it then."

His right arm was wrapped around her protectively, his head leaning on top of hers. "Hey Gabi?"

"Mmm?"

"You know your list of schools you've applied to?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you said you don't really have preferences among them yet but… where does Yale sit in the mix?"

Gabriella hesitated. "Um… I don't know yet. Why?"

"Well… Yale is just over an hour away from UConn. And I was thinking about taking one of my official visits there."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And umm… I've been trying to get into contact with the coach from Boston University. The information that you and Taylor brought back when you visited Massachusetts was interesting."

Gabriella's right arm snaked across Troy's abdomen. "Are there any schools in the San Francisco area you are interested in?"

"Near Stanford?"

"Mm hmm."

"Well Sacramento doesn't want me, they want Chad," Troy pointed out wryly. "I've contacted the people from UC Berkeley, but am waiting to hear back."

"What about NYU or somewhere there?" Gabriella asked. "And is there anywhere other than Boston University in that area that you're interested in?"

"You're not helping me here, you're just listing all the places you've been applying," Troy pointed out wryly.

Gabriella sighed. "Chad told me that UConn is really awesome. I think that if a school that is that awesome is contacting you and offering an official visit, then you should go for it," Gabriella said honestly. "I think that a part of being happy for you, will be about taking the best opportunities you can get."

"Define best?" Troy said quietly. "The best opportunities… the best in terms of what? Just because UConn do really well in the NCAA competition, doesn't mean it's the best for me. Maybe the best for me is gonna be somewhere else."

"I know what you're asking me to do," Gabriella said softly. "You want me to make it easy and tell you that Yale is my top priority and then you can go and hunt down the UConn offer. But it's not that easy, it's not that simple. You can be realistic and you can acknowledge that the important things in life are happiness and health and having people that you love around you. That's a healthy outlook to have in life. But you're not going to ever be happy if you don't strive to reach your dreams. I want you to get the best opportunity possible for you to advance forward with your dreams. That is what I want for you. I believe that if you do that… then everything else will fall into place."

"Maybe I already have one of my dreams right here," Troy murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind Gabriella's ear.

"You're so corny," she murmured.

"Only with you," he said, the gap between them closing and their lips meeting in a soft kiss. A soft kiss that became a tender kiss, a tender kiss that became a probing, passionate kiss.

The sound of a throat clearing behind them sounded, and Troy and Gabriella froze, sheepishly pulling apart and glancing behind them to see Ms. Darbus looming.

"Are we not allowed to be here?" Gabriella stammered.

"No. You're not. Curfew is in five minutes, I suggest you make your way back to your cabins," Ms. Darbus said sternly.

Wordlessly, Troy and Gabriella stood up. He grabbed the blanket and folded it lengthways and then wrapped it around his girlfriends shoulders. Ms. Darbus waited for them to pass her, before bringing up the rear behind the pair.

Troy leaned across and murmured into her ear, "At least it wasn't Mr. Fulton giving us a strike."

* * *

**Author's Note - **_Coming up next chapter, the East High senior class trip continues, and we also have the East High Winter Dance! What does Troy have planned for the **non**-Talent show? Will Gabriella and Troy find privacy with Darbus's constant vigil? Find out next time..._

And in the mean time, your feedback would be totally off the hook. :-)

-Dani xo


	11. Chapter 11

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N - **_**There is a part of this chapter where I evidently… went insane. I'd like to apologise for this insanity in advance and I hope that no one judges me too badly for it. :-)**_

It's Kylie's fault. We were having a harmless conversation on AIM one night which led to… mental imagery on my part. And… it went from there. I don't even remember the context of the original discussion, ha. To try to sorta 'hear' it, I would ask you to think about two things. Firstly, you know the Z/V playing with dolls video? I want you to imagine Zac saying 'Why are you making my voice so high? Stop doing that.' I would also like you to think about the HSM2 YATMIM Sharpay version – when Troy is singing. Then you'll kinda be in the right mind frame.

Thanks to Audrey for her assistance and knowledge and wisdom and patience :-)

**Chapter Disclaimer – **The lyrics featured in the chapter belong to _The Weather Girls. _Also, just a quick acknowledgement to _Oliver Harpst_ and her one-shot 'Challenge Accepted' (it's in my favorite stories, READ IT if you haven't already because it's freaking **hilarious**) which sorta helped to provide a context to the aforementioned mental imagery that I decided I must include.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_I wanna stay here in this moment  
Make the earth stand impossibly still  
Disappear in your kiss, we'll never be missed  
Let the world fade way, I just want to stay with you_

_**Melissa Ethridge 'This Moment'**_

* * *

"I wonder if this is how the President feels?" Ryan mused.

"The president?" Martha asked. "What, you mean of our country?"

"Yeah. Like, being driven around and being waited on and stuff."

It was late Tuesday afternoon and the final activity for the day was canoeing. Students had been divided randomly into groups of two and three – in the groups of three, someone was to sit in the middle and they were to switch over to ensure the members of the canoe had equal rowing time. Ryan, Martha and Kelsi were in a group – with Ryan sitting back and relaxing as the girls did all the work.

"Kelsi, we have to go left," Martha said, from the front of the boat; as they were rowing straight in the direction of where Troy, Marcus and Paula were in a canoe together.

"Okay," Kelsi called from the back.

The boat continued to go straight.

"Guys, you need to go left!!!" Marcus hollered.

"Kelsi, left, left!" Martha called.

Ryan turned around momentarily – and then realised what the issue was.

"Kelsi, the _other _left!" he exclaimed.

"Ohhhh!!! Shit!!" she swore, and moved her oar to the other side.

Fortunately Troy and Marcus had been on the ball and made a sharp turn away, nevertheless collision was just barely avoided.

"Boat 3 and Boat 7 – please be more vigilant!" Mr. Lambert's voice sounded.

The camp sites activity instructor and the East High geography teacher were in a boat together supervising; with Mr. Lambert clutching onto a mega phone to direct students.

"Yeah Kelsi, you need to be more vigilant!" Jason called out, from where he was in a boat with Chad and Gabriella.

Kelsi stuck out her tongue at her boyfriend, who merely shot her a bright smile in return.

Back toward shore, Zeke and Sharpay had only just began to move. When they'd wound up in a pair, Zeke was freaking out internally about being in a boat with her and only her for forty minutes. Sharpay, meanwhile, was freaking out about the concept of actually having to canoe.

"Mr. Lambert, can't I just sit on shore?" she had asked, batting her eyelids.

"No. Everyone will at least _attempt_ the exercise," he said firmly.

"Can't I go in a group of three and sit in the middle?" she had requested.

Again, her request was denied.

When they were selecting their lifejackets and she asked if there was one available in pink, it took every ounce of Mr. Lambert's patience to not snap at the girl to sit down and shut up.

It had been five minutes since all the other groups had pushed off from shore and made their way out to the course. It had taken Sharpay a while to actually sit in the boat – she was petrified of it capsizing as they got in. And then after they got in, she was struggling with her rowing technique.

"We could just float?" she suggested to Zeke.

"Sharpay, if you really didn't want to be doing this, you would have found a way to convince your parents to not make you come on this camp. You knew we'd be doing this sort of stuff. As long as you're doing it, why don't you give it a go?" Zeke suggested patiently.

She paused for a moment, allowing his words to wash over her, and then took a deep breath. "Okay. So I hold it like this… and… rotate like this…"

"Perfect!" Zeke declared. "Okay, so we have to do it at the same time, but on opposite sides of the boat. So on 'TWO' is when the oar needs to dip in. So it's one two, one two, one two, one two, one two…"

The boat began to smoothly traverse through the lake.

"Oh my God. I'm doing it. I'm doing it!" Sharpay exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Don't stop, keep going!" Zeke urged. "One two, one two…"

Twenty minutes into the canoeing experience, one of the groups was experiencing a bit of trouble. Chad, Jason and Gabriella were in a boat together; their experience beginning well while Jason was in the middle, then continuing well as Chad was in the middle. However the moment that Gabriella was in the middle, everything seemed to go wrong.

And of course, the first boat of the entire group to capsize was none other than theirs.

Gabriella had felt the boat beginning to tip, letting out a ripping scream as they began to fall. Chad was the first to emerge from the water – quickly checking and confirming that both Jason and Gabriella were fine, that they hadn't knocked their heads on the canoe. Jason was laughing, Chad was laughing – Gabriella was shrieking, as she flailed about in the water.

"STOP SCREAMING!" Chad shouted, shaking Gabriella. "You're wearing a life jacket AND we're in water so shallow that you can touch the ground."

She calmed down ever so slightly, realising that her life jacket really did work – allowing her to just bob in the water. However she was keeping her knees drawn up, refusing to just stand in the water as Chad and Jason were.

"The ground is gross and slimy!" she declared in disgust.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Chad grumbled.

"Jason, Chad and Gabriella. You need to swim your boat over to shore and re-launch," Mr. Lambert's instructions came over the megaphone.

"Hey, you told me that you can't scream when we were filming my movie!" Jason exclaimed. "That was awesome, just then!"

"That's because I was actually scared!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Jason, swim the boat back to shore," Chad instructed, and paddled over to Gabriella to put an arm around her. "Come on."

Gabriella awkwardly swam back toward the shore. She was refusing to put her feet on the ground, and so Chad was forced to physically lift her up, where he practically tossed her onto the grassy bank.

"I'm not going back out there," Gabriella insisted.

"Aww come on Gab, it's not that bad," Chad said imploringly.

She shook her head. "Don't care, I'm not going," she said stubbornly.

Mr. Lambert and the instructor's boat pulled over to shore.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked.

"Gabriella doesn't want to come back out," Jason informed him.

"I'm really cold," Gabriella said, shivering violently.

Mr. Lambert sighed. "There's only about fifteen minutes left of this activity. Why don't you take your lifejacket back to the shed and head back to your cabin to have a warm shower and get changed?"

She nodded. "If that's okay."

"Do you two want to go back to your cabin, or…"

"No way!" Chad and Jason exclaimed simultaneously.

Troy had manoeuvred the canoe that he, Marcus and Paula were in, to head toward the shore. He called out to Chad and Jason as they relaunched. "Is she okay?"

"She's going back to shower," Chad told him.

Troy didn't hesitate. "Yo Mr. Lambert!" he called out.

The instructional boat made its way over.

"Yes Troy?"

"I need to pee," Troy announced.

Paula held back from snorting. Mr. Lambert sighed. "Can't you hold it? This activity is nearly…"

"No, I mean like right now," Troy insisted. "I'm busting."

"Okay. Row to shore; and then Paula, will you be okay to take over rowing?"

"That's fine, I did it earlier," Paula said.

"Do you want me to come back after I go to the bathroom? Or since by the time I get back over and get my life jacket again it'll be nearly time to come back in, should I just meet the group back at the common area?" Troy enquired.

"You have your free hour after this activity, so you it's probably hardly worthwhile coming back," Mr. Lambert declared.

"Oh okay then," Troy said, trying to sound disappointed about missing out on five minutes of canoeing. "Well come on guys, I really need to go, or do you want me to take a leak in the boat?"

Marcus and Paula obligingly rowed to shore, allowing Troy to escape from the boat. He ran in the direction of the shed, haphazardly removed his life jacket and hung it back onto its hood. He retrieved his sweatshirt, towel and flip flops on shore, and darted after Gabriella barefoot – knowing his flip flops would only impede upon his speed. He caught up with her just as she had emerged from the path through the wooded area surrounding the lake, and was emerging into the camp sites clearing.

"Gabi!" he called once she was within earshot.

She turned around upon hearing him. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, clutching his belongings all in his left arm and putting his right arm around her.

She nodded. "Just really cold," she said, her teeth chattering. "And… pissed at Jason and Chad for being idiots. And a bit freaked out. And feeling really gross because that water was disgusting."

"I'm most worried about the cold. Come on; let's get you to your cabin so you can shower."

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh… I told Mr. Lambert that I need to pee," he revealed. "But I was worried about you. We were all the way across the lake when you guys capsized, and by the time Marcus and I rowed over you'd already taken off."

They were approaching her cabin, where Troy took a brief moment to glance around and make sure no one was around, before following Gabriella inside.

"You go have a shower, I'll find you some things to change into," he told her.

Gabriella's teeth were still chattering as she nodded in agreement. She grabbed her towel which was hanging on the edge of the bunk and her toiletry bag from the shelf, and shuffled off into the closest shower. Troy sat down on the floor next to where Gabriella's suitcase was open. He took a moment to smile at the sight of her lingerie which was neatly tucked away beneath her regular clothes. He pulled out a red lingerie set, a pair of jeans, a tank top, a long sleeved shirt and a zip up black sweatshirt. When he heard the shower turn off, he rose and headed over to the door, knocking.

"Gabi babe? I have your clothes."

He heard the flicking noise of the door unlocking and her soft murmur for him to come in. He opened the door and peered around, seeing that she was standing with her towel wrapped around her; only covering her to just above mid thigh, and providing an ample view of the swell of her breast.

Troy had fully intended to hand over her clothes and just allow her to get dressed, but he found his second brain was dictating his actions and before he knew it, he'd tossed her clothes into the corner, closed the door behind him, pulled her into his embrace and hungrily pressed his lips to hers. He was surprised when she didn't push him away, and even more surprised when she kissed him back with even more vigour. His hand reached out to flick the lock on the door before falling to the small of her back, and then ghosting down to her barely towel clad ass to squeeze gently. She moaned slightly into his kiss, her own hands having worked their way beneath the back of his sweatshirt and t-shirt to feel the hard warmth of his back.

Suddenly her brain began to operate, reluctantly breaking the kiss. Troy groaned a little as she did so.

"Come on baby," he said softly, staring at her imploringly.

"It's not that I don't want something to happen. I'm the one who insisted upon… _pleasuring_ you on Friday night without any reciprocation. And who then listened to you on the phone on Saturday night with no relief on my end. Believe me, I want it."

Troy smiled wryly. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

"No, I'm trying to get you to stop looking at me like that. Everyone is going to come back in here any time now. And I really don't want either of us to get into trouble, not when winter vacation is coming up and my mom finally agreed that we can stay with you guys. Word would undoubtedly get back to your dad and…"

"Okay, okay," Troy said, taking a deep breath. "Can we make out for a bit longer though?" he asked with an impish grin.

Gabriella giggled. "I suppose so."

"Gabriella?" Kelsi's voice called into the cabin.

Troy and Gabriella froze, incapable of moving. She clutched onto him tightly, willing her friends to just assume she wasn't there and to head toward the common room or mess hall to locate her.

"Given that Troy left his towel and flip flops on the floor next to our bunk, I'm assuming you are in here," Taylor pointed out.

"I'm just getting changed," Gabriella called.

"With Troy?" Paula's voice now sounded through the door.

Troy knelt down to pick up her pile of clothes from the floor and handed them to her, before opening the door and going out. "Calm down, ladies, I just handed over her clothes," he said, rolling his eyes. "When I came up to my cabin to use the bathroom, I saw Gabriella on the way on her way back to shower. And so I sent her straight in to shower and said I'd gather her clothes for her. Which I gave to her. Because I am a kind, considerate, respectful boyfriend."

The girls exchanged a series of 'whatever' glances.

"Could one of you be useful and check that the coast is clear at the doorway?" he asked.

Kelsi obliged and went to the doorway to check. "Yup, it's all good right now."

Troy called through to the door, "Oh Gabriella, I won't be around during the free hour. But I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay! Bye!" Gabriella called back through the door.

"While you're here then," Martha said, picking up a canvas bag she had on her bed, and held it out to Troy.

"Thank you," he said with a grin. "Muchly appreciated. Well… not really appreciated at all. But you know."

"Hurry up," Kelsi said impatiently. "Make a run for it now while you can!"

"Yeah, yeah. See you later girls!"

* * *

Kelsi and Jason were sitting on the floor in the common room. Kelsi was lying on her stomach, Jason on his side. They had a game of Connect Four between them on the carpet.

"I can't believe how quickly Christmas has come around," Kelsi remarked.

"Tell me about it. I feel like it was summer like, last week," Jason replied.

"Oooh Connect 4!" Kelsi said brightly, as she slotted her red token in to win the game.

Jason groaned. "I totally suck at this."

"Nah, I just used to play with my little brother like, all the time. He was obsessed."

"That, or I'm just having a Jason's a loser week," he remarked.

Kelsi raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Oh… it's nothing," Jason said quickly, regretting having said anything.

"No it's not. You said that for a reason," Kelsi said. He coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Hey… it's me. Vent," Kelsi prompted softly, reaching out to stroke his hand gently.

"It's not a big deal. Guess I'm just feeling a bit… I dunno… weird about me and Chad capsizing the canoe. And also about yesterday when I was all retarded with the high ropes."

"Jason, you have a phobia. I was petrified of those high ropes, and I don't have a fear of heights."

"You were petrified, but you did it," he pointed out. "I just… refused."

"That doesn't make you a loser," Kelsi insisted. "If anything, it makes you brave because you were able to be so resolute about it."

"Trust you to try to make me chickening out sound like a good thing," Jason said with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

Troy Bolton was a competitive individual. His competitive streak wasn't confined to his game on the basketball court. He was the worst person to play a board game with, because if he lost he would sulk for hours afterwards and claim that 'it just wasn't fair.' His competitive nature was not only with other people, but with himself. It was like a game he played with himself. If he doubted that he was capable of doing something – it merely became a challenge to be able to perform the task. He'd never turned down a challenge extended through a dare or a bet, resulting in the usage of house paint to decorate his father's car when he was nine; as well as the raiding of Liana's underwear drawer during a small party at her house in freshman year and then utilising her bras as slingshots; and not to mention a nudie run through Jason's backyard at a lively party following the championships in junior year.

On Monday morning, the guys had been hanging about in the cabin, taking turns to shower before heading up toward the mess hall for breakfast. They'd been discussing the non-talent show and whether any of them were going to enter. Marcus said he was going to enter and show off his hackey-sack skills; Chad had contemplated whether spinning his basketball on his finger for a minute was classed as something worthy of entering with. A random comment from Jason about umbrellas had escalated into an even more random conversation. And one thing led to another and next thing, it had led to Chad suggesting that Troy would never do something.

Suggesting that he would _never_ do something was only an invitation to invite him to _insist_ that he would, under the right circumstances.

And so twenty minutes into the non-talent show – after Sharpay had sang _Listen_ from Dreamgirls; a few guys had done some break dancing; Marcus had done his hackey-sack routine; a few of the cheerleaders had done an impromptu dance they'd choreographed over the last two days; Jerime had demonstrated his Scottish accent; and Patty had performed some lame card based magic tricks – Troy was awaiting side stage nervously, ready to go on. After a series of lame acts – his act was poised to fit in perfectly as being the lamest of them all.

"And for our next act, I would like to welcome someone who I think you're all fairly familiar with," Ryan announced from centre stage. "Except, tonight, they will be presenting something that none of you would ever have imagined. Put your hands together for Miss Treasure Bolton."

Ryan moved off stage and handed the microphone to Troy. Before he appeared within sight of his peers, he spoke into the microphone from side stage.

"I just want to say that what you're about to see is the result of a bet, I am straight, I love my girlfriend and I _hate_ Chad Danforth."

A somewhat miserable looking Troy was shoved from the doorway in the direction of the stage area; regretting his competitive nature, hating Jason for starting the whole stupid conversation in the first place, hating Chad even more for taking it further. However it wasn't Troy – it was Treasure. Gabriella gasped – now understanding what all the secrecy that afternoon had been about.

Treasure was dressed in a hot pink boob tube – with stuffing within – a blue denim mini skirt which had a pink frill added along the rim, black stockings and a pair of pink furry ugg boots – the only girls shoes they'd been able to locate that actually fit Troy's feet. He was also wearing a wig which resembled a longer version of Chad's hair, except it had been styled to be two high pigtails; and a tiara had been affixed to his head. He had a fluffy black feather boa wrapped around his arms, and he was carrying a sparkly pink umbrella.

His eyes were trained to the floor, attempting to block out the laughter and wolf whistles, ignoring the flashes of the cameras. He'd walked straight over to the microphone stand to place the microphone Ryan had handed him into its holder. If only the thin metal stick was wide enough to hide him completely. He hadn't even began to sing the ridiculous song which Chad had stipulated within his dare, and already the reaction was at a level where Troy knew that he was not going to be allowed to forget this day – not ever.

When Troy was seven, he'd once been forced to play dolls with one of his elementary school classmates, Jemimah Christensen, who at the time lived next door and he had to go play with her while Lucille was at work and Jack was in a meeting. Troy had taken over his GI Joe with him and used the Barbie Ferrari to be GI Joe's mode of transport. Little Jemimah had insisted that Troy also play with the Barbie – and when he'd used his own voice as the Barbie, she'd gotten upset, stamping her foot and saying that Barbie doesn't sound like a boy.

When Troy was sixteen and visiting some relatives in Santa Fe, he'd been left to baby sit his seven year old cousin Kimberly – and experienced a severe flashback to his childhood memory of playing with Jemimah – except that he didn't have a GI Joe with him to make him feel slightly more manly about the situation.

These two occasions served as training for the voice which Troy found himself using for the opening, spoken verse of the song which Chad had specified was to be used within this bet.

_Hi… We're your Weather Girls… And have we got news for you. You better listen! Get ready, all you lonely girls; and leave those umbrellas at home. Alright!_

He tossed the umbrella aside dramatically and took a deep breath as he launched into the chorus – grateful that the song was fairly low pitched and therefore he wasn't going to be straining his voice to reach some impossibly high notes.

_Humidity is rising - Barometer's getting low…_

Troy added in his own voice, "Man I hate you Chad."_  
_

_According to all sources, the street's the place to go  
_

As his classmates clapped and cheered along with the song, Troy felt himself becoming _slightly_ more at ease with the situation. It was all a bit of fun. He yanked the microphone from the holder.

_Cause tonight for the first time, just about half-past ten  
For the first time in history, it's gonna start raining men…_

And as Troy launched into the chorus, he threw his head back and his arm out dramatically.

_It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!  
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get absolutely soaking wet!  
_

Troy began to prance around the makeshift stage exaggeratedly, before moving his way through the crowd and utilising the feather boa as means of audience interaction.

_It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!  
Tall, blonde, dark and lean; rough and tough and strong and mean_

The song finished, Troy's peers breaking out into wild applause, standing and jumping about madly. He bowed – and then curtsied awkwardly. A few of his classmates were shouting "encore" to which he responded in his 'playing with dolls' voice "I'm sorry, but this was a one off performance from Treasure, there will be no encore. _Ever."_

And with that, he placed the microphone back into the holder and darted off the stage. He crossed paths with Ryan who was laughing hysterically, and clapped Troy on the back.

"And since no one would be able to immediately follow _that_ performance, we'll now be having our twenty minute interval," Ryan announced.

Troy stalked through the crowd straight toward Chad.

"You do realise what this means, Danforth," Troy declared. "You'd better live up your end of the bargain."

"Oh, believe me I will," Chad guffawed. "For that, I'll do anything. I got it on video. All I can say is welcome to YouTube, Troy Bolton. Oh, and I can't wait til your 21st, because this baby will be brought back out then too."

"These photos are going to look great in the yearbook Troy… I mean… Treasure," Taylor corrected herself, smiling broadly.

Troy finally allowed himself to look at Gabriella – he'd avoided looking directly at her throughout the whole song, for some reason it was her judgement he feared the most.

The moment she'd seem him, she'd had a minor heart attack – and then moved beyond it and into the place where only Troy would allow a dare or a bet to go to this extreme. And only Troy could move beyond the initial discomfort that he was screaming and actually get into the song ham it up.

"Well well, I knew that my boyfriend was multi talented but this is just something I never expected," Gabriella said with a giggle.

"I can hardly believe you're talking to me with a straight face," Troy said. "I need to go get changed now, before I feel my oestrogen levels rise."

Gabriella grabbed Troy by the arm before he could dart away, and pulled him close to her. She pressed her lips to his softly, smiling into the kiss.

"Now you can sing that song… you know… bout kissing a girl."

"That I can. Mmm cherry chapstick," Gabriella murmured as they pulled apart.

"It tastes better on you," Troy said.

"I always said you're like a lesbian in a dude's body," Chad interrupted, his arm playfully wrapping around Troy's neck.

"Yeah, shut the fuck up. I have to go get changed, I want to be back by the end of the interval so I can watch some shit without feeling like I'm about to vomit," Troy declared crudely, before taking off toward the door.

"So Chad, what's your end of the bargain?" Taylor asked.

Chad bristled, glancing down at his sneaker clad feet. "It's not a big deal," he said stiffly. "Nothing tonight, anyway."

Taylor glanced at Gabriella. The brunette shrugged slightly, both girls having sensed the definitive 'don't ask me about it' in his tone.

Random chatter ensued until Troy reappeared feeling a whole lot more manly – having scrubbed the make up from his face, slid a black beanie on, and was dressed in his scruffiest, holiest pair of blue jeans, his scuffed up black converse, wearing a white shirt stained with black oil marks, and a black sweatshirt.

"So, what's coming up in the second half?" Troy enquired, sliding into a seat that was now conveniently available beside Gabriella.

"Well, Miss Martha here is doing a dance," Ryan informed him. "Shar and I are going to practise our dance that we are doing in the New Mexico Youth Dance-Off just after winter break. There is some unknown act coming up from some of the football guys."

"Umm… Ryan and I are going to sing a bit later on," Gabriella informed him – attempting to sound casual but really, internally wincing in preparation for Troy's response.

"Oh yeah, what song?" Troy asked calmly.

Gabriella blinked. "Huh?"

"I asked what song?" Troy repeated.

"We're gonna sing a Christmas carol medley thing," Ryan informed him. "Try to get some Christmas spirit going."

"Oh yeah? Sounds awesome. Bet you guys will blow all the other singing acts out of the water," Troy joked.

Gabriella stared at him sharply, trying to detect a hint of hidden animosity within his eyes.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Troy asked, wiping at his lips. "I scrubbed and scrubbed at that shit…"

"No, you're clean. I just… umm…" Gabriella lowered her voice and leaned closer. "Are you okay? With… me and Ryan singing?"

Ryan glanced over at where Mr. Newman was signalling that it was time to get the second act going.

"Okay guys, enjoy the second half, I have to head back up… oh the burden of being MC," Ryan said dramatically.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Troy asked Gabriella, his tone equally hushed.

She glanced up and down and sideways and anywhere but directly at him. "I guess I thought maybe… maybe you'd be mad?"

"Hey hey East High!!!" Ryan announced up on stage.

"Mad?" Troy repeated.

"Don't worry about it," Gabriella said quickly.

"Gabriella…"

"The second half is starting." She quickly retracted and sat upright on her chair, presenting the guise of paying attention to the stage area where Ryan was outlining some of the acts coming up. Troy narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend slightly, but then shrugged and also sat up straight. Just because she'd closed the topic for now, didn't mean it was closed permanently.

* * *

The Wildcats spent the first half of their final free hour of the senior trip hanging out together, with other friends and peers dropping by the random conversation. It was Jason and Kelsi who were first to disappear without a word being spoken – as was observed and voiced loudly by Chad. Ryan's cell phone had rang and he quickly disappeared from the group – also observed by Chad, but somehow Chad summoned the discretion to not say anything about it. Troy and Gabriella had been sitting to the side of the group, engaged in their own private whispered discussion. Lingering, leading kisses to the cheek and forehead and palm of the hand took place, followed by the occasional sneaky chaste kiss to the lips. A mumbling excuse about math homework later, and Troy had yanked his girlfriend away from the group in search of any private nook or cranny within the bounds of the camp site.

Just minutes shy of the curfew, and Troy was jogging from Gabriella's cabin to his own, having walked her back. He slipped inside, and of course was met by a series of teasing heckles and pretend kissing sounds.

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Troy said, rolling his eyes, and heading over to his bunk.

"I think Treasure is back," Chad remarked. "You've got shit all over your face. And some on your neck."

Troy immediately wiped at his face with the back of his arm. This type of teasing didn't really bother him. So what, they were teasing him for having a girlfriend and getting action? As long as they kept it about him and didn't say anything disrespectful about her, he was more than capable of riding it out.

"I bet Jase only came back a few minutes ago too," Troy pointed out, raising his eyebrows.

Jason shrugged, a lazy smile appearing on his face. "Whatever. Anyway, Chad was just telling us about the wet t-shirt contest those college chicks had."

Troy scrunched up his face. "Wet t-shirt contest?" he repeated.

"Yeah man, don't you remember? I know you were smashed, but come on!" Chad exclaimed.

"I vaguely remember some girls who had gotten beer thrown all over them who were wearing t-shirts… I don't remember a contest."

Chad shrugged. "Same diff. The shirts were wet and… clinging… if you know what I mean."

A few of the guys nodded appreciatively. Troy was busying himself locating his toothbrush and toothpaste, and Ryan was settling onto his bunk, already ready for bed.

"Seems Bolton had his eyesight damaged when he started dating Gabriella," Marcus observed.

"My eyesight is perfect thanks," Troy shot back. "I just… don't voice my observations. But I have eyes and sometimes I can't help but use them. It's not like Gabriella doesn't notice other guys. You know, she has a poster of Jack Jonas on the inside of her closet…"

"It's Joe," Ryan interrupted. "Joe Jonas."

"Jack, Joe, John, Gertrude, whatever his name is; she has this poster of him inside her closet. Once she'd left the closet door open while we were…" Troy trailed off. "Talking," he decided upon, to be met by a series of rolled eyes and knowing looks. "And it was like the guy was _watching_ us."

A knock came at the cabin door and it swung open, Mr. Newman appearing in the doorway.

"Five minutes til lights out guys," he informed them.

"No worries, Mr. N," Marcus declared.

The next five minutes went quickly, with teeth being brushed and clothing being shed as the guys settled onto their bunks. The lights were flicked out. Ten minutes later, the heavy footsteps of a teacher were heard outside the cabin, the shine from their flashlight seen through the windows. The inhabitants of Cabin 4 laid in silence until the footsteps had faded away, and they'd counted to sixty as a matter of precaution. One lone reading light flicked on, providing just enough light to see.

"So… who wants some bourbon?" Marcus asked.

Ryan groaned. "Do you guys have to?"

"You said this last night and the night before, and we already agreed that we wouldn't get you into shit if we were caught. You fell asleep with your iPod in and totally conked out and we were really quiet and you were oblivious to the whole thing," Zeke said, in a rehearsed speech.

Ryan sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

* * *

The following afternoon, Troy and Gabriella were curled up together on the bus which was headed back to Albuquerque, in practically the same position they'd been in on Sunday afternoon as they'd arrived. Except that Troy wasn't fast asleep – he was tired, but not hung over. One of his hands was resting on the back of Gabriella's head, raking his fingers through the soft waves of her hair.

"Hey Gabriella?" he said softly. "Last night, during intermission at the show… what did you mean when you said you thought I might be mad about you singing a song with Ryan? Please be honest with me."

"I guess I thought you might be weird about it," she confessed quietly.

"You sang together in the fall musical, and I was cool with…" Troy began to say.

"That's different," Gabriella interjected. "The song to begin with was about Nina _not_ being in love with Nate and being in love with Mike – you know, your character?"

"And last night you sang a song about dreaming about a white Christmas, and then a song about a snowman and then one about some bells jingling," Troy pointed out. "I won't lie, if you'd been singing some epic love ballad and been gazing lovingly into his eyes, it would have irked me. But… I wouldn't have been _mad_ about it. I'm… we've come a long way, don't you think?"

"What, so we… you know…" Gabriella trailed off, already feeling a little peculiar about having the conversation on a bus, and lowered her voice even further to whisper by his ear, "… make love. And it just magically fixes a problem?"

"Firstly, the 'problem' was on its way to resolving itself before we…. Took that step. And to a certain extent it does fix problems, it's not that we did it, but it's because of _why _we did it. We did it because our relationship reached that point. A point where… we should be above that stuff. You know?"

Gabriella nodded, musing over his words internally. "Okay," she said simply.

"You have to admit it's a bit peculiar that you're finding it weird that I'm _not_ upset about something," Troy pointed out.

"Maybe my time of the month is coming," Gabriella murmured.

Troy smirked. "Not til after the weekend I hope."

"Why not til after the weekend?"

"Well you've already invited me over to 'study' tomorrow afternoon. And then we're planning to go to Monica's winter dance after party on Friday night, right?"

"You're just filled with presumptions, aren't you?" Gabriella teased.

"Am I not on track with my presumptions?" Troy asked, eyebrows raised.

Gabriella paused, rolling her eyes. "We'll have to wait and see."

* * *

The next couple of days at school came and went. The teachers of most senior classes had practically given up on trying to impart any actual knowledge - with the post senior trip hype having taken over, with students just biding their time until the winter dance, and then the glorious weeks off school which followed.

On Friday night, Troy rang the Montez doorbell, waiting patiently for it to be answered. Within a minute, Elena Montez opened the door and beamed at him brightly.

"Evening Troy," she greeted him.

"Hi Ms. Montez."

"Your mother did an excellent job with the tie," she said, nodding in approval.

He was wearing an untucked white button up dress shirt teamed with dark blue jeans and black dress shoes. His jacket was a plain black sports coat, and his loosely knotted red tie adding a touch of festivity – and he could only hope that it matched her dress correctly. Troy had asked his mother for 'fashion' advice – telling her that Gabriella refused to tell him what her dress looked like but he wanted to know what colour tie to wear. Lucille had then called Elena, and then gone out to purchase the tie herself – only revealing it to Troy the minute that he left the house.

Troy always felt a little nervous when he picked Gabriella up for a date. Life had been hectic of late and there hadn't been a lot of 'official' dating going on. But it was a certain feeling of nervousness as he would be led inside by Elena and await downstairs until Gabriella appeared at the top of the stairwell. Whether wearing jeans and a t-shirt and planning to head to the cinema, or wearing a pretty dress – she always looked amazing.

However as she appeared at the top of the staircase just twenty minutes before they were due to arrive at the winter dance, amazing seemed to fall short of being an adequate term to describe her appearance. Radiant, effervescent, striking, luminous, effulgent, dazzling… there wasn't a word to be found in a thesaurus to label her.

She was wearing a dark red silk sleeveless dress with a vee neckline. There was black floral detailing embroidered into the empire waist, from where the skirt flared out with inverted pleats, falling to just above the knee. Her hair was up in a sophisticated updo, piles of curls upon her head with delicate tendrils framing her face. Black pumps and a shiny black clutch completed the ensemble.

"Wow," Troy breathed. "You look… wow."

Gabriella blushed. "Thank you." She reached out, her finger stroking along the length of his red tie. "I didn't think you'd wear a tie. I never told you I was wearing red, how did you know?"

"I figured if I wore a tie I could get away with wearing jeans," he said with a smile. "And my mom might have helped and called your mom."

"I like your hair," Gabriella said, reaching out to touch it carefully.

"Do you really?" Troy asked, a little anxiously. "I really randomly used gel in it and of course I screwed it up, but I didn't have enough time to wash it and then it woulda been like fluffy anyway. So mom had to take over and fix it. I'm just so used to having bits hanging on my forehead, its weird having it kinda slicked."

Elena reappeared once more, having disappeared to retrieve her camera and give them a moment of privacy.

"Photos before you go," she reminded them.

Gabriella sighed. "Do you have to?"

"Yes. Not only for my own benefit, but because Lucy would be terribly upset if I didn't."

Despite her feigned protests, neither Gabriella nor Troy particularly minded the photography session. Both had photos of them together littered in frames throughout their bedrooms, and were happy at the prospect of another photo to add to the repertoire.

Finally the couple bid Gabriella's mother farewell – with the confirmation that she was okay with Gabriella sleeping over at Monica's for the party after the dance.

"I hardly think that my truck is worthy of having you in its presence," Troy said, as they headed down the driveway. He'd washed and polished it for the occasion, as well as cleaning the interior. However the rusted white hardly seemed appropriate as a means of transporting her.

Gabriella blushed. "That's a bit extreme."

"No really Gabriella… you truly look amazing. Just take the compliment."

She bit her lip from emitting another protest, and merely said, "Thank you."

* * *

It was an hour into the dance, and the young couple made their way out onto the dance floor, arm in arm. Once upon a time it would have been a place neither of them would have felt particularly at home, however now it seemed perfectly natural that they would dance together. The decorations, the band, the spiked punch – it was all a thousand miles away. In that moment there was him and there was her.

"I still can't believe how amazing you look," he murmured, his arms holding onto her waist as the pair swayed backward and forwards in time to the music.

"Are you implying that I don't normally look amazing?" she teased.

"No but… tonight even more than normal. You just… you look incredible."

Chad took a moment to glance down at her once again, admiring the way the cerise material clung to Taylor's curves, the deep plunging V neck providing ample view of her breasts. The dress itself was simple, with a twisted bodice, an empire waist and the loose flowing skirt falling to knee length. It was simple and yet classy, clinging to and emphasising just the right places. He wasn't even pretending to cover up his blatant gaze at her body, and Taylor wasn't even going to try to stop him from staring. She'd known the minute she'd tried it on and examined herself in the dressing room mirror that he would be staring.

"It almost feels like nothing has changed," Taylor commented.

Chad's eyes tore away from her body, once again looking into her dark eyes. "I don't agree. I feel like it's better than it ever was."

* * *

Jason had a slight clash of commitments on the night of the winter dance, with a birthday dinner for his mom being held. His parents had agreed that he could stay for dinner and leave immediately afterwards. He'd apologised profusely to Kelsi over and over and over, feeling guilty for having asked her to go to the dance and failing to realise the date clash. Kelsi was perfectly understanding of the conflict, family was family and it came first. Ryan had already arranged that he was going to drive Sharpay to the dance, and then he'd offered to give Martha a lift. When Jason had realised his clash, Ryan also offered Kelsi a lift. He joked that he was arriving surrounded by 'his bitches' which Sharpay hadn't taken well.

By the time Jason arrived, festivities were in full swing. He'd borrowed his dad's car – since the adults were drinking at his house with no plans of going anywhere – and when he arrived in the parking lot he could hear the music blasting from outside. He passed a few random classmates between showing his student ID at the front door and making his way inside, shaking hands and greeting a couple of guys. He then spotted Martha grabbing a drink at the refreshment table. He headed over to grab a drink for himself.

"Hi," he said to Martha, smiling at her.

"Hey!" Martha exclaimed. "You're here!"

"You look really nice," he said politely, taking about two seconds to appraise Martha's strapless lavender number with gaudy glitter detailing at the top of the bodice, the waist line and the knee length hem.

Martha blushed. "Thanks Jase, so do you. How was your mom's birthday dinner?"

He shrugged. "Pretty boring actually. Glad that I'm here now."

"Why hello you," Kelsi's voice came from behind.

Jason spun around, his eyes widening upon his first viewing of his girlfriend. Kelsi was aware that she was being appraised, and from the expression on Jason's face the feedback was positive. Her dress was teal and sleeveless with a flirty V neckline. The material ruched at the waist with a small satin tie to one side. The skirt was layered, with the sheer external drape falling just below knee length.

"I got you one of these…. flower things," Jason said a little awkwardly, holding the pale pink carnation corsage out.

Kelsi's face lit up. "It's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

Jason slipped the corsage onto her wrist, before pressing a sweet, chaste kiss to her lips.

"You look really gorgeous," he told her, a smile on his face.

"Thank you. Now come on, let's go dance."

Jason hesitated. "Can I get a drink and then we'll go dance?" he suggested.

She smiled. "I suppose so."

Her arm slipped around his waist, his slung over her shoulder. He turned around and shot Martha a thank you thumbs up for helping him to select the colour of the corsage.

* * *

Sharpay knew that she looked fabulous. She felt as though she was at an advantage, having seen the dresses that the girls had purchased from Macy's – and also having listened in to the conversations which Paula and the other girls from the cheer squad had partaken in throughout the senior trip. Sharpay had already purchased her designer dress in advance, and it had pleased her knowing that she would look stunning.

Her strapless Betsey Johnson featured a black velvet bodice with a square neckline. The A-line flared skirt was made from pink satin and fell to the knee. It wasn't her usual bright, vivid pink – it was a softer dark pink. A large bow to one side accented the natural waist line. It was flirty and fabulous, but it was also sophisticated and classy.

Almost as importantly as looking fabulous was that she was actually having a good time – to her own surprise. When Ryan had wanted to try to get the _dance_ part of the school dance underway, she'd obliged his request to come out onto the dance floor with him. Paula and Monica then later on had been heading out with a group of girls, and had asked Sharpay to come along. She wasn't a fan of Monica but she did feel comfortable on the dance floor – and knew that she could shake and move better than anyone else.

She'd left the dance floor in search of a cup of punch, feeling dehydrated from all the dancing. She was hovering over one of the punch bowls with a plastic red cup, when a voice from behind startled her.

"There's vodka in that one."

Sharpay glanced around, seeing Zeke standing behind her.

"Trust you boys to spike the punch," she said, rolling her eyes.

He smiled. "The one over near the 'teacher mingling zone' is clean."

"Thanks," she said, and moved over in the direction of the refreshment table by the teachers. Zeke followed her over, grabbing a handful of pretzels.

"You seemed to be having fun on the dance floor earlier," he remarked.

"Yeah… if only your slutbag ex-girlfriend hadn't been out there," Sharpay said snakily.

"Don't call her that," Zeke chided, but with a smile on his face.

"Sorry, but I don't like her," Sharpay said flatly. She downed her cup of punch, before pouring out another one.

"Hey Sharpay?" Zeke asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to dance with me?"

Sharpay contemplated this request. "Do you even know how to dance?"

"Not really, not very well," Zeke confessed. "But… you can teach me. Like… how I educated you that lemon and sugar on pancakes tastes heavenly; and taught you how to row the other day."

Sharpay paused. "I am wearing four hundred dollar Stuart Weitzman shoes. If you tread on my feet – I won't be happy."

"Maybe I can just like, stand still and sway backwards and forwards while you do all the moving around?" Zeke suggested.

A cross look clouded over Sharpay's face. "Are you trying to get me to dance with you? Because that's not the way to go about it."

* * *

Troy stood by the refreshment table, peering around the room in search of Gabriella. It was ironic that he'd spent a good half hour of his evening as a part of the traditional 'spike the punch' plan – and yet he was driving and so wasn't drinking any of the punch himself.

"Hey Troy!" Liana exclaimed, flashing him a bright smile. "I've hardly talked to you tonight."

"Yeah, I saw you out there before busting a move," Troy remarked casually, still scanning the room.

"Yeah, it's been lots of fun. I meant to tell you that you look really awesome, I love your hair," Liana gushed.

Troy finally spotted Gabriella in the thick of the dance floor with Ryan, Martha and Paula.

"Oh really? Thanks," Troy replied.

His glance over at Gabriella wasn't lost on Liana, and in a desperate bid to continue to engage him in conversation a little longer, she asked, "How long did it take?"

"How long did what take?" Troy asked, confused.

"Your hair."

Troy caught Gabriella's eye, flashing her a wide smile. He then turned back to Liana. "Um, a few minutes. It's just gel. Listen, I'm gonna head that way. Enjoy the rest of the dance, and if I don't talk to you again I guess I'll see you at Monica's, yeah?"

Liana smiled. "Totally."

Troy beelined toward Gabriella, shaking hands and greeting a few people along the way. He cut straight through the dance floor, his arms snaking around his girlfriend's waist from behind.

"I'm stealing her, okay," Troy informed the others, not even allowing them to protest. He pulled her into their own space on the dance floor, regardless of the semi up tempo song that was playing, arms wrapping around each other as they rocked slowly to their own beat.

"I'm kinda over this dance," Gabriella confessed. "I'm looking forward to this party though."

"Are you?" Troy enquired. "Coz if you weren't really into it…"

"No I really am looking forward to it. I don't know if it's the holiday spirit or that the semester is over or what, but I think it's going to be really fun. You're sure that Monica is letting pretty much anyone crash there?"

Troy nodded. "Absolutely positive."

"Good, that's good."

"Hey, are we still going to do our Christmas on New Years?" Troy asked.

"I think that'll be nice," Gabriella said with a nod. "Since we know we're going to be together now for our vacations."

"Can you believe it's been almost a year since we met?"

"Best year ever," Gabriella said softly.

Troy nodded, smiling broadly. "Totally."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just a quick final **_thank you times infinity_ **for all of the support and encouragement I've been receiving from you guys. My life has been a bit hectic lately and I know I have been naughty with not getting back to most of the lovely reviews and PMs that I get, but seriously, just know how much your feedback is critical to my motivation and that I appreciate all of your words so, so much. I'd like to say hello and welcome aboard all the people who've recently added me/this story to your alerts - and feel free to give any feedback/criticism/suggestion that you might have.

-Dani xo


	12. Chapter 12

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N - **This story should also be known as 'The Someday Trilogy: The One With All The In-Jokes.' Again, I would like to attribute a completely random part of a chapter to Kylie. The love canal is all for you, baby.

Thanks to Audrey for her wonderful beta-ing expertise.

This chapter is **_really long._** If you tend to get distracted during long chapters, I'd appreciate you taking a break mid way, rather than skimming. I pour my life into this story, I keep chapters as one rather than breaking them most of the time because I don't want this story to be at like, chapter 148.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_And then we kiss  
Your love comes alive on my lips  
I feel the rush  
Coming over me, over me  
And when we touch  
This moment when everything's still  
I close my eyes  
And then we kiss_

**Britney Spears 'And Then We Kissed'**

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had driven straight to Monica's house from the winter dance. Troy ditched his tie and exchanged his dress shoes for his Converse. Gabriella had brought a change of clothes with her. Lots of other girls had done the same thing, creating a small queue outside each of the bathrooms. Gabriella rolled her eyes as Liana emerged from the downstairs bathroom clutching onto a make up kit, hair straightener and dress on a hanger in a plastic covering.

Troy swung back to see her, already with a half consumed cup of beer in his hand – and unbeknownst to Gabriella, a cup of beer already in his belly. He'd refrained from drinking the spiked punch at the dance, knowing he had to drive to Monica's - so he had drinking time to catch up for.

"Hello ladies," he greeted them, as he went along to locate Gabriella, who was now third in line. He brushed her arm gently. "Why don't you just get changed in my truck, babe? I can like, stand there and shield you."

"I'm beginning to think I should, given all I have to do is pull on jeans beneath this dress and then pull a top on."

At that moment Monica the party hostess arrived, assessing the changing room situation.

"Okay, Mary, you can go upstairs and into the second to furthest away bedroom. Jacinta, the next one along; Gabriella, the first one at the top of the stairs," she quickly directed. "If any of you then want to leave your dresses or backpacks or whatever somewhere, go to the furthest bedroom away in the corridor."

Troy's eyes sparkled and he went to move toward the stairwell with Gabriella. Monica snatched onto Troy's sleeve and pulled him in the opposite direction. "You, go outside and get your girlfriend some jungle juice so that when she is done, it's ready and waiting."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Gabriella could not have been more grateful to see Ryan, Kelsi, Martha and Sharpay arrive. Well, she was surprised that Sharpay had entered with her brother and his friends, but nevertheless, they were _her_ people, people she was familiar with. She bound over to them at the doorway.

"Oh thank God you guys are here. I was just with Troy talking to these two guys, and one of them, I can't for the life of me think of his name," she informed them lowly.

"Okay, I've come in, now I can go," Sharpay announced, turning back around.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Shar, I was thinking more like a half hour. Come on, you might surprise yourself."

"Are the others here yet?" Martha asked.

Chad and Jason both were returning their cars home, with Zeke then picking up Chad, Taylor and Jason and bringing them to Monica's. Meanwhile in the other group, originally Ryan had been planning to drop Martha at home so she could pick up her car, but evidently she'd had a cup or two of the spiked punch and so agreed to just crash at Monica's with the rest of the gang. They'd stopped at the Evans' house so they could quickly get changed. Sharpay, in a random offer of kindness, had said she wasn't planning to go to the party and that she could drop Ryan, Martha and Kelsi at the party so Ryan didn't have to leave his car there. She then promised she'd come back to pick him up whenever he liked – whether it be in the wee hours of the morning, or in the real morning. As they'd drove up the street toward Monica's, he'd practically forced Sharpay to park and come inside 'just for a little while.'

Gabriella shook her head at Martha. "No."

"Damn, Taylor was bringing something other than beer."

"Oh, there's jungle juice," Gabriella informed her. "I'll show you. Ryan, Kelsi, you guys want one?"

"Yes, please," Kelsi and Ryan chorused.

"Sharpay, would you like a cup of soda or something?" Gabriella offered.

She wrinkled up her nose distastefully. "Ew, no."

Gabriella forced a smile. "Right then. Come on, Martha."

* * *

Zeke drove in silence, allowing Jason, Chad and Taylor to chat around him in the car. He'd last been to Monica's house while they'd been dating – a relationship that hadn't exactly ended well. They were back on amicable terms but returning to her house nevertheless stirred up a few old feelings. It was nothing that a few beers couldn't quash, and so he just ignored the internal pang of awkwardness and soldiered on. A series of beat up 80s and 90s model cars were already gathering on the driveway and along the street, indicating that a high school party was beginning to rage just inside.

Monica was just down the front hallway talking to some of her friends, allowing her to greet people as they arrived. She smiled politely upon seeing the group – it wasn't only Zeke that she was on somewhat tentative terms with, it was all of his friends who were a little uncertain of how to act around her, particularly when she and Zeke were both there.

"Hey Monica," Zeke said with a mostly natural smile.

"Hi," she said, returning the smile. "Hey guys, thanks for coming. Umm… I'd show you around, but I suppose Zeke can do that for me?"

He grinned. "You got it."

"Just tell us where the beer is," Chad declared.

Monica smirked. "Alcohol on the deck, there's beer and jungle juice. The jar is out there as well."

East High parties often relied upon an honesty system with alcohol – with a few people organising for an older sibling or cousin to provide alcohol, and then a jar left in the alcohol vicinity for those planning to drink from it to slip in some money, typically a five or a ten dollar bill. They arrived on the deck to find Troy refilling his cup of beer, engaged in a loud and laughter filled conversation with a few guys.

"Bolton," Chad greeted him brightly.

Troy looked up, seeing his friends arrived. "Sup guys," he said cheerfully. "Who is up for some beer pong?"

Taylor laughed, amused by Troy's eagerness. "We like, just got here, give them a minute."

"I'm in," Jason said.

"Me too," Zeke chimed in.

"Totally," Chad agreed.

"There's an actual ping pong table in the basement," Zeke informed them.

"Sweet!" Troy exclaimed. "JC, you get the cups, Chad, you go find a jug or some way of transporting mass amounts of beer down there. I'll go and claim the table."

The guys went to the jar to proffer their donation to the fund and then prepared to disperse and follow Troy's instructions – consequently abandoning Taylor and leaving her standing alone. "Do you know where the girls and Ryan are?" she called after Troy.

"Umm Ryan and Sharpay are mingling, and… I have no idea where the other three went."

"Sharpay is here?" Zeke asked, eyes brightening a little.

"Oh no you don't, you are coming to play beer pong, _now_," Chad declared. "Come on, you come help me find a way to transport the beer."

Taylor rolled her eyes, watching as Jason excitedly began to gather the number of plastic cups they would require, Troy disappeared into the house to head down to the basement and Chad dragged Zeke toward the kitchen in search of jugs or other beer transportation devices. He glanced back at Taylor momentarily, shooting her a warm smile before turning back and disappearing out of sight. She placed a five dollar bill into the jar before helping herself to a cup of jungle juice. Then she pulled out her cell phone to dial Gabriella's number and proceeded to wander through the house in search of her friends. Gabriella picked up almost instantly.

"_Hey, are you here yet?"_

"Yeah, where are you guys?"

"_We're in the study."_

"Where's that?"

"_Head back toward the front door."_

Gabriella ended the call, and Taylor followed the instruction. There was a room just off the front hallway which Taylor hadn't even noticed. Gabriella appeared in the doorway, beckoning Taylor to come in before closing the door behind her. The room was like a home office, it had a dual access way with a door from the side of the house and also the door from the hallway. Monica's family just used it as a regular study. There was a computer set up in the corner – with a plastic sheet covering the equipment – as well as a small table in the middle of the room with two chairs. The girls had pulled over the desk chair and acquired another chair for Taylor.

"Are you girls hiding in here?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," three voices chorused in amusement.

She observed a jug of jungle juice in the centre of the table, a cup in front of each of the girls.

"We figured we'd drink in here til we're feeling more… sociable," Kelsi explained tactfully.

The girls had all agreed that they felt like having more than a few drinks, but none felt like putting up the pretence of enjoying to socialise with everyone else. The ideal would have been if one of their own houses had been available, then they could have just had a small gathering and gotten completely trashed in one another's company. At one point Ryan had suggested that they could all just hang out at his, but the girls knew that the guys were keen for Monica's party – even Zeke, despite the semi awkwardness that still existed between him and Monica since they had broken up.

"You mean tipsy?" Taylor clarified with a smirk.

"Yeah, that."

Taylor pulled back the spare seat and collapsed down. "Sounds great. Since your boyfriend," she said, shooting Gabriella a glance. "Already stole my date _and_ Jason _and_ Zeke to go play beer pong."

Gabriella smiled. "I'm sure they resisted his effort greatly."

"This is what you get when you date jocks," Martha advised. "I don't doubt that they're all great guys and there's more to each of them than just basketball. But bring them somewhere like this – and their one track minds of beer, beer and more beer emerge."

"Two track minds," Taylor corrected. "Beer, sex, beer, sex…"

"Do you really think guys are that bad?" Kelsi pondered.

"Yes," Gabriella and Taylor responded in unison.

"Even when you think they're not, they are thinking about it. Troy and I were talking recently about some of our first dates, like from back in February and March. And we were being all deep and reminiscent and then suddenly he said, 'You remember that night we had the picnic at the park and then it started raining so we went to the arcade and then got soaked while walking home and we were all huddled in the bus shelter?' I confirmed that I remembered it – it was this really sweet, romantic moment. And he then says to me, 'You know, when you were all wet and cold, I had to force myself to not stare at your breasts because your nipples were all hard beneath your top.'"

The other girls all gasped, but nevertheless laughed. "It was actually funny, kinda watching as Troy found it harder and harder to hide his… horniness," Taylor commented. "Toward the end of summer, it was like he was about to explode."

"It feels like that was so long ago. But it's only been like three and a half months," Gabriella mused.

"Yes, and haven't things changed?" Taylor said coyly.

"Yes, but in a good way," Gabriella confirmed.

"Speaking of good… was yesterday afternoon better?" Taylor asked Gabriella.

"Taylor!" Gabriella exclaimed, eyes wide. She glanced over at Kelsi and Martha. "They don't want to hear about this."

"Actually, I do," Kelsi piped up. "I wouldn't ask you about it directly, but I don't mind hearing about it."

"Well put," Martha agreed.

"And stop saying it like that!" Gabriella admonished Taylor. "I never said it was _bad_ I just said that…"

"You didn't see what the big deal was about?" Taylor supplied.

"You make it seem all negative," Gabriella said, exasperatedly. "I just think it takes girls a bit longer to feel completely comfortable with the whole situation. I think a lot of it is psychological, worrying too much about whether he's into it or whether we're going to get caught or whatever – it probably takes away from it."

"Just get really tipsy tonight, lock yourselves in a room and go for it," Kelsi advised.

"I can't believe you just suggested that!" Taylor exclaimed. "Although, it's a good idea."

"It appears this jungle juice combined with the spiked punch is going to my head," Kelsi admitted.

"Be careful with Jason then," Taylor remarked. "Tipsiness and boyfriends equals… all sorts of things."

"I'm happy the way things are now," Kelsi said firmly. "We make out, there's a tiny bit of gropage. And that's fine."

"Does Jason push you for more?" Gabriella asked.

Kelsi shook her head. "Not at all, which kinda surprises me. I mean… like you guys said, guys think about this stuff all the time. And I catch him looking at me, and I just pretend I don't notice."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to tonight. That's what boys do. They get drunk and they get horny," Taylor said. Gabriella nodded in agreement.

"Okay, who wants more?" Martha asked, abruptly interrupting the discussion and holding up the jug of jungle juice. She poured more into her own cup. "Gabriella? Yours is nearly empty."

Gabriella pushed her cup over. "Sure, why not."

Martha went around the group, refilling each of the girls' cups, before chugging down her own and refilling it again.

"So Tay, how's Chad?" Martha asked with a coy smile – subtly changing the subject away from Kelsi and Jason.

"Yeah Taylor; how is Chad?" Kelsi chimed in.

Taylor ducked her head slightly. "Fine," she answered simply.

"Oh, come on, surely you've got something more to say than _fine,_" Kelsi pointed out.

"But there's nothing to say yet," Taylor protested.

"Aha. Yet," Martha said triumphantly.

"I mean, if it goes well… I think we'll get back together," Taylor revealed. "But we're just taking it slow for now."

The sound of the door from the hallway opening interrupted the conversation.

"I'm just trying to…"

The girls glanced up, seeing that Ryan was backing into the room with his cell phone to his ear. He blinked, seeing the girls all there.

"Sorry one second," Ryan said hastily into his phone, and then covered the speaker. "Sorry, I didn't know you guys were in here!" he said, and then glanced around in slight confusion. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"We are getting drunk," Martha announced proudly, holding up the jug. "Would you like some?"

"Maybe later, I'm just on my phone," Ryan responded. "Trying to find somewhere quiet I can talk."

"It's a party, you should be socialising with people, not with your cell phone," Taylor remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Look at the four of you, hiding in here," Ryan shot back, as he backed out of the room.

"We're socialising with each other!" Gabriella retorted, and heard him chuckle slightly as he closed the door behind them.

"I think we need more juice. Someone come with me to fill it up," Kelsi requested.

"I will," Gabriella volunteered, standing up.

The two girls exited the room, leaving Taylor and Martha behind.

"You know who I think Ryan's talking to?" Martha said.

"Who?"

"His boyfriend," she declared.

"His _boyfriend?_?" Taylor repeated incredulously. "Do you really think he's…"

"Totally."

Taylor wrinkled up her nose. "Just because he does musical theatre and wears pink occasionally, doesn't necessarily mean he's gay. You should be the last person to encourage stereotyping."

"I agree. But… it's more than that. And sometimes, it makes no sense to look for zebras when all you've got is a donkey."

"What?!" Taylor exclaimed.

"If the shoe fits, is all I'm saying," Martha said solemnly, and then reached out across the table and accidentally knocked over her cup, which fortunately was empty. Taylor immediately reached out to right the plastic container.

"Martha, are you okay?" Taylor asked, her nose crinkling in worry. "When you don't normally drink, you should be careful with this jungle juice stuff."

"I have never been better," Martha declared. "I think that jungle juice is brilliant."

"You say that now; let's see what you say in an hour or two. Maybe we should go get you some water," Taylor suggested tactfully.

"No!" Martha yelped. "I don't want to go out there. Not when Kelsi and Gabriella are probably out there making out with their boyfriends. Don't wanna see it."

"They were just getting more jungle juice, the guys were going to set up beer pong last I saw and I bet they'll be preoccupied with that for a while," Taylor pointed out. "Anyway, even if they have found the boys, it's not like it's something we don't normally have to see. Well… I guess we don't normally see Jason and Kelsi."

"Don't want to see them," Martha mumbled, a little darkly.

Taylor's face crinkled. "What do you mean?" she said slowly, and then – it hit her, a sudden realisation. Taylor's eyes widened. "Martha… do you… do you like Jason?" she asked slowly.

"No," Martha said, a little too quickly. "No I don't."

"You do," Taylor said softly. "Oh… honey."

"No I don't!" Martha insisted desperately. "Don't say it out loud, when you say it out loud…"

"It becomes real?" Taylor supplied sympathetically.

Martha nodded, biting her lip. "And I don't want it to be real. Because… he's my friend. And she's one of my best friends. And… I'm a horrible person for feeling like this, a horrible, terrible, horrible person."

"No you're not! You are _not_ a horrible person, you're a gorgeous, wonderful person. You can't control how you feel, honey."

"I should be able to. It's not like… it's not like anything could ever happen, even if it wasn't for her."

"How long have you liked him?" Taylor asked quietly.

"I don't know. A while. Pretty much since they started going out," Martha revealed miserably. Now that she'd started talking about it – she couldn't help but continue to vent. "I remember encouraging him to ask her out, to just go for it. And I meant it and… I'm so happy for them because they danced around this for so long. But… it doesn't change that I like him and that it hurts so much, every time I have to talk to them and watch them together and hear about it. It hurts hearing about it, but then when they're being all secretive I just want to know every single detail because I'd rather know than not know." She took a deep breath, tears pricking in her eyes. "And now I'm the girl who is getting drunk and crying about a guy. Great."

"Oh honey, come here," Taylor said comfortingly, holding her arms out. She enveloped her friend into her embrace, holding onto her tightly.

* * *

Meanwhile, the guys had started to set up the game of beer pong downstairs in the basement.

"I'm surprised Bolton is even down here with us. I would have expected him and Gabriella to have just used this party as an excuse to claim a room and score some privacy," Zeke joked.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Shut the fuck up."

"Hey, I wouldn't blame you. There's a lack of caring parental supervision here, the whole having a sex life thing is new to you…" Zeke pointed out.

"Bolton's too polite," Jason remarked.

"Look who's fucking talking!" Troy shot back defensively. "Do you and Kelsi do _anything?_"

Chad and Zeke smirked, leaving Jason looking a little crushed. "You getting laid is like, the worst thing that could have happened to me," Jason grumbled.

"JC is right though," Chad said. "Now, of all times, you have the license to drag Gabriella upstairs. Since it's new, you have like, a license to be all male and excited about it for a certain period of time."

"Oh, is that a rule, is it?" Troy asked, as his eyebrows rose in mock curiosity.

Zeke nodded. "Totally is."

"I bet Troy is still all, 'Gee whiz golly gosh, Gabriella, my raven haired beauty, I simply adore it when you give my gonads a little squeeze like that'," Chad said, making Troy's voice high and girly.

Zeke and Jason burst out laughing, leaving Troy to fold his arms and glare in annoyance.

"And then he's like 'If you do, I may sail my boat into your love canal as a reward,'" Chad continued.

"Shut the fuck up, mother fucker!" Troy exclaimed. "Fuck, I so do not fucking talk like that."

"Does your mother know you talk like that?" Zeke jibed.

"I like that you're here giving me shit and I'm the only person here getting laid at the moment," Troy grumbled.

"I could be, if I wanted to be," Chad shot back.

"Yeah, exactly! You say I'm too 'polite.' Last weekend, he had these drunk college chicks like draped all over him," Troy informed Jason and Zeke. "And here he was, saying no, out of some loyalty to Taylor. You guys aren't even together at the moment!"

"Well I kinda want to get back with her and I don't think me going off and fooling around with some college chick is the way to go about it. Do you?"

"No, I don't. But don't stand there and ride my ass about…"

"Dude, take a chill pill. You're getting defensive and I was just kidding," Chad interrupted Troy, rolling his eyes. "You've been chilling with these dramatic theatre types too much I think. Now are we playing beer pong, or what? I think we need to get totally wasted tonight."

* * *

Meanwhile as Kelsi and Gabriella were out on the patio refilling their jungle juice jug, they began to conduct a hushed conversation.

"Is it just me, or has Ryan been talking to Chase _heaps_ lately?" Kelsi asked quietly.

Gabriella nodded emphatically. "Heaps is an understatement. Even during student council meetings, he seems to have his phone out under the desk sending him texts."

"You think they're going to meet each other soon?"

"I'm not sure," Gabriella mused. "I think Ryan's still wrapping his head around the whole thing. From what he told me, Chase is more… at peace with himself. He's…"

"Out?" Kelsi supplied.

"Well, yes."

"Kelsi!" a shrill female voice called demandingly. "Gabriella!"

The girls glanced up to see a somewhat annoyed looking Sharpay approaching them.

"Hey Sharpay," Kelsi said with a small smile.

"Have you seen Ryan?" she demanded.

"Last I saw he was on talking on his cell, trying to find somewhere quiet to talk."

"That'd be right," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Do you want to come hang with us? We're hiding out in the study," Kelsi offered.

Sharpay shook her head. "I have to find Ryan."

"Okay, well if we see him, we'll tell him you're looking for him," Gabriella offered.

"Okay… thanks."

* * *

Sharpay proceeded to go through the house, opening various doors in search of her brother in some private quiet nook. At one point she opened a door to a storage space under the staircase and uncovered a couple who were somewhere in the place between making out and foreplay. She slammed the door closed in disgust and moved onto the next door. Upon opening it she heard a series of loud cheers and laughter. A set of stairs was leading down to the basement, and she precariously began to head downstairs. They made a turn to the left half way down, and then the ping pong table came into view.

She stopped and watched for a moment, as Chad took the ping poll ball and carefully lined up for the final cup of beer that remained. The guys were playing in teams, Chad and Jason against Zeke and Troy; taking turns with one person on attack and defense at a time. Troy remained waiting – as there was only one cup remaining, he knew Chad wouldn't bother trying to bounce the ball in, the advantage of succeeding in a bounce being forcing the other team to consume two cups. And if he was going to throw the ball, Troy wasn't allow to interfere with the toss. One eye closed, mouth open and chewing his tongue slightly – and Chad cleanly tossed the ping pong ball into Troy and Zeke's final cup.

"YES!" Chad shouted. "We OWN you!"

Zeke and Troy groaned as Chad and Jason celebrated, leaving the losing pair to not only drink the cup that Chad had successfully knocked out, but also the remaining three cups on the opposite end of the table.

"Sorry to interrupt your celebrations boys," Sharpay remarked, making her presence known.

"Hey Sharpay! Do you wanna play beer pong?!" Zeke called merrily.

"As if!" she scoffed. "I was just looking for Ryan."

Chad looked around, picked up a cup which Troy had consumed and placed down upside down, and checked inside. "He's not here."

She glared at Chad. "You think?"

"No really, wanna play?" Zeke persisted.

"I can't, I'm not drinking," she said simply.

"Tell you what. You can play with me and Bolton, and we'll do all the drinking."

Troy coughed, and was about to interject but was shot a pleading glance from Zeke. He sighed. "Umm… yeah. Sure, you can play with us."

Jason smirked. "Sounds like a great idea to me," he chimed in – fully anticipating another round of him and Chad completely dominating the affair.

Sharpay wrinkled up her nose. "I don't even know how to play."

"I can teach you. Guys set up again," Zeke instructed, waving his hand about at the table. He went over, grasped Sharpay's arm, and made the decision for her that she was indeed going to play. "Okay… so we play with ten cups a side, each formed into a pyramid…"

* * *

Kelsi and Gabriella returned to the study – arriving just after Martha had quickly disappeared to the bathroom. Martha returned with a smile upon her face; she immediately grasped onto the drink they'd poured her and downed it.

"Woah, easy there," Kelsi remarked. "Are you trying to make yourself sick?"

Martha shrugged as she poured another cup. "Whatever. Come on, we should stop hiding in here. Chug this round, then we'll go out there."

Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi exchanged a glance, then shrugged and held the cups up. "Okay… we chugging?" Kelsi asked.

"We're chugging," Gabriella said decisively. "One, two, three, go!"

Kelsi managed to chug down the juice within one breath, Taylor had to pause mid way – and Gabriella had to pause about four times. Martha quickly refilled each of their cups, emptying the jug. The door to the room swung open, and Ryan appeared in the doorway once more – this time, without his cell phone glued to his ear.

"I can't believe you guys are still in here. Aren't you drunk enough yet to go out and mingle?"

"We're just finishing this jug then we'll go out," Taylor said somewhat defensively.

"Sharpay is looking for you, by the way," Kelsi informed him.

"I know, I got off the phone and she'd sent me like five texts and left two voice mails asking where I was," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "Do you know where she went?"

They glanced at each other, shaking their heads. "Maybe she took off?" Gabriella suggested.

"No, her car is still out there, I checked," Ryan said. "And I seriously can't find her anywhere."

"Did you check the basement?" Martha asked.

"I didn't know there was stuff going on in the basement."

"The guys are still playing beer pong down there, I'm pretty sure."

"I very much doubt that Sharpay is playing with them, but I suppose it won't hurt going to ask if they've seen her," Ryan commented.

"Come on, we'll come with you," Gabriella offered.

Ryan took the lead, with the four girls following behind him with their drinks in hand as they headed toward the door down to the basement. From the top they could hear the shouting and carrying on of the four guys. And upon trooping down stairs, could not have been more surprised than to see the back of a long blonde haired female, clutching onto a ping pong ball as she lined up to her target.

Troy leaned over and said lowly, "Sharpay, you need to…"

"Troy!" Sharpay snapped, holding her hand up. "I know what I'm doing. I'm winning for you so far. So shut up."

He clamped his mouth shut, miming zipping it closed. Once again, Sharpay took her time lining up, and then bounced the ball across the table. Chad took a wild thwack with his hand trying to knock it out of the way, but the ball moved too quickly and he missed – the ball landing in a cup. Sharpay folded her arms, smiling triumphantly at Chad and Jason.

"YES!" Zeke exclaimed. "And just one cup left."

"Sharpay OWNS the two of you!" Troy crooned.

A slight guffaw from Taylor's mouth alerted the beer pong players to the presence of the other five.

"Hey guys!" Troy greeted them enthusiastically. "Me and Zeke are totally kicking Chad and Jason's asses."

Sharpay cleared her throat, turning to glare at him pointedly.

"Okay… Sharpay is kicking their asses," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "Except that she refuses to even try to defend and…"

"Troy, I told you from the beginning that I don't want to break a nail," Sharpay said with rolled eyes, in a clearly bored tone. "I just had them done. Besides, it doesn't matter, even with us having no defence, we're totally winning."

"I thought you weren't drinking, Shar," Ryan said tentatively.

"I'm not. Zeke and Troy are drinking on my behalf," she informed him.

"This just keeps getting better. You're sober and voluntarily playing beer pong," Taylor remarked.

"Well I was trying to do the right thing and find my brother to tell him I was leaving but since he was nowhere to be found," Sharpay said, glaring at Ryan for a moment. "I had nothing better to do."

"All right, observers, be quiet, it's my turn!" Jason announced.

Jason succeeded in bouncing the ball into one of the five cups which remained in front of Sharpay, meaning Troy and Zeke each had to consume a cup. Then leaving Sharpay with just the one cup remaining. Once again, Troy leaned over to provide advice.

"You know, you don't need to bounce it, you could…"

Sharpay lifted her fingers, miming a closing mouth to silence him. She then waved her hand, motioning for him to step back. She set up, and then neatly bounced the ball across the table, flying straight into the cup – declaring team Sharpay-Zeke-Troy the winners.

"YES!" Zeke shouted; his arms rose in the air in victory. He spontaneously gave Sharpay a hug – which she stood a little shell shocked for, allowing his arms to wrap around her tightly without pushing him away, but not reciprocating the hug. Zeke and Troy exchanged a manly celebratory handshake involving front slaps, back slaps, high fives, low fives and fist pumps.

"That's right, we won, you lost," Troy said smugly.

"I can't believe we just got owned by a girl," Jason groaned.

"I'm not surprised. She's is really awesome at ping pong," Ryan said. "We have a table at home, and plus there's one in the kids room at Lava Springs. We used to get ditched there when we were little and mom and dad were off golfing or whatever."

"The only reason I agreed to play is because I was trying to find you for like, a half hour," Sharpay grumbled, shooting Ryan a stare of annoyance.

Chad rolled his eyes. "Why are the pair of you celebrating? _Sharpay _won. The two of you couldn't beat us, but _Sharpay_ could. We owned you the first time and the only reason you didn't get your butts kicked again was because you had _Sharpay_ helping you," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Whoopadeedoo!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, bored with the competitive banter between her boyfriend and his best friend. They may as well pull down their pants and compete to see who could piss the furthest. She flounced over to Troy, and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Why hello there you," Troy said, immediately lightening from being in her presence.

"Baby I'm bored, you have to entertain me," she pouted, pressing her lips to his lightly. His responding kiss wasn't soft and tender – it was hard, rigorous, fiery.

"Wanna go dance?" Troy murmured into her ear.

"By dance, you mean grind in the corner?"

"Pretty much."

She pretended to contemplate. "Mmm… Okay," she said agreeably, with a bright smile.

"Good game guys, see you later," Troy called, arm slung around his girlfriends shoulders as they headed toward the staircase to return to the main party area.

"Be safe!" Chad called after them.

Without turning around, Troy's free hand flipped Chad off; before the couple disappeared out of sight.

"Okay, I'm going now," Sharpay announced abruptly.

"You don't wanna play again?" Zeke persisted.

"Once was more than enough," she responded.

"Oh… okay."

"I had fun though," Sharpay said. "Surprisingly."

"Sure you don't want to stay?" Ryan asked. "You don't have to play beer pong to stay."

"No, I really do want to go home," Sharpay said. "Call me whenever you want to come home, any time seriously. And… I guess… any of your friends as well, I can drive," she offered, glancing around.

"It'll likely be in the morning," Ryan told her.

"Don't forget that we have…"

"Yes, yes, dance concert dress rehearsal at 2. I know," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay cool. Well… toodles."

"Hey Sharpay?" Zeke said. "In case I miss you tomorrow and don't see you again til after winter break, have a good Christmas," Zeke said casually.

Sharpay gave him a small smile. "Thanks… uh… you too. See you next year!" she joked awkwardly.

Zeke laughed. "Totally."

* * *

The house design was fairly open plan, facilitating an area where furniture had been pushed aside to create a dance floor, and to the side a series of couches and chairs were gathered. The party hadn't really began until around 11pm, by the time the winter dance at East High had wrapped up. Hence why at 2am, the party was still raging, music turned up a significant amount louder than acceptable at that time of the morning, the dance floor packed, the liquid beverages still flowing heavily. Chad and Taylor were seated on the couch together, huddled up close, people watching.

"Did you see Paula dancing with Marcus at the dance," Taylor murmured to Chad, gesturing over to where the pair were now grinding on the dance floor.

Chad nodded. "They were hanging out heaps at camp, I didn't even know she really knew him. Then again, I guess Paula knows everyone. About time the girl went and got herself laid."

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed.

"It's true. She hasn't been out with anyone since about half way through junior year. And guys ask her out all the time. I swear she was trying to set some sort of head cheerleader record."

Taylor rolled her eyes, and her eyes flitted around the dance floor. Troy and Gabriella had moved beyond grinding, and into standing in the back corner making out.

"How long you think before we don't see them til morning?" Taylor asked, gesturing over.

"Umm… any minute now," Chad declared.

Taylor giggled. "I agree."

* * *

At first there'd been grinding, then there'd been making out – and what was occurring now would be best described as dry sex standing upright. Gabriella was pushed back against the wall, Troy's knees were bent, allowing the softest of innuendo filled rocking as their furious, desperate, lustful make out session took place. She yanked her lips away from his, leaning over to murmur one word throatily into his ear.

"Upstairs."

All Troy could do was nod, his eyes glazed over slightly. He stepped back from the wall, grasped her hand, and charged through the crowd, creating a pathway as he blasted through. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, stopping to capture Gabriella's hips with his hands, pull her close and press a tender kiss to her lips.

"I love you," he said softly.

"Love you too."

* * *

A different group of people had gathered again downstairs to continue with the beer pong marathon, having heard from the other guys that there was a ping pong table available for usage. Jason and Kelsi had migrated downstairs, just standing around with a few people, talking and laughing as they watched the tournament take place. Jason had been standing behind Kelsi, with his arms wrapped around her. He glanced down, noticing that she was standing on one foot, and then on the other.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, voice filled with concern.

"Oh, my feet are sore. I think I got a blister wearing my high heels earlier," she said. "It's nothing really."

"Come on, let's go sit," Jason prompted, the beat up old lounge in the back corner currently unoccupied.

Kelsi allowed Jason to lead her over to the small two seater lounge, her feet ever so grateful the moment that she sat down. She sighed contentedly.

"So do you have anything planned for New Years?" Jason asked her.

Kelsi shook her head. "Not yet. I might have to baby-sit my little brother. It depends what my parents are doing and stuff."

"Well, me and the guys were talking and were gonna try to organise something for those of us who are around. Maybe go to the park, they have fireworks and stuff there."

Kelsi nodded and smiled. "Sounds like fun; I'll talk to my parents and see what the situation is."

"Awesome," Jason said with a grin.

Kelsi spontaneously pressed her lips to Jason's softly. He kissed her back, lightly running his tongue along her lower lip, coercing her mouth open to allow their tongues to intermingle softly.

"Yo Cross!" a voice called out.

Jason groaned internally as Kelsi pulled away from him. He glanced up, seeing a couple of the guys setting up the next game of beer pong.

"What?" he called across the room.

"You want in?"

"Nah, it's cool man, you go ahead," Jason said.

"You can play if you want," Kelsi offered, giving him an assuring smile. "I really don't mind."

"I don't really want to. I'd rather hang and make out with my really hot girlfriend," he said, before adding quickly, "If she doesn't mind."

Kelsi blushed slightly, still not feeling particularly accustomed to having descriptive words like 'hot' used in conjunction with her. "Where is she, you might have to ask her," Kelsi joked.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

She giggled, and pressed her lips to his chastely. "I think she approves of the making out plan."

* * *

One of the guest bedrooms upstairs was available, with little time wasted. The door was locked, clothes had been removed and scattered about on the carpet. Troy was lying on his back on the bed, his legs drawn up and spread apart. The warm, smooth flesh of Gabriella's body was flush against his, as she lay on top of him with her arms wrapped around his thighs and her lips and tongue performing their magic upon his hardened member. Troy's head was propped up with a pillow beneath it, providing ideal leverage to inflict his own pleasure inducing performance upon his girlfriend. Between the alcoholic haze and the rising ecstasy, Troy was feeling somewhat light headed.

Ensuring that he was continuing to use his fingers to tease her, he pulled his lips away.

"Baby, I think you need to stop," he informed her in a gasp.

Her tongue trailed along his length and circled his head before pulling away, leaving her right hand pumping languidly.

"I'm gonna finish," she murmured. "I'm working on a theory."

"A theory?"

"You seem to recover quickly… and so… I thought that if I kept going… then the second time… you'll last longer," Gabriella murmured, before capturing the tip of his length with her lips again.

"If this backfires, don't blame me," Troy responded, before returning his attention to where it was deserved.

* * *

"Okay, girl, I think you've had enough to drink," Zeke declared, watching Martha down what seemed like the millionth cup of jungle juice he'd watched her consume.

"Yeah, what's up with you tonight, anyway?" Ryan asked. "You don't normally drink this much. In fact, I don't know if I've hardly ever seen you drink."

"So what, does that mean I can't drink?" Martha requested, swaying backwards and forwards on the lounge as she spoke. "Maybe I like drinking. Maybe I like not caring."

"Not caring about what?" Ryan prodded.

"Bout… what people think," Martha responded.

"I thought you didn't care," Ryan said.

"Course I care. S'all an act, really. You think I like sitting here and watching all your type," she said, knocking Zeke's arm. "Drool all over that type." She gestured over to where Kayla and Liana were dancing with each other, quite a few sets of male eyes trained on the grinding cheerleaders.

"That's all it is. Drool. You hook up with it and realise about two minutes later that there's no substance," Zeke remarked. "You think I went out with Monica because she's a cheerleader? I couldn't have put up with her that long if that's all she was."

"But if she wasn't skinny and beautiful, would you have gone out with her?" Martha asked.

"Yes," Zeke said defensively.

"Yeah right."

"Guys aren't as shallow as you think. Guys like girls who are fun and confident and who don't give a fuck about what they look like. When you focus on your looks, it makes other people pay attention to your looks. If you just carry yourself well, then people don't notice what you look like, what you don't have, they just focus on what you do have. You've never been one to care about this before, and I don't know if this is just some girly time of the month thing or if something is going on. But seriously, my advice to you is to build a bridge," Zeke said.

Ryan was impressed with Zeke's speech. "Yeah, what he said."

"Is that why you like Sharpay? Because she doesn't give a fuck what people think of her?" Martha asked Zeke.

He glanced over at Ryan for a moment, as though holding back from answering due to the presence of Sharpay's twin. Ryan held up his hands. "What is said here, stays here."

Zeke paused, and then turned back to Martha. "Partly, I guess. Yes."

* * *

There was nothing that Gabriella liked more during post orgasmic bliss than to be wrapped up in Troy's arms – to feel the warmth of his skin against hers, to caress her fingertips against the hardness of his chest and arms. However the current post orgasmic bliss was more like a mid orgasmic bliss – the anticipation of knowing that there was more to come was riding high.

"See… you're not totally flaccid…" Gabriella murmured, her hand running over his semi hard length.

"So tell me, is this one of the tips from your magazine that you keep avoiding telling me about, and pretending that you had no interest in?" Troy enquired cheekily.

Gabriella ducked her head slightly, not desisting from her caressing movements. Her denial was an equation to admittance.

"Are you embarrassed that you were reading a Cosmo article about sex, or is it… or what is it? Because I find it really, really sexy that you were reading about it," Troy informed her, his own hands beginning to stroke at her soft, supple skin.

"It doesn't bruise your ego?" Gabriella asked softly.

"No not at all. Babe, we're new at this. Do you know what excites me? That it's gonna get better. It's already amazing and it's gonna get even better. That's pretty fucking cool," Troy declared. "And as far as I know, none of your close friends have had sex, and so it makes sense that you're gonna like, read magazines and stuff to get advice and tips."

Gabriella nodded, and pressed a tender kiss to his lips before smiling coyly. "Now they'd better be right about this getting you to finish first because I kinda really want you now."

Troy felt himself twitch a little as he observed her lustful store trailing down his body. "I think it's safe to say that the advice is on track," he said huskily, capturing her lips with his and initiating a probing kiss.

Tongues battled, hands explored and teased, bodies entwined in a fiery series of kisses, in which the pair rolled about the bed in a search for dominance, becoming increasingly twisted among the bed covers. At the helm of one another's stimulating touch, arousal gradually increased, merely increasing the mutually desperate need to be with the other.

"Troy… you have a condom with you… right?" Gabriella asked throatily.

Troy nodded, and practically catapulted himself off Gabriella and to the floor, scooping up his jeans to retrieve his wallet. He opened the flap, looked inside, and his eyes were wide in horror.

"Fuck," he murmured.

"What?" she asked.

"I… there isn't one in here. I must not have replaced it after last time." He swallowed. "You… you're on that birth control shot thing, we don't really…"

"Yes, we do," Gabriella said firmly. "I… I might have some in my toiletry bag."

"Might?"

"Okay, I do," she admitted.

"Okay, and where would that be?"

"In my bag in Monica's room down the hall, with the coats and stuff."

"Right, course it is," Troy sighed. He pulled his jeans back on, commando style, awkwardly tucking his erect penis away and taking extra care when doing up the zip fly. "I'll be right back."

Troy padded up the hallway. He could see light shining from under the closed door, tried turning the handle but the door was locked. He knocked on the door.

"Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt whoever is in there but I need something that's inside of this room," Troy called awkwardly through the door.

"Troy?"

"Chad?!" Troy called back, somewhat surprised – and relieved that it was Chad and not someone else that he was interrupting.

"What do you need?" Chad called back.

"Umm… I need to come in and get Gabriella's bag," Troy said, somewhat impatiently. He shifted uncomfortably, his erection straining against his jeans.

"Why, what do you need from it?" Chad called back.

"Dude, just open the door," Troy said impatiently.

Troy could hear another voice inside, a muffled conversation taking place.

"Taylor, is that you? If it's not you then… uh… that may have been an awkward question," Troy pondered.

"What does her bag look like?" Taylor's voice called.

"I don't know! It's… a bag!"

"Well what do you need?" Chad called.

"We need her toiletry bag," Troy said. He coughed. "You know for her… toothbrush?"

Troy pressed his ear up against the door, trying to translate the murmurs he could hear. A moment later, a small foil package slid underneath the door.

"There you go," Chad said.

Troy picked it up, staring at the object. "One?!" he said incredulously. "Just one?! What if… you know… it breaks. Or… we…"

Taylor's aggravated groan sounded, and Troy heard clomping footsteps approaching the door. She opened the door part way, standing behind the door. She leaned out, providing enough of a view for Troy to see that she was wearing Chad's 'Dear Santa… Define Good?' t-shirt. She thrust a strip of six condoms into his hand.

"Happy now?" she demanded. "Now go get her, stud."

Troy blinked, still trying to piece together exactly why Chad and Taylor were behaving elusively in a locked room, and she was wearing his shirt. Both Chad and Taylor had individually indicated to Troy and Gabriella respectively that neither of them wanted to rush back into anything serious. But then again, where there was alcohol involved, anything could happen.

Taylor closed the door in Troy's face, leaving him to stew over it for a few seconds longer before shrugging and not particularly caring at the moment. He shoved the condoms into his pocket before heading back up the corridor to the room that he and Gabriella had claimed. He went to turn the handle, but Gabriella had evidently locked it behind him.

"Gabi?" Troy called through the door.

A moment later the door creaked open wide enough for him to slip inside. A hand from behind the door grasped onto his bicep and pulled him, the door slamming shut behind them. Gabriella pressed Troy up against the door, kissing him hungrily, her hands ghosting down his chiselled abdomen. As their tongues battled in a fiery duel, one of her hands was working at undoing his button and fly, and the other had reached over to clumsily flick the lock on the door, before reaching into his pocket for the very item he'd left for. She seized the strip of condoms just as she succeeded in undoing his fly. Her lips pulled away from his, examining the strip in the air.

"You're ambitious," she remarked teasingly.

"Well, one for now, and it might break, and then I'll put two in my wallet and we might need one in the morning and…"

"Shut up," Gabriella murmured. She pushed his jeans down, the denim pooled around his ankles and he stepped out of them, kicking the item of clothing away.

* * *

Chad knocked on Monica's bedroom door. "Tay? I got your bag from Zeke's car."

The door creaked open and Chad stepped inside. Taylor was still dressed in his shirt, holding up her saturated blouse and jeans forlornly.

"I hope this beer comes out," Taylor grumbled. "That stupid idiot Marcus, why wasn't he watching where he was going with those jugs of beer?"

"At least it happened outside, Monica would have freaked if there'd been a big spillage on her carpet," Chad pointed out, trying to highlight the silver lining.

"I suppose. Of course Troy had to come here right when I'd peeled off my clothes, sheesh."

"I still swear I wasn't peeking," Chad said.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "It's not like you haven't seen it before."

He shrugged. "Still, doesn't seem quite right."

Taylor fished out another pair of jeans and a clean top that she'd brought to change into the following day. "Thanks for going down to get this for me."

"No worries. Something tells me that despite Monica's offer, that none of her tiny clothes would have fit you."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "You calling me fat, Danforth?"

"No, I'm complimenting your breasts, actually," Chad said honestly.

"Chad!" Taylor said, but laughed nonetheless.

He smirked. "Here, give me your other clothes and I'll go rinse them in the bathroom while you get changed."

"Thanks," Taylor said gratefully, carefully placing the beer soaked clothing into his hands.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Gabriella was itching for more. She was itching for something that was beyond 'nice', beyond 'good.' She felt guilty for thinking it, as she had the most loving, sublime boyfriend in the world; she was experiencing such an intense connection of love that she knew could not be experienced in any other way. And yet as he was positioned on top of her, her legs wrapped around his waist and attempting to draw him further inside her – she felt a primal, innate urge to experience _more._

"Troy?" Gabriella gasped questioningly, capturing his lips in a tender kiss.

"Mmm?" he murmured, not desisting from his somewhat steady rhythm – the slight tipsiness that remained impairing his smoothness.

"Can we… try…" she trailed off, not quite sure how to word it.

"What, what baby?" Troy encouraged her.

"Pull out," she murmured.

It took every inch of his willpower to remove his length from her core, when all he wanted was to be surrounded by the warmth of her wet flesh. She gently guided him to lie on the bed, before turning herself to straddle his upper thighs. She ensured the condom was still positioned correctly, before shuffling herself up the bed further. Troy's eyes were widened, at first in disbelief as to what was happening, and then in the moments before she re-established the connection, overwhelmed with an anticipatory swell of arousal at what was about to happen.

Her hand reached behind her, holding him into position, as she slowly lowered herself onto his length. His groan and her ragged cry came simultaneously. She carefully rose once more before allowing herself to sink down. Her head tilted backwards, mouth open slightly, overcome by just how deep inside of her she could feel him.

"Fuck baby," Troy groaned. "You okay?"

She nodded, and reached down for his hands. "Can you hold me?" she requested, placing his hands onto her hips.

Troy nodded, grasping onto her and helping her to balance as she tentatively experimented with the position, in search of the best way to manoeuvre herself to build into a rhythm. At first she tried remaining completely upright, allowing Troy's support to guide her. Then she sat back for a while, her weight being held up by her arms which were placed on either side of his knees. Whatever she was doing, Troy was in absolute ecstasy, experiencing a moment of absolute surreal disbelief. His innocent, class vice president, decathlon starring girlfriend was riding him.

"Come here," he gasped throatily, and pulled her down to him.

Her body was flush against his, lips captured in a tender kiss. His erection at full mast allowed her to remain in close contact with him, shifting her weight up and down his body. His hips drove up into her, meeting her thrust and increasing the depth of his propulsion. Her clit was rubbing against his pubic bone as she slid over his organ, intensifying the build.

The bass of the music from the party downstairs, the laughter that could be heard through the door and the occasional 'woo hoo' could not be further away. In the bedroom claimed by Troy and Gabriella, all that could be heard was grunting and moaning and gasping and ragged breathing and whimpering and the occasional expletive and utterance of the others name.

Gabriella pressed her pelvis harder against Troy's body, in a desperate frenzy to create additional friction against her clit. There was no need to voice to the other just how close they were to reaching the summit of sensation, she knew that he was close to his peak and for once, she too was right on the edge and in the best way possible.

"Oh shit… oh God…" Gabriella whimpered, burying her face into the crook of Troy's neck.

"Come on baby," Troy urged throatily, summoning additional energy from within; thrusting a little harder, a little faster. "You can let go."

Another few thrusts and that was all it took. Gabriella felt her climax arriving, biting down onto Troy's shoulder to muffle the undulated moan of ecstasy that ripped from her throat. As the waves continued, she unclamped her teeth and pressed her lips to his, enveloping her whimpers among a lazy kiss. Troy panted and grunted, one more thrust into her vibrating, convulsing cavern and he reached his own summit, continuing their kiss to dampen the sound of his own groaning response to the overwhelming rapture.

Gabriella remained on top of him, incapable of moving, content to remain still.

"Oh my God…" Gabriella panted. "Oh my God… that was… oh my God."

"Uh huh," Troy agreed.

"I'm so glad I was still tipsy enough to be willing to try that."

"I'm glad you were still tipsy enough to be willing to try that… but you shouldn't have to be tipsy to try new things."

"There's no way I'll be waiting until I'm tipsy next to try that again," Gabriella said with a faraway smile.

"Good, coz that was really, really hot," Troy murmured, pressing a tender kiss to her lips.

Gabriella carefully shifted her weight, allowing his softened length to slide from her core. She collapsed onto the bed beside Troy. He reached down, removing the rubber casing from the end. Gabriella was a step ahead, having reached to the bedside table for her clutch purse from where she pulled out a few tissues to hand to him to wrap up to the item and leave it on the bedside table to be dealt with later.

She then sat up for a moment, grabbed a hold of the comforter that was twisted at the foot of the bed and pulled it up to cover their nude bodies. She then nestled back onto the softness of the mattress, allowing herself to envelope into Troy's body, his arms wrapping around her protectively.

"Troy, are you going to be hung over tomorrow?" Gabriella asked.

"Mmm I doubt it. I think most of the alcohol has worn off. Why?"

She smiled cheekily, and murmured, "We have all those other condoms to use."

* * *

**AN - **Holy crap that was really long, I was just doing my final read through and I was reading it for like, forever. If you appreciated the effort, how about you give this green Review button a push and send Dani some feedback? :-)


	13. Chapter 13

**THE SOMEDAY TRILIOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N: **I'm technically not ready to update because I haven't finished the chapter that I'm working on; but I wanted to update in celebration of my birthday. As I upload this, it is approximately 12:35am on January 19 which means that it is now the anniversary of my birth. In other words, is my 23rd birthday - the final year of my early twenties, which is a really frightening concept. It also means that I now feel like I'm a bit too old for Zac, it felt so much better for those three months saying 21 and 22. Haha. Anyway. Happy birthday to me.

Also... a portion of this chapter is dedicated to the girls at the fan fic thread at Fan Forum. Let's see if you guys can work out what I'm referring to. :-)

Thanks Audrey as per usual for the beta-ing. Love your work! xo

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_From this moment on.  
For you've got the love I need so much,  
Got the skin I love to touch,  
Got the arms to hold me tight,  
Got the sweet lips to kiss me goodnight,  
From this moment on, you and I, babe,  
We'll be ridin' high, babe.  
Every care is gone, from this moment on._

**Ella Fitzgerald 'From This Moment On'**

* * *

Gabriella woke up to the sensation that she was about to fall. Behind her was a warm, muscular body, protectively clamping onto her waist, nestled into her behind – a semi hardness poking her in the butt. In front of her was about a half an inch of mattress and then the floor looming below. Her pillow had moved over a little toward the centre of the bed, with her head half on the pillow, half on the mattress – with the majority of the pillow being taken up by the head of the second occupant of the bed. The dim light emitting from between the slats of the timber blinds suggested that it was early in the morning, a theory then confirmed when Gabriella glanced at the digital clock, which read 6:17am. Meaning it was only about three hours since she'd fallen asleep in the first place.

Ever so precariously, Gabriella eased herself to turn over to face him, wary to not collapse into a naked pile on the floor in the process. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of Troy's slightly parted mouth as he slept peacefully. Then her smile turned into a frown as she observed the mass of space behind him on the bed. She really didn't want to wake him up but she was also desperately tired, and he'd made her promise once that if he ever snored, hogged the covers or took up her space in the bed, to just thwack him and shout at him to shove over. Gabriella wasn't about to raise her voice or hit him, but she wasn't going to just lie awake, unable to fall asleep again. She gently reached up to smooth the strands of flyaway hair back from Troy's face.

"Troy?" she whispered. He did not react at all, and she spoke a little louder. "Troy?" He stirred slightly, and Gabriella sighed. She caressed the side of his face, pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, rubbed her nose against his lightly, before kissing him softly on the lips.

Somewhat blearily, Troy's eyes opened, his sleepy cobalt orbs peeking through the section of hair that was flopped over his forehead.

"What?" he said, his voice croaky.

"Can you move over? I'm about to fall off the bed."

"Oh. Sorry," he said sleepily, and shuffled backwards, his head shifting from her pillow and back to his own.

Now with more space, Gabriella was able to wiggle about to feel more comfortable. His arm once again slung across her abdomen, his hand gently rubbing her taut skin.

"Gabriella?" Troy murmured.

"Mmm?"

"You still awake?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, attempted to respond with the smart ass answer of, 'No, I'm actually asleep.' But instead she responded simply with, "I'm awake."

"Good."

He rolled her onto her back and then leaned over to initiate a zealous, fiery, pointed kiss. A kiss that wasn't saying 'good morning' or 'I love you' or 'nice to see you.' A kiss which stated very clearly that he wanted her. Her lips responded automatically, her body beginning to respond to the light, feathered touch of his hands which ghosted up her abdomen and over her breasts.

Gabriella gasped, pulling away from his kiss. Troy immediately proceeded to pepper light kisses along her jaw line and down her neck. "What are you doing?"

"Punishing you," Troy murmured, now hovering above her breast. "For waking me up." He suckled lightly on her nipple.

"This is punishment?" she asked breathily, moaning lowly. "I may have to wake you up more often."

* * *

Martha began to stir – and not with the pleasant feeling of waking up after a rested nights sleep. Instead, she was stirring with the feeling of a jackhammer in her head, and the building sensation that she was going to be sick at any moment. She dragged herself up off the mattress that she was evidently sleeping on – having no recollection of how or when she'd gotten there. She was in the basement, she could see Zeke crashed out on the couch nearby, Kelsi and Jason snuggled up and asleep on a blow up mattress, and some other people around the place. She dashed toward the stairs, possibly the quickest she'd ran in her life, and headed up the stairs to the bathroom on the main level of the house. The door was locked, and she bashed on the door violently.

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses," the voice inside said impatiently.

Martha merely bashed on the door again, unable to talk because if she opened her mouth she feared the worst would happen. The door flew open and Ryan appeared, looking slightly perturbed – but his look of annoyance faded when he saw it was Martha. She pushed him aside and rushed forward to the toilet, arriving just in time to bend over and emit the vile substance.

Ryan patiently stood behind his friend, rubbing her on the back. He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a glass of water for her.

"You don't have to stay," Martha said blearily. "It's really early, isn't it?"

Ryan shrugged. "I wake up early, it's just my body clock. Bet you're regretting all that jungle juice now, huh?"

In perfect irony, Martha leaned over the toilet bowl and puked once more. Ryan wrinkled up his nose, but again performed the role of the dutiful friend and patted her back consolingly.

"I don't even know how you've got anything left to puke up. You were puking before we put you to sleep last night."

"I don't remember that," Martha mumbled.

"You don't?" She shook her head. "I suppose it was around 2am, you were playing beer pong with Jason, Rob and Dan. You weren't looking too crash hot and half way through ran to go puke, amidst it all almost passing out."

Martha groaned. "I was playing beer pong with Jason and then passed out? Fantastic. Bet the guys thought I was a bit of an idiot."

"I think they were too trashed themselves to really be at the point to comprehend what was going on."

"Did I do anything else stupid?"

"Not that I heard of."

"Well that's something at least. I wanna go home," Martha said, slowing rising to her feet. "I just want to crawl into my own bed and forget this ever happened."

"I'm gonna call Sharpay in about an hour to come pick me up, I can take you home from my house," Ryan offered. "It's a bit early to call her now, she'll be awake but she won't be ready to leave the house yet."

"Were you planning to call her this early anyway? I don't want you to leave early if you were planning to stay and hang," Martha said.

"I was planning to leave anyway," Ryan assured her. "Go on, crash on the couch for a while. I'll come wake you when she's on her way."

Martha smiled appreciatively, feeling far too seedy to object. "Thanks Ryan."

* * *

After awaking for the second time that morning – at the much more reasonable hour of 9:34am – Gabriella proceeded to grope around on the floor for her clothing. Troy's eyes fluttered open to have a view of his girlfriend clutching the comforter securely around her breasts as she was leaning over toward the carpet. She snagged onto Troy's button up white dress shirt from the night before, turning away from him, sliding into it and doing up the buttons.

"Okay, you really can't steal that shirt," Troy's sleepy warning came. "My mom will notice if my dress shirts go missing."

Gabriella glanced back, seeing his lazy smile. "I promise to return it. It's only to wear until I get my bag and clothes to change into."

Troy watched as she modestly reached to locate her panties, once again turning away from him to slide them on as quickly as possible. He rose from the bed, stark naked, casually wandering around to her side before he found his cotton boxers in the corner of the room. He nonchalantly pulled them on, and then picked up his jeans. He picked up her jeans and tossed them over to her.

"Sure you don't want to just stay in here all day?" Troy asked hopefully, glancing back toward the comfy bed. "There's still like three condoms left."

Gabriella giggled and then sighed. "A part of me would love to. But then there's the fact that this is Monica's house and also that I have plans with Taylor for today."

"Yeah, I'm hanging with Chad today," Troy said. "But we're still doing dinner tonight, right?"

She nodded and pulled the comforter from the bed to leave it in a pile in the corner, then efficiently stripped the bed of its sheets. "Of course."

"Come on, the faster we finish with the clean up, the faster we can get out of here and then hang with our friends," Troy declared.

"That's the spirit," Gabriella said with a smile.

Troy opened the door to the room and glanced down the corridor. "The bathroom is free, do you want to go claim it?" he suggested. "If you don't now you might be waiting for ages. I'll bring your bag in and take the sheets to the laundry."

Gabriella smiled appreciatively, launching herself in the direction of the bathroom. The door to Monica's room was now open, allowing Troy to go in and retrieve Gabriella's bag – which although he'd been unable to describe the evening before, he knew instantly at sight. He delivered the bag to Gabriella, then headed downstairs and into the laundry with his armful of bed linen. He dumped them into the washing machine, which with another set of linen which had already been brought down and some other random items, filled the washing machine. Troy reached for the washing powder, dumped in a scoopful and then examined the dials of the machine.

"Bolton, why are you wandering around my house not wearing a shirt?" Monica's somewhat teasing, somewhat demanding enquiry came from behind. Troy glanced back to see her standing with her hands on her hips.

He smirked at her. "Because Gabriella has this thing where she steals my shirts and I was being nice and putting on a load of laundry for you before going to grab my spare shirt from my truck."

"Oh," she relented. "Thanks." She reached over and flicked the appropriate dials and began the washing cycle.

"You're welcome. So I'll just go cover up my body then come back to help with the clean up."

"Hey, I don't care about you wandering around shirtless," Monica smirked. "But Gabriella might not appreciate you being eye candy for the hung over girls of East High."

"Point taken."

Troy headed toward the front door, and then realised that the keys to his truck were in Gabriella's purse, which was with her in the bathroom. He turned back toward the staircase, bounding upstairs taking two stairs at a time. He knocked on the bathroom door.

"Gabriella? It's me. I need my keys, they're in your purse."

"Right now?" she called back.

"Well, either I come in and get my keys, or I come in and get my shirt you stole, or I walk around downstairs shirtless. You pick."

There was no response, but then Troy heard the sound of the shower door sliding open, and the lock on the door flicking. He opened the door and stepped into the steamy room. He glanced over and managed to catch a glimpse of her glistening ass and toned legs before the frosted glass door closed again, hence blocking his view. He bent down, picked up her purse and rifled through in search of his keys.

"They're in the outside zipper compartment," Gabriella informed him from inside the shower.

"Oh… thank you." He successfully produced the keys and then set the purse back down. He turned to leave the room – but then upon second thought with a glance over at where the opaque glass was providing a blurry vision of his naked girlfriend, decided upon an alternative. He set the keys down onto the sink, before quickly undoing his belt buckle, his jeans pooling around his feet on the floor, and then sliding down his underwear.

Gabriella had been oblivious to his movements, enjoying the sensation of the hot water against her weary body. The muscles in her thighs were feeling a little sore – a result of straddling him in a position her body wasn't accustomed to. She was facing the wall, and froze as she heard the sound of the shower door sliding open behind her, the figure of her boyfriend stepping into the small space with her, and then closing the door behind him. She glanced down, suddenly feeling rather exposed.

"Umm what are you doing?" she managed to ask.

Troy took the loofah which Gabriella was clutching into his hand, and continued to scrub her arms gently with the vanilla and honey scented shower gel.

"I am conserving water," Troy informed her, murmuring into her ear. "Didn't you know that I am an avid environmentalist?"

Troy sensed her discomfort, and it didn't surprise him. When they were in the throes of passion, she would be perfectly fine with him removing her clothes and discarding them. But she always wanted the lights dimmed, she preferred to be beneath the comforter, and the morning after she would very shyly and coyly cover herself up again.

"Gabriella? I realise that the lights are bright in here and you have no comforter to hide amongst. But after what we've been doing – babe, I've seen you, every inch of you. This shyness is rather silly."

As he spoke, he had been running the loofah over her breasts, his left hand reaching around to fondle the breast presently not being washed.

Gabriella's breath hitched, her body shuddering involuntarily. "Umm… shyness disappearing already."

"Good."

* * *

"Can you believe Martha and Evans, taking off before clean up," Chad said, shaking his head as he walked along with the garbage bag open, Taylor tossing items inside.

"From what Gabriella said about Ryan's text, Martha wasn't feeling too well. Hardly surprising, given how much she drank," Taylor commented. "I guess she just wanted to go home and crash."

"What was up with that?" Chad remarked.

Taylor shrugged – knowing exactly what was up with it but of course not planning to repeat it. "Who knows? I don't know how you're not hurling," Taylor said, diverting the subject and shaking her head in slight amazement. "You drank soooo much last night."

Chad grinned and shrugged. "Maybe I'm just such a man that I can hold my liquor."

"You'll have a liver problem one day I bet," Taylor teased.

"Come on, help me take these out," Chad said, motioning to the bags of garbage they'd collected.

They picked up a bag each, and headed through the house toward the side door, out to where the garbage bins were outside.

"So, did you enjoy the party? I know we kinda ditched you girls at the beginning there," Chad said.

Taylor shrugged. "It's fine. It was uh… informative. Lots of interesting discussions."

Chad raised his eyebrows. "Gab giving the dirt on Bolton?" Chad asked with a smirk.

"Among other discussions, yes," Taylor responded.

They reached the garbage bins, Chad reached out and opened the lid, tossed his bag inside, then reached out for Taylor's and tossed hers in as well. They headed back inside, wordlessly moving toward the bathroom. Taylor squirted soap into her hands, then Chad, and they shared the stream of water from the tap.

"Last night was really fun though. I actually had a really good time at the dance, even if it was just as lame as every other dance," Taylor said.

"Evans and Gab might be able to create a whole new different sort of school spirit and get people into lots of activities, and do all this fund raising and stuff – but they can't change the fact that school dances are lame. It's just how they work," Chad said. "But you know… as long as you had fun. Since… it was our first date… well… our first date take two, I guess you could call it."

They both finished washing their hands, and simultaneously reached out to grasp the hand towel. Their hands grazed slightly as they bumped. Taylor pulled back, and Chad took the towel off the rack and handed it to her.

"I thought it went very well… our first date take two," Taylor said, adding teasingly. "You looked very handsome with your sports coat thrown on over your usual attire."

"Hey, I wore my best jeans," Chad said defensively. "And I even wore a Christmas shirt, getting into the spirit of the whole thing."

They fell silent for a moment, Taylor handed the towel to Chad to dry his own hands.

"Did you have a good time?" Taylor asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Apart from the lame ass music and dorky decorations… I had the hottest date there. So yeah, I had an awesome time."

Taylor blushed. "Hardly," she scoffed.

"You looked sooo hot! You know it. You wouldn't have picked that dress not knowing how hot you looked in it!" Chad remarked.

"You have to say that."

"I don't _have_ to say anything," Chad said bluntly.

Taylor finally allowed her eyes to meet Chad's, and it was only a moment later when their lips gravitated forward, coming together for a soft kiss.

It was a familiar kiss, a kiss which they'd first experienced in the context of a party pash after the triple win after party in January, almost a year earlier. A lot had happened. They'd flirted, they'd even taken things further and fooled around. Flirtation had reached its high point throughout the events of summer, and when a relationship had finally blossomed, it had began so well – only to have everything fall apart – the relationship itself not withstanding the external pressures.

Second time around – yes, it was a familiar kiss, but there was something new about it. The kiss was slow, careful, probing – exactly what they were doing this time around with their relationship. Being cautious, taking it slow, and taking the time to get to know one another all over again.

The kiss came to an end, lips lingering for an extra second, foreheads resting together for a moment after that.

"What does this mean?" Taylor murmured, her breath tickling against Chad's facial features.

Chad paused. "It means… that… I would like to take you out tonight."

Taylor smiled. "Date two, take two?"

"Does a lame ass school dance _really_ count as a date?"

Taylor wrinkled up her nose. "I guess not."

"Exactly. So what time should I pick you up?"

"Well Gabriella and I are going shopping today, so… seven?"

"Seven it is."

"Do you want me to drive? Your car is… well… barely running," Taylor said tactfully.

"It got us to the dance last night, didn't it?" Chad exclaimed defensively.

"Just barely. At the traffic lights, I really thought it was going to stall and never start again."

"It was all good; I just revved the shit out of it to keep it going. You are not driving. It is a date, and so I will drive."

"I'll have my mom on stand by to come pick us up in case you break down in the middle of nowhere."

Chad narrowed his eyes. "I'm starting to think that you don't want to even go on this date, McKessie."

"On the contrary, Danforth," Taylor shot back. "I do want to go. I just don't want to have to stuff around with your hood open staring at the engine trying to work out what went wrong."

"Won't happen. I'll pick you up at seven," Chad said definitively.

* * *

An hour later, Taylor and Gabriella were standing among the throng of Christmas shoppers at the Cottonwood Mall, mapping out their plan of attack for the day.

"Okay. So. Here is my list of possible presents," Gabriella said, pulling out a neatly folded sheet of A4 lined paper from her purse. "None of which I think are quite right, but it's still a list of possibilities. I have to get one main present and then I want to get one or two smaller presents. I pretty much know exactly what I want to get for them. It's just the bigger present that is stressing me out. So, I was thinking that I will just get the smaller presents out of the road, and then while I'm getting those I can be looking around and thinking about my options for the bigger present."

Taylor nodded. "Okay. And don't forget I have to finish my shopping too."

"Of course," Gabriella assured her. "I wouldn't have dragged you here just to help me shop for Troy."

"I still can't believe you've left this so late!" Taylor exclaimed. "Christmas is only a few days away!"

Gabriella groaned. "I know, I know okay. But Troy and I aren't exchanging gifts until New Years Eve. It felt like I had ages left to finish my shopping, and then I realised that I don't really. But since I leave for my auntie and uncles early Monday morning, then we fly from there to Denver early Thursday morning… and then after that we're with the Bolton's. Between Christmas and then being _with_ Troy – it's pretty much now or never."

"Okay then. Let's do this," Taylor said with confidence. "We've got… okay…" she glanced at her watch. "If we allow a half hour break for lunch, we both have plans tonight and want to be home by 4:30pm… it means that we now have officially four hours. We can do it."

"Can we start at Aeropostale?" Gabriella suggested.

Taylor nodded. "Sure. I should be able to get my sister a tote bag from there."

The girls began to head in the direction of the clothing store, along the way, passing by a book store.

"Actually, could we quickly go in here?" Taylor asked, motioning toward the book store up ahead.

"Sure. I actually want to get my mom a cook book," Gabriella said.

The girls went inside, Gabriella heading straight for the cooking section. A few minutes later, Taylor approached her friend, clutching a book.

"I found the perfect present for Troy," Taylor said, deadpan.

She held up a book for Gabriella to see. The book was yellow and black, with a large print title of _Sex For Dummies._

Gabriella was mortified, immediately glancing around to ensure no one had seen. Taylor was struggling to keep under control, aware that decorum was expected in a book store, but finding her suggestion to be rather entertaining.

"Taylor!" Gabriella hissed. "That's not funny."

"Can you imagine what he would say if you gave him that," Taylor said, breaking into a fresh fit of laughter.

Gabriella snatched the book from Taylor. "Where did this come from?"

"Around the corner," Taylor motioned, and followed Gabriella around to return the book to its place.

"Besides… Troy doesn't really need it, anyway," Gabriella remarked.

Taylor narrowed her eyes, a smile toying on her lips. "I thought you looked rather glowing this morning."

"Shut up," Gabriella said. "This is neither the time or the place. Did you find what you wanted?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. you?"

"No. Maybe Macy's will have it.

"Let's keep going, and get Aeropostale out of the way."

* * *

Jason and Kelsi were curled up on the sofa at Jason's house, with her lying in the v of his legs, with his arms wrapped around her waist. Disc two of the fifth season of _Friends_ was playing, but Kelsi wasn't particularly paying much attention to what was going on.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jason asked. "You seem like you're a million miles away."

"I'm fine," Kelsi insisted.

"What just happened on the show?" Jason asked, eyebrows raised.

Kelsi glanced at the screen. "Um, Phoebe just found out about Monica and Chandler."

"You only know that coz you could recite this show in your sleep."

Kelsi sighed. "Okay, you got me."

"So?" Jason prompted. "What's up?"

"I'm worried about Martha," Kelsi revealed.

"Why, did something happen?"

"The getting ridiculously drunk last night?"

Jason shrugged. "Maybe she just wanted to let loose and have a bit of fun?"

Kelsi sighed. "It's just not like her, she doesn't like to drink, ever. And it was just like she just kept drinking and drinking, with the specific intent of getting smashed."

"Okay, maybe she wanted to get smashed?"

"Which is what worries me."

"I think you're worried about nothing, Kels," Jason said, not particularly thinking anything of the issue.

Kelsi sighed, she'd known that Jason wouldn't really get it which was why she hadn't bothered to talk about it with him in the first place.

"Maybe," she said.

"Ohh, I love this bit!" Jason exclaimed, his eyes glued to the television once again. "Watch this!"

* * *

One hour remaining, and both Gabriella and Taylor had finished their shopping – with the exception of one present. The major present that Gabriella had come to get. Taylor's feet were killing her, they'd been to what felt like every single store in the entire mall in search of 'the perfect gift.' Taylor's brain was hurting with the thought that over the next few months, there would then be the couples official one year anniversary of when they'd first started dating, then Valentine's Day, and then there would be Troy's eighteenth birthday. Taylor would need a year to recover from the Christmas shopping experience.

"Let's just go back to Fanzz," Gabriella suggested.

Taylor closed her eyes. They'd been into Fanzz, the sporting goods store, four times already. "Okay," she said wearily.

Gabriella's cell phone began to ring, and she fished it out of her purse.

"It's Chad," she said to Taylor, eyebrows rising with surprise, before answering the call. "Hey Chad!"

"_Hey Gab, whatcha doin?"_

"Shopping with Taylor," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes slightly as she knew that Chad knew the girls were shopping. "At Cottonwood. We're just about to take a break, we're heading toward the food court now."

"_Oh yeah? Tell her I said hey,"_ Chad said casually.

Gabriella glanced at Taylor. "Chad says hey," she said, hiding a smirk.

"Hi Chad," Taylor called, her tone one of equal forced aloofness.

"Did you hear that?" Gabriella asked.

"_Yeah. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"_

Gabriella hesitated. She and Troy hadn't actually made plans for the next day, but they hadn't made plans to not make plans either. Early Monday morning, Gabriella and her mom were flying to Chicago to spend Christmas with relatives; and Troy and his parents were heading to Santa Fe to spend the holiday with Jack's side of the family.

"I don't know yet," Gabriella said hesitantly.

"_You're coming over to my new place then. Bolton has already agreed, so you don't have that as an excuse."_

"Is he with you now?"

"_Nah, but we were hanging before. So I was just gonna invite the gang over, hang out for a bit during the afternoon tomorrow."_

"Sounds like fun," Gabriella said.

Meanwhile as Gabriella was on the phone, Taylor had taken the opportunity to pull out her cell phone and shoot off a quick text message to Martha.

_Hey, how you feeling?_

The response came back almost instantly.

_Like shit. Yes I remember what we talked about and no, I don't want to talk about it. Going to crash again now._

Taylor sighed, and responded quickly with – _I didn't say anything. And go sleep, it'll make you feel a lot better. Ttyl._

* * *

After parting ways with Chad, Troy had headed back home. When he entered the house, his mother was pottering about in the kitchen.

"Hey mama," Troy greeted her, placing his shopping bags onto the bench. "Is dad here?"

"He's just gone to the grocery store quickly for me."

Troy opened one of his shopping bags, and pulled out a glass candy jar with the Los Angeles Lakers logo brightly decorating the side.

"You think they'll let him have this on his desk at work, since it's not red and white?" Troy asked with a smile.

"I think he is allowed to put whatever he likes on his desk, as long as it doesn't say West High Knights," Lucille remarked. She peered over at his other shopping bags, spotting the small bag from the jewellery store. "So, what else did you get?"

"Not much," Troy said.

"Nothing for Gabriella?" Lucille asked teasingly. "In that little bag from the jewellers, for example?"

"Maybe I got her something."

"Show me, then I can tell you if you picked something hideously ugly," Lucille teased. "With Chad's help, goodness knows what you might have bought her."

"The sales chick helped me too," Troy said defensively.

"Did you go to Cottonwood?"

Troy shook his head. "No, we went to the Coronado Center coz Gabi and Taylor were shopping at Cottonwood today."

"Are you exchanging gifts New Years Eve still?"

He nodded, confirming this. "Yup."

"Very romantic."

"That's what she said." Troy hopped off the counter and grabbed his shopping bags to take into his bedroom.

"When your father gets back, we are going over to discuss Breckenridge plans with Elena. Do you want to come?" Lucille asked, knowing very well what his response would be.

Troy nodded enthusiastically. "Of course."

* * *

After what felt one of the longest days in the history of the universe and humankind, Gabriella and Taylor completed their shopping, satisfied with their purchases – well, mainly satisfied.

"Do you really think Troy will like it?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor glanced over at Gabriella from her place in the drivers seat. "Honey, you've asked me that about twelve hundred times since we left the mall. Yes, I think he'll love it. I think you could get Troy a pair of socks and he would love and cherish them."

"That's a bit extreme," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

Taylor turned into Gabriella's street. As they approached her house, Gabriella's brow furrowed at the sight of a car that was in the drive way.

"That's Mrs. Bolton's car," she said to Taylor, gesturing toward the car that was in her driveway.

"Maybe Troy's truck broke down and he's borrowing it," Taylor suggested, as she pulled up outside the house.

"But he's not meant to arrive for another two hours," Gabriella mused. "Anyway. Thank you so much for your help today, Tay. I so could not have done it without you, I would have broke down crying in the middle of the mall, wailing because I didn't know what to get him."

Taylor laughed. "You're more than welcome, I finished up my shopping as well anyway."

"I'll see you tomorrow at Chad's?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yup. Have fun with him tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Which these days, has very little meaning."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and giggled slightly – having no come back. She opened the door of the Jeep and hopped out, waving as Taylor drove away. Gabriella darted across the grass to her front door, discovering the door was unlocked.

"Gabi honey, is that you?" Elena's voice carried from the living room.

"No, I am a stranger who has walked straight into our house," Gabriella called back.

"Ha ha."

Gabriella slipped off her flats, and cautiously poked her head around from the main hallway into the living room. Not only was Lucille Bolton present, but so too was Jack and Troy.

"Hey you," Troy said with a bright smile.

"Hey," Gabriella said, holding her shopping bags behind the wall, out of view.

"We're just here doing some Breckenridge planning," Lucille informed her.

"Oh, awesome," Gabriella said.

"What are you hiding there?" Troy asked teasingly, knowing that Gabriella had been at the mall.

"Nothing!" she said, a little too quickly. "I'm just going up to my room then I'll be down."

"Buy any cool stuff?" Troy asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Gabriella said, and quickly rushed past.

"Was that a bag from Fanzz I saw?" Troy called.

"No! I mean yes! I mean… maybe!" Gabriella's voice wafted back down.

"Troy Alexander, mind your manners," Lucille reprimanded.

"I saw you the other day shaking presents under the tree, trying to work out what they are," Troy shot back.

"What's this?" Jack demanded, a smile toying on his lips.

Lucille's eyes widened, shooting Troy a not very happy glance. "I have no idea what he is talking about," she said stiffly.

Troy smiled triumphantly. "Yeah right."

"You didn't shake the big heavy one that's by the window, did you?" Jack asked, his voice filled with alarm. "It shouldn't really be… shook."

"No, I could barely lift that one," Lucille confessed.

"That's fine then."

"Diego used to be a present shaker. He would lift it up and compare the weight with other household items, and feel it and shake it and even smell it," Elena recalled fondly.

Gabriella appeared in the room, having overheard her mothers statement. Troy shuffled left along the sofa into the middle next to his father; and patted the cushion on his right for Gabriella to come sit.

"And so them mom used to try to disguise the presents," Gabriella added to the story, her own face alit with a bright reminiscent smile at the memory involving her father. "She would wrap presents in layers and layers of bubble wrap and newspaper before the layer of Christmas paper so they appeared different to what they were; or put them in shoeboxes with rocks so they weighed differently."

The Bolton's all laughed gently at the story.

"When are we going to Santa Fe?" Troy asked his parents. "Monday morning?"

Jack and Lucille glanced at each other. "Actually, your mother and I were thinking about going up tomorrow afternoon. We know you agreed to work at the Christmas party at Lava Springs tomorrow night, but if we didn't mind, you could just drive up on your own on Monday morning?" Jack suggested.

Troy nodded. "That's fine. I'd rather have my truck with me up there anyway."

"Why?" Jack asked, eyebrows raised.

"Coz Chad and Jayme are going to Santa Fe next week to Mr. Danforth's," Troy explained, and he then lit up at a sudden afterthought. "Say, I could then just keep driving from Santa Fe to Breckenridge?"

"Over my dead body," Lucille scoffed – not only did she doubt that Troy's truck could safely make it all the way to Breckenridge, but she wasn't a fan of the idea of her teenage son having access to his own vehicle whilst on vacation with his girlfriend. "You will be following us back to Albuquerque early on the 26th and then we will be flying to Denver as planned."

Troy shrugged. "It was worth trying."

* * *

Chad had confirmed his small Wildcat gathering with everyone, designating that they could come around at about 1pm and they could hang out for a few hours. Most of the crew were busy on Sunday night anyway, meaning the gathering had to take place during the day. Troy had picked Gabriella up around 12:45pm. Chad's townhouse estate was on the opposite side of East High to where the majority of the gang lived, a short drive away but no longer in the same neighbourhood. They pulled up at the security complex, Troy following the instructions and leaning out the window to press 29 then the asterisk key. The intercom rang a few times, and then a female voice came through, "Hello?"

"Taylor?" Troy said, surprised.

"Hey Troy! Come on in. There's a visitor parking lot straight ahead, and then follow the path to your right and you'll find it."

"Thanks."

Troy followed her instructions, parking between Zeke's car and Taylor's Jeep. He ran around the truck to pull the door open for Gabriella, and the couple then walked hand in hand through the estate. It was a nice, quiet townhouse estate; of the style with fifty identical small houses in the same security complex. Troy knew from what Chad had told him that there were two shared pools, as well as a fitness room, a barbeque area and a party room that could be booked in advance. The townhouses were all two levels with a small backyard. Troy and Gabriella found Chad's house easily, and knocked on the front door. A minute later it opened and Taylor appeared in the doorway.

"Hey guys!" Taylor exclaimed. "Come in, come in. I'll show you around. Zeke and Kelsi and Jason just got here, Chad's upstairs doing the tour."

"This is really nice, it's so new," Gabriella commented, glancing around.

"I think it was only built a couple of years ago," Taylor said. "Anyway, so you've got the dining area here, the garage and laundry are down that way. Then there's the kitchen, and here's the lounge area. The backyard is just out through that door there."

"Troy, Gab," Chad called, coming down the stairwell with the others in tow.

"Hey man," Troy said, fist pumping with Chad in greeting.

"This isn't bad at all, you made it sound like it was some derelict, crumbling place. It's all very new and modern," Gabriella said.

"It's tiny though," Chad said. "And nowhere near any of you."

"Hey, you're not far from my place," Zeke pointed out.

The intercom began buzzing once again, and Chad dashed over to answer it. "Sup?"

"_Hello?"_ Martha's voice came through.

Chad proceeded to give her the instructions of where to park and how to find the townhouse.

"You show Troy and Gabriella upstairs, I'll go meet Martha," Taylor said to Chad.

He nodded in agreement. "Guys, there's shit in the fridge, take whatever you want," Chad instructed, waving his hand toward the kitchen, and then leading Troy and Gabriella up the staircase.

"Yeah, not very exciting. Mom's room there, JJ is next to her, then I'm down the hallway in the smaller room."

"How did you decide that? Did you flip a coin?" Gabriella asked.

Chad shook his head. "Nah, Jayme wanted the bigger room and I wanted the room away from mom. So it worked out. Plus since I'll be moving out for college, it makes sense."

Troy went into Chad's room, and flopped down onto his bed to observe the room layout.

"Yeah, this isn't bad," Troy mused. "There's hardly any room for my air mattress though."

"My furniture hardly fit in here."

"Oh and dude, that security gate thing was crazy," Troy remarked. "What a pain in the ass." The guys were accustomed to just walking straight into each others houses whenever they wanted.

"Give me your cell," Chad requested.

Troy, slightly mystified, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hesitantly handed it over. Chad punched a few keys, and then showed Troy where he'd saved a note with a four digit code and then an asterisk. "Just put that in, and the gate just opens. You can come use the pool and the fitness room and shit. I'll show you later, it's fucking sweet as."

"Is there a basketball court?"

"No," Chad said darkly. "A _tennis_ court, but no basketball court. Who plays tennis anyway? But my mom said that Santa is gonna install a hoop in the driveway."

"Sweet."

Chad lowered his voice. "Sharpay is coming," he informed Troy and Gabriella, rolling his eyes. "When I called Evans to invite him, he went and told his parents and then they said that he couldn't go unless Sharpay was coming for some reason. I didn't ask, their family is totally fucked up if you ask me."

Troy shrugged. "It's all good. Sharpay's been okay lately. Besides, I bet Zeke's happy about that."

"Yeah fully. Anyway, let's go back down."

The trio trooped downstairs, the new arrival of Martha now standing with the group.

"Hey girl, how are you feeling?" Troy asked sympathetically. "Better than yesterday I bet."

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Martha asked, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"Um, because you were totally, completely wasted on Friday night and even though I didn't see it, I heard you were sick and I care about how you are?" Troy supplied.

"Well I'm fine," Martha said shortly.

Gabriella put her arm around her friend, and spoke softly "I know how you feel. It's embarrassing, huh?"

"It's not a big deal, we all get drunk and make fools of ourselves and we move on. The end," Jason said simply.

Whilst Chad had been showing Troy and Gabriella upstairs, the buzzer had sounded again with the arrival of Ryan and Sharpay. A knock came at the front door, Chad went over to open it and let the duo arrive.

"Hey everyone!" Ryan said cheerfully, walking into the townhouse.

"Hey Ryan, hey Sharpay," Chad greeted them.

"Why do you live so far away from the parking lot?" Sharpay demanded.

Chad blinked. "Um, because this was the house that was available for rent?"

"They should provide a car service to take your visitors from the parking lot to peoples houses. My feet hurt," Sharpay complained.

"I'll have to put that one into the suggestion box," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

Ryan, on the other hand, was a little more optimistic about the situation. "This complex is awesome Chad, when we drove past the pool I was like, I bet that's gonna be packed during summer." He slid into the group standing beside Martha. "How are you feeling?"

* * *

The Wildcats hung about in the new Danforth/Ellis living room, which was a little on the small side but nevertheless they managed to fit everyone in. The three seater couch was taken up by four people – Kelsi sitting closely to Jason, the pair playing footsies when they thought no one was paying attention; and Chad and Taylor, who hadn't yet reached the point of being openly affectionate with one another, but were nevertheless sitting close together. Troy had pulled Gabriella to sit on his lap in one of the arm chairs. Zeke had gone to sit in the other arm chair, but then offered the seat to Sharpay. Leaving chairs from the dining room to be pulled up for Ryan, Zeke and Martha. Chips, dips, cheese, crackers, pretzels and candy were littered across the coffee table in the centre of the room.

"So when does your family leave for your vacation?" Chad asked Ryan.

"We fly out on Christmas Eve morning. I'm actually looking forward to it, the place we're staying at looks amazing."

"Oui, ce sera tres bonne," Sharpay beamed.

"Ohhh are you going to France?" Gabriella asked excitedly. "You didn't tell me you're going to France!"

"We're going to Canada," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "Montreal."

"Oh," Gabriella said, somewhat dejectedly.

"Are you back for New Years?" Chad asked.

"No, we come back on… I think it's the third," Ryan mused, and then glanced at Sharpay for confirmation.

Sharpay nodded. "The third."

"So I'm back from my dad's in time for New Years, Taylor, Zeke, Kelsi and Jason are all around. We know the love birds are unavailable. Martha, are you around?" Chad asked.

"I come back from Houston on the 30th but I think I have to baby-sit on New Years," she revealed."

"Baby-sit? On New Years? How boring!" Jason exclaimed. "You have to blow it off."

"Um… I can see if I can get out of it, but I did promise to do it a while back," Martha said.

"You have to try to find a way out of it. You can't let me be the fifth wheel," Zeke added.

"Aww, doesn't Zeke wanna be left out?" Kelsi teased.

"When do you guys get back from the lodge?" Ryan asked, looking at Troy and Gabriella.

"We leave on the second," Troy answered on behalf of both of them. "We're even all on the same flight!"

"We'll have to have another get together thing on like, the fourth or fifth, before school goes back," Ryan said.

"Definitely," Taylor agreed.

Troy's cell phone which he'd placed on the coffee table began to ring, and Gabriella reached over to pick it up and hand it to him. Troy glanced at the Caller ID, frowning at the private number.

"Hello?"

Troy listened intently for a moment before motioning for Gabriella to get up off his lap, allowing him to take his cell with him into the next room.

"So has everyone finished their Christmas shopping? Anyone rushing out for last minute shopping tomorrow?" Ryan asked.

"I finished yesterday, thank God," Taylor answered.

"I still have to get my little brother a present," Kelsi said. "I was planning to get him this game that he wants but mom went and bought it for him, leaving me not having a clue what to get. So she and I are going to go shopping early tomorrow morning, try to beat the crowds."

Troy re-entered the room, looking slightly perturbed. "That was Fulton, you know how I'm working at that Christmas function at Lava Springs tonight? I wasn't meant to start til 6pm but he asked if I can come in as soon as possible. There's been some drama with the set up or… something."

"Oh, I didn't know you were working there tonight. Don't forget, I like lots of ice in my iced tea," Sharpay said.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Oh, and I forgot you'd be there too."

"Well of course. It's only Albuquerque's biggest and best Christmas party. And Ryan and I perform there every year."

"Anyway, so sorry to bail on you all…" Troy said apologetically, but looking at Chad.

Chad shrugged, unfazed. "It's cool man. If my work called me and asked me to come in early for my night fill shift, I'd be kicking you all out."

"Gabriella, I can take you home so you can stay hang out a bit longer," Taylor offered.

Troy leaned over, picking up his wallet and keys that were also on the table. "Awesome. Okay well, I'll see you two tonight," Troy said, gesturing to Sharpay and Ryan. "Danforth, give me a buzz when you arrive in Santa Fe and we'll chill."

"Word," Chad said with a nod.

He turned to Gabriella. "Umm…"

"I'll walk out with you," she said, immediately standing up.

"Good," Troy said, smiling at her and capturing her waist with his arm. "And everyone else – I'll see you next year!"

Troy and Gabriella made their way arm in arm out to his truck, walking in silence, and only beginning to talk once they paused at his truck.

"Is it sad that I will miss you? We will see each other in…" Gabriella paused, and counted in her head. "Four sleeps. I really don't want to go to Chicago. I wish we were going to Ciudad Juarez with my mom's family."

"It's not sad at all. I'll be counting down. And that first day when we're at Breckenridge without you and your mom will be torture," Troy replied. "Since you fly out really early tomorrow, you'll be going to bed early tonight, won't you? I won't call you when I finish work."

"Just let me know once you've driven safely to Santa Fe tomorrow. And I'll text you when we land in Chicago."

"Okay." Troy glanced at his watch. "I'd better get going. Dragging it out won't make it easier."

Gabriella nodded, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'll see you in four sleeps. And talk to you in the morning."

"Can't wait. "

A quick, sweet, tender kiss was no longer enough, and of course it continued into a probing kiss, a kiss that neither wanted to end. It was finally Gabriella who had the willpower to pull herself away from him, open the door of his truck and push him inside.

"I love you," Troy murmured, staring out his window at her.

"Love you too," Gabriella choked up, the tears welling in her eyes.

She stood and watched forlornly as Troy reversed out of the parking spot, his hand waving out the window until he pulled out of the complex and his truck disappeared around the corner. Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing the tears to dissolve.

"Would you like a hug?" a voice asked from behind.

Gabriella turned around to see Ryan waiting, a somewhat amused yet sympathetic look upon his face. She nodded. "Yes please."

"You'll be fine, it's only four sleeps," he said consolingly as he rubbed his friends back soothingly.

"Only four sleeps," Gabriella's voice echoed. "Only four sleeps."

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **

I've had a few people enquiring about **why I'm not updating every other day** like I was with Part 1 of the trilogy - Once Upon A Time; and I just felt the need to address this for maybe the handful of you who actually bother to read author's notes, lol.

Firstly – the only reason I did this throughout the back half of OUAT was because I wanted to complete Part 1 before HSM3 was airing in the United States. When I wrote OUAT, I'd written maybe twenty chapters before I started posting, I kept ahead, gradually caught up on myself, and then at the end I was _killing_ myself to update in time. If you take a look at my chapter length/word count, you'll realise that **my chapters are often (not always, but often) a lot longer than the length of a chapter written by most other authors**. I don't just throw chapters together; I agonise over things and I work with a beta reader and sometimes chapters are completely restructured/rewritten from their original form. **I feel like all I ever do is write**, literally, my mum gets angry at me for spending all my time with my laptop and my real life friends are currently pissed off at me because I seem to prefer writing than hanging with them. **Don't be there thinking that I'm sipping margaritas while you're waiting for an update**. **I dedicate my life to this story, to the point of putting off real life things**, like paying bills and job hunting and studying. And I don't get paid for it.

My recommendation to you **if** **you want more frequent updates, **is that maybe you need to pause mid chapter and wait a couple of days to read the second half of the chapter. Because the only way I could update more frequently would be if I cut all my really long chapters in half; but I don't want to do that for purposes of flow. Sorry if this sounds a bit bitchy; I'd understand if this was my job, if I was like, the writer of some TV show and you got a sporadic episode once every six weeks. But I'm not, this is a hobby – yes, a hobby I love, a hobby I feel privileged to share with people – but nevertheless, a hobby. I'm not some writing machine who spits out a crappy spelling mistake filled heap of garble every couple of days. And with Someday, it's not like I update _infrequently._ I think once a week is a perfectly acceptable time between chapters, and often it's been twice a week anyway. So… yes.

[ / **end rant** ].

Thank you to everyone for all of the awesome support and reviews I've been getting.

And I'd like to thank Audrey for her honesty and patience with the following chapter; and also to Karen for her pep talk/highlighting of calendar related issues. :-)

****

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_Do you really wanna give me away_

_I'll take this moment to say_

_I'd rather be with you, baby_

_You know what you're doing to me_

**Vanessa Hudgens 'Rather Be With You'**

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now commencing our descent upon Chicago O'Hare International Airport. It is currently thirty three degrees, with an expected high of thirty eight later this afternoon. At this time, we request that all electronic equipment including laptops and portable audio devices be switched off, that your tray tables are up, window shades are raised, your chair is in upright position and your hand luggage is safely secured for landing."

"Thirty three degrees?" Gabriella repeated, wrinkling her nose as she switched off her iPod. "We _so_ should have gone to Mexico."

"Just think, you'll be acclimatised ready for Colorado," Elena said optimistically, pushing up the window shade.

Gabriella wrinkled her nose. "Yipee."

"Gabi honey, I know you would have preferred to spend Christmas with Auntie Eva and her family in Mexico, but we agreed that we'd come to Chicago to spend the holiday with Uncle Adrian. Don't you think your father would want us to remain close to his family?"

"Yes he would, and that's exactly it. We're not close. Do you know how annoying it is when people are constantly surprised by how old you are, and when they just have no idea about anything about you?"

"Well, the only way to change that is to spend time with them so they can get to know you."

"Yeah, and then in two years time when I next see them, they'll have forgotten it all again," Gabriella said pessimistically.

Elena gave her daughter a stern look before sitting up straighter in her seat, tightening her seatbelt a little. "It's three nights Gabi. I know it frustrates you, and it frustrates me too. But it's Christmas, and at the end of the day we're spending it with family. Which is more than what a lot of people have."

Gabriella sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just being… grouchy. Maybe I miss Troy or something."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, in about fifteen minutes you can turn your cell phone on again and let him know that you landed safely."

The Montez ladies could have gone to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico for Christmas, with Elena's sister Eva and her family who had been in Albuquerque for Thanksgiving. Instead, they'd flown to Chicago to spend a few nights with Elena's brother-in-law Adrian and his family – being Gabriella's father's brother. When Diego had been alive, the two families would at least make the effort to see each other on a biannual basis, if not more frequently. When he'd passed away, they'd gradually seen each other less and less. It wasn't that the families didn't like each other, it was simply that time got away; and without the immediate connection between Diego and Adrian, their meetings had become less and less recurrent.

Elena had told Adrian that she and Gabriella could get a cab from the airport to their home; however were pleasantly surprised to find him waiting for them at their gate at the airport.

"Elena!" Adrian called out, from where he was standing beside the chocolate vending machine.

Elena's head whipped up and she smiled, immediately moving over to where her brother-in-law was waving. Gabriella followed behind, taking an additional moment to accustom herself to just how much Uncle Adrian looked like her father.

"Aidy, I told you we could get a cab," Elena admonished.

"Don't be silly, we're family! Families don't get cabs. Gabi honey, look at you!" Adrian exclaimed, turning to his niece to give her a hug. "My goodness you've grown up. I suppose it's been two years since I last saw you. What are you now, sixteen?"

"I'm seventeen, almost eighteen," Gabriella responded promptly.

He shook his head in bewilderment. "Time flies, doesn't it El?"

Elena gave him a small smile. "Sure does."

Throughout the movement to baggage claim and the drive back to Adrian's home, Elena and Adrian chatted, catching up on the lives of their families. They hadn't seen each other for two years and had spoken on the telephone sparsely during that time. Adrian's wife, Sienna, had spent a few months that year run down with mononucleosis and its lasting after affects, which Elena had no idea had occurred. Sienna had only just returned to work in November. His eldest daughter Susanna had started high school that fall and had encountered a few difficulties with some of her classmates – to the extreme where she'd refused to go to school, and they'd been forced to transfer her to a school in a neighbouring district. His youngest Tessa was in her final year of elementary school and to her dismay had been prescribed glasses by her optometrist, and was having difficulty adjusting to her new look. Elena was overwhelmed by just how much she'd missed out on in their lives.

Adrian pulled smoothly into the garage of his modest two storey home.

"It seems Sienna is still out, she had to grab a few extra things for tomorrow, the fresh fruit and vegetables and other perishable items," he said, observing the empty spot in the garage. "I think the girls were going with her. So you'll be able to get settled in the meantime."

"That's fine," Elena said.

Adrian retrieved the two suitcases from the trunk of the car, lifting Elena's and leaving Gabriella to wheel her own along behind her.

"Sienna's sister and her husband are joining us tomorrow, they live about a half hours drive away. But they were going to come and stay tonight. It's nice for the kids to all wake up together on Christmas morning. Even though my girls are a bit old for all the Santa business, they get really excited about it with Rosie and Peter's kids."

"That's nice, that they can still get into the spirit," Elena said.

"Anyway, so we figured we would have the two of you in the den, there's a queen sized sofa bed in there – if you're okay with sharing…"

"That's more than fine," Elena said, smiling and confirming that this was acceptable.

"Then you'll have your own bathroom down here. Also, our guest room upstairs has a crib set up and everything for Rosie and Peter's youngest, he's just seven months old now. We could relocate the crib down here if you want the bedroom upstairs…"

"Aidy, you could have us sleep on the kitchen floor if you would be so kind as to give us a pillow each," Elena said with a teasing smile.

"Well, that won't be necessary. Anyway, come on through to the den, Sienna has already made up the bed for you. I can assure you that it is quite comfortable from my own personal experience."

Gabriella and Elena were left to settle into the den, propping their suitcases into the corner and taking out a few items that were best kept out and straight. Adrian was in the kitchen, beginning the process of making coffees for himself and Elena. Arm in arm, mother and daughter slipped out of the den and headed into the kitchen.

"Elena, how do you take your coffee?" Adrian asked.

"Black with one, thank you."

"Gabi, do you drink coffee?"

"No thanks Uncle Adrian."

"Would you like a cold drink? We have orange juice, and apple juice, and soda, and milk…"

"Orange juice would be great."

The coffees were made and the juice was retrieved, and just as the trio sat down at the dining table, the sound of the garage door going up was heard.

"Oh, Sienna's home," Adrian said brightly. "She's so excited to see the both of you!"

A moment later, Sienna's voice called out from the doorway into the house from the garage.

"Adrian?"

"In the dining room with El and Gabi," he called back.

She appeared in the doorway, laden with canvas bags of grocery items, beaming brightly at the guests.

"Elena!" she exclaimed.

Elena rose to her feet, embracing the woman in a hug. "Sienna! You look wonderful! Have you lost weight?"

Sienna smiled proudly. "Maybe a little." She turned to her niece, to give her a hug. "And Gabi honey, look at you! Is your hair shorter than when I saw you last?"

Gabriella nodded. "Probably. I cut it before summer, it's still growing out."

Gabriella's cousins came into the room, both also carrying canvas grocery bags. They silently took them over to the bench, standing back a little awkwardly.

"Look at the two of you!" Elena said with a bright smile. "Susanna, you look like you've grown about five inches since I last saw you!"

"She has," Adrian said proudly.

Elena stepped forward, kissing both of her nieces on the cheek. Each of them remained silent, reciprocating and giving a half hug as their aunt embraced them.

Gabriella stepped forward, smiling. "Hey girls!" she said brightly.

"Hi Gabriella," the younger of the two, Tessa, said quietly.

The cousins exchanged kisses on the cheek and awkward half hugs, before immediately moving back to stand beside their mothers.

"Well then. Why don't you girls grab the rest of the groceries for me?" Sienna asked her daughters.

Immediately the pair shuffled back toward the garage, leaning toward one another and giggling about something private.

"I don't know why they suddenly get so shy," Sienna said, rolling her eyes.

Gabriella heard the sound of her cell phone ringing in the den where she'd left her tote bag, her eyes shifting in that direction.

"Um, do you mind if I go answer my phone?" she asked politely, but hopefully. She suspected it was Troy, she'd been texting him the whole car ride back to the house, and not only did she want to talk to him but she was grateful for the escape from the slight feeling of discomfort within the room.

"Sure honey, that's fine," Sienna said, waving her hand in that direction.

Gabriella darted away, leaving Elena to be the one rolling her eyes. "I'm guessing it's her boyfriend. Three days apart is like the end of the world for those two."

* * *

Troy Bolton was not a morning person. Sure, he had formed a diligent habit of waking up most mornings forty minutes earlier than required to go for a twenty minute run. The additional twenty minutes were required to snooze his alarm clock a couple of times, and grumble and grouse about why he was so insane to actually be waking up any earlier than absolutely essential.

But on Christmas morning, Troy Bolton was, at heart, still a little boy.

In total, there were twelve people staying at the Santa Fe home of Jack Bolton's sister Kara and her husband Michael. What was normally a comfortable living arrangement had been taken over by hordes of Bolton family members, instilling chaos into the usual peace. Not only were Jack, Lucille and Troy staying for a few nights; but there was also the family of Jack and Kara's brother, Andrew.

On Christmas morning, Troy woke up to the feeling of being poked. He then heard slight giggles and whispers. One eye opened slightly and confirmed that he was surrounded by children; with his younger cousins Kimberly, Bianca and Alistair all gathered around his mattress.

"Tro-oy!" Kimberly pouted insistently. "Wake up!"

"Why don't you kids all buzz off and let us sleep?" Jake mumbled from his bed.

"But it's Christmas!" Bianca protested.

Troy sat up, eyes widening and a smile appearing on his face. "Did you go downstairs yet and see if Santa came?"

Eleven year old Bianca rolled her eyes slightly but didn't say anything for Alistair and Kimberly's benefit.

"Yes he came, he came!" Alistair exclaimed. "He ate our cookies, and the milk is gone _and _the carrots are gone too!"

Troy smiled brightly. "Really? Wow!"

Troy and Jake had eaten the cookies and drank the milk late Christmas Eve after the younger kids had gone to bed, and Kimberly and Bianca's hamsters Larry and Barry had been treated to a late night carrot snack.

"You have to come see!" Kimberly said, pulling at Troy's hand. "The stockings are filled and everything!"

"Where's Rachel?" Troy asked.

"She's asleep, she didn't wanna wake up," Bianca told him.

"Why don't you guys go try to wake her up again?" Troy suggested. "And then go downstairs and I'll meet you down there. We'll then make a really huge racket and wake up all of our parents."

The kids excitedly scampered out of the room, leaving Troy's older cousin Jake to sigh contentedly and roll over in his bed – meanwhile Troy shifted his legs and stood up from his blow up mattress to locate a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked, one eye open.

"Getting dressed and going downstairs?"

"It's like, six in the morning!"

"So? It's Christmas! Get up, you lazy shit. College has made you even more of a slug. Don't you have any morning classes?"

"One, it's on a Monday and I think I've been to it like, twice this year."

Troy snorted. "Well this morning you're getting up, or I'll send the kids back in to jump on you."

"I swear, you never used to be this perky. Is this all coz you've gotten laid?"

Troy picked up his pillow and threw it at Jake, hitting him squarely on the face. "Shut up and get your lazy ass out of bed."

He scooped up his cell phone from Jake's desk, his cousin calling after him, "Tell your honey bunch I said good morning."

Troy stuck his tongue out, but he was unable to refute the innuendo. He already had the text message screen open.

_Hey, dont wanna call in case ur still asleep, but just wanted to say Merry Christmas and i love u. –Troy xxx_

Troy's phone immediately began ringing, and he smiled upon viewing the caller ID.

"Hey there," he said softly, as he bound down the staircase.

"Good morning," Gabriella's delicate reply came. "And Merry Christmas to you too. I just thought I'd call rather than texting, since I am awake."

"Is it every one who has little kids around that wake up early on Christmas morning?"

"It seems so," Gabriella said. "Mom and I are sleeping in my uncles den and we heard the kids screeching in the living room like, a half hour ago. My cousins might be quiet around me, but with these other kids around, they evidently go nuts."

"TROY!" Alistair called from the living room.

"Just a second, Gabriella," Troy said into the speaker, then covered it to call back, "WHAT?"

"Come help wake up Auntie Lucy with me!"

"Just a minute!" Troy uncovered the speaker. "I'm being harassed by kids to help them wake up all the adults."

Gabriella's light laugh came through the speaker, and she then responded teasingly, "I bet you are just as excited as them."

"Oh quiet, you."

"I can call you again later if it's a bad time?"

"Hmm, they can wait a little longer," Troy located the apple juice he wanted, pulled the carton out and set it on the bench.

"Well I'll call anyway, if you like. I'll want to hear all about what Santa brings you."

"If I like? Course I want you to call again. And then our Christmas will continue… only two sleeps til I see you again."

"Mmm, can't wait. Even though it has only been two sleeps since we saw each other last."

"Two sleeps too long, if you ask me. It's going to make it _four_ _whole_ _sleeps_. That'll be the longest I think we've ever been without seeing each other since... well since summer…" The regretful pang in Troy's tone didn't go unnoticed by Gabriella.

"It's in the past, Wildcat," she said softly.

"I know."

"TROY!" Kimberly and Bianca's voices called in unison.

Troy sighed impatiently. "Sounds like you're wanted," Gabriella teased. "You go, I'll call you later."

"Love you baby."

"Love you too."

Troy smiled as he closed the phone and placed it onto the bench.

"I never thought I'd hear the day when my little cousin was declaring his love for someone," Jake's teasing voice came from the doorway.

"Eavesdropping is _so_ not cool man," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"I knew you had a girlfriend but like, you _really_ have a girlfriend, don't you?"

"I've _really_ had a girlfriend for months now, dude. If you'd been less of a slacker and come up to Albuquerque for more than just Thanksgiving Day, you might have met her."

"I wanted to, I really did, but I was with Lisa's family," Jake said honestly.

"I'm surprised you and Lisa aren't doing Christmas with each other's families this year. How long have you been together?"

"Four years. And we wanted to, but it just wasn't gonna happen financially. Besides, its refreshing being here with my family and not being hounded by Uncle Jack and Uncle Andy the whole time about when Lees and I are gonna get hitched, or with them teasing my dad about him being a grandfather soon. Now, all the attention is on you and your chick."

"Well, it's wayyyy too early to be talking about that stuff with me and Gabi," Troy said firmly. "We don't even know where we're gonna be for college next year."

"You're gonna be together though, aren't you? Like… your not gonna break up?"

"Hell no!" Troy exclaimed. "I don't care if she decides to go to college in freaking Australia, there's no way I'd wanna be ending it."

"Yeah, then it's not too early to be talking about that stuff," Jake said with a smirk. "Besides, you might be able to control the ring on her finger, but Uncle Jack really could be a grandfather soon, couldn't he?"

"We're not dumb, Jake, we're not gonna let that happen. I think mom would have a heart attack if it did. I mean, it's not like she _knows_ that we… well she probably knows."

"They always know," Jake said, rolling his eyes. "They might act like they are in denial, but they always know. I don't know how they know but… Aunt Lucy! Merry Christmas!" Jake exclaimed.

Troy whirled around, seeing his mother in the doorway. If Lucille had overheard the conversation between her son and his older cousin, she had chosen to ignore it.

"Merry Christmas to you too Jake," she said, kissing her nephew on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas mama," Troy said, smiling brightly and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

* * *

In solid contrast to the Christmas gathering that was unfolding in Santa Fe, Gabriella's Christmas experience was taking place somewhat differently. After the excited kids had accidentally woken up she and her mother, Gabriella had gone into the living room to attempt to be a part of the Christmas morning frivolity, exclaiming about the eaten Santa cookies and pointing out the new presents that were under the tree. The kids had politely nodded and then resumed with their excited exclamations among themselves. She'd been grateful to receive Troy's text message – and then felt slightly jealous upon hearing the excited kids in the background who actually wanted him to be a part of their Christmas.

Gabriella perfectly understood Sienna's sister's kids being shy, but with her own cousins, she couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt. She knew neither of them were timid by nature – with their own parents they were outgoing, and they were running about the room excitedly playing and talking with their cousins from their mothers side of the family. But throughout the prior afternoon and evening, when spoken to by Elena or Gabriella, they would respond with a simple, short, to the point and closed answer – before rushing off to do their own thing.

Gabriella was mostly hanging back on her own. The younger group was that bit too young for her and they weren't really letting her be a part of their group anyway. She didn't feel quite right with the adults group, despite every effort they made to include her. She'd retrieved a croissant and some yoghurt and muesli and taken a seat at the dining table, quietly eating her breakfast as the frivolity went on around her. Her cell phone was on the table in front of her, she'd already sent out a group Christmas message and she was in the midst of a text conversation with both Taylor and Kelsi, and of course Troy.

"Gabi? Are you just about done with your breakfast?" Elena asked. "We're going to move into the living room and start the presents before the kids break something."

Gabriella nodded. "Yup, I'll be right in."

* * *

Troy had instigated a racket which was far too loud for 6:30 in the morning. The television had been turned up and then the radio was also switched on. The deal was sealed when Troy sent Bianca upstairs to get her viola – which she'd proceeded to prance up and down the hallways playing an awkward version of Jingle Bells. There was no way the parents could remain asleep after that.

With coffees made and distributed, Troy and his extended family were gathered around the Christmas tree. Santa stockings were distributed among the cousins first. The room became littered with Hannah Montana guitars (for Kimberly and Bianca); an Ed Hardy bag (for Rachel); a collection of Ben 10 four inch battle series action figures – the Evil Ghostfreak, Upchuck and BenVicktor (for Alistair); an iTouch (for Jake) and a digital camera (for Troy).

A break was taken for breakfast – the six adults all pitching in and quickly cooking up a feast; with scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, yoghurt, fresh fruit and muffins all being laid out on the table in a smorgasbord. It was Troy and his youngest cousin Alistair who were the first to finish. The pair retreated to the living room to wait for the rest of the family to finish with breakfast, and Alistair seized onto his new action figures. Troy sat on the floor beside his cousin, picking up the BenVicktor figure and examined it.

"This is really awesome," Troy declared. "Ben 10 rocks."

"I really wanted the BenMummy figure, but Santa sent me a letter telling me that he was having trouble finding one, they don't make many of them. So he gave me all three of these ones instead, which is really cool!" Alistair declared.

"Yeah man! BenVicktor is off the hook, the lightening thing is awesome."

"You like Ben 10?" Alistair asked, smiling widely.

"I haven't seen all of it. I bet you could tell me a lot about it."

Gradually the family made their way back into the living room, just as Troy and Alistair were engaging in a battle with the figures.

"Shall we continue with the presents?" Uncle Andrew called out, poised by the mountain of gifts beneath the tree.

"Yes!" the children all chorused – the children including Troy.

A member from each family would come to the tree to retrieve a gift to hand out, until everyone had a gift to open. One by one, presents would be unwrapped and exclaimed after. Within minutes, the room was littered with wrapping paper and ribbons and the packaging from various toys and trinkets.

Troy generally would obtain decent gifts from his aunts and uncles; since he was an only child, they would generally get him a bigger gift, as an acknowledgement to Jack and Lucille that they had to purchase for five nieces and nephews. Troy peered into the gift bag that had firstly been handed to him, discovering a pair of RayBan aviator sunglasses from his Auntie Kara and Uncle Michael.

"Oh man, these are off the hook!" Troy exclaimed, immediately leaping up to head over to the mirror which hung in the hallway to examine himself.

"You'd better not lose them after a week," Lucille warned, calling out. "Or break them."

"I'm not a complete moron, you know," Troy's voice wafted back into the room.

He went over, exchanging a manly hug with his uncle and giving his aunt a kiss on the cheek, thanking them for the gift. As the round of presents continued, Troy pulled out his cell phone and switched it onto camera mode, taking a quick shot of himself wearing the sunglasses. He then attached the photo to a text to send to Gabriella, asking her _so, u think i look hot in my new sunglasses?_

When Troy looked up, he saw his father watching, shaking his head in silence. All Troy could do was glare, and then refocus his attention upon where the next round of presents were being ready to be distributed. He unwrapped a Christmas present mailed to his mother from her mother, Troy's grandmother – with Lucille's family spread out throughout the United States, they tended to get together for either an early or belated Christmas when air flights weren't at their most expensive. His grandmother had sent a supply of socks and jocks – Troy was at least pleased to see she'd gotten the jocks right with a few pairs of boxer briefs. There'd been an incident with tighte-whities two years ago, which had embarrassed Troy to no end. There was also a Family Guy DVD box set from his Uncle Andrew and Aunt Cassandra; an old fashioned joint gift voucher from his mom's two sisters and their families; various items of new clothing from his parents – new jeans, a sweatshirt, and two dress shirts.

Troy was all about tradition when it came to purchasing Christmas gifts for his parents – or perhaps, it was sheer laziness. A few years ago, Troy had began a duck theme in his parents bathroom – getting his mom a duck shaped liquid hand soap dispenser. The next Christmas he'd gotten her a duck toothbrush holder. He had continued the theme, adding a duck decorated tissue box cover to her collection. Additionally, he'd also gotten her a bathroom set, with a moisturiser, a shower gel and a bubble bath mix which came in a shower bag. Lucille had no doubt that Troy hadn't paid any attention to the scents or colours, rather just picked up something smelly and girly and decided she would like it. Finally, he'd gotten her mother a red and white striped scarf – citing it served multiple purposes. Firstly being Christmas themed like a candy cane, secondly that she could wear it in Colorado and thirdly that it was perfect for his championship game a few weeks later.

As for his father, Troy had bought him a different tie each year for as many years as he could remember, going back to when he was a little boy and it was his mother doing all the purchasing and Troy just writing with his boyish scrawl on the gift tags. The year before he'd bought him the red and white tie that Jack had worn for the Wildcats championship game, and so Troy continued with the tradition within a tradition, purchasing a different red and white tie for his dad. Accompanying the tie was an electric tie rack he'd found at Macy's, and also a Los Angeles Lakers candy jar, which Troy had filled with various candies.

"It's for your desk at work," Troy informed his father.

Per Lucille's influence, Jack carefully removed the tape and unwrapped the paper. Lucille liked to keep the wrapping paper, if it was flawless she would keep it to be reused and otherwise she would take the remnants to the children's ward at the hospital where they sometimes could use the paper for various art projects. Finally, the glass candy jar was revealed.

"And I'm sure this is completely selfless, that you'll never come to visit your coach just so you can snag some candy for you and your friends," Jack said with a teasing smirk.

"I won't make trips especially for it, but I'm in the gym often enough that it's no trouble to drop by," Troy shot back.

"I might have to start locking my door when I'm not in there."

Troy was eyeing off the one present with a gift tag for him remaining under the tree. He'd thought he'd known what 'big' present his parents (as opposed to Santa) were going to get him that year, but the package that remained was a lot larger than what his anticipated gift should have been. When Lucille handed it over to him with a smile, Troy frowned at the weight, finding himself feeling even more confused. Slowly, cautiously, he removed the wrapping paper – and when the first fold was pulled back, he spied the first layer of newspaper that lay beneath the surface. Troy groaned.

"Did you do what Ms. Montez told you that she used to do for Gabriella and her dad?"

Lucille laughed. "Yes, yes I did."

As the layers of newspaper and bubble wrap came away, a small weight plate came into view providing context for the additional weight. One final layer and Troy's face lit up in pure joy at the gift he had expected, the gift he had wanted.

"Snap, a Wii!" he exclaimed, with a bright smile. "Oohhh, it's the sports pack, awesome!"

"And my sources inform me that this is meant to be terrible, but how could I not buy it as an accompaniment?" Jack said, handing over one final gift that he produced from behind his back. After removing the paper, Troy smiled upon seeing the NBA Live Wii game.

"Yeah, I hear it's a bit dodgy, but it's NBA!" Troy said optimistically.

Everyone in the household was excitedly fixed upon examining their newly received items, with packaging being removed to closer inspect and explore.

Troy took a photo of the box of his Wii, and attached it to a text which he sent to Chad. '_Look what Santa brought me,'_ the text read.

Two minutes later, a reply came. '_U at ur aunts house, can I come round. Wont stay long. Hav 2 show u wat Santa brought me.'_

"Do you mind if Chad comes here just for a bit?" Troy asked, not even glancing up from his cell.

"You saw him just yesterday," Jack remarked, rolling his eyes.

Both Chad and Troy had arrived in Santa Fe the day before – Troy driving up early the prior morning, and Chad and his sister having been dropped off at their father's house around lunch time. The boys had already spent time together the prior afternoon, with Troy picking Chad up from his dad's place; the guys visiting the De Vargas Skate Park with their boards.

"So?" Troy said blankly.

"I thought Chad was with his dad, shouldn't he be with his family today?" Lucille asked.

Troy shrugged. "Dunno, he just asked if he can come show me what he got for Christmas."

"I don't mind, it's fine, Chad's a good kid," Troy's Auntie Kara spoke up.

Troy smiled gratefully. "Thanks Auntie Kara!" he said, immediately texting an affirmative reply to Chad.

* * *

Gabriella felt like she was observing someone else's Christmas take place, and she was just there as an extra, an intruder. She felt awkward for the first ten minutes of the kids excitedly unwrapping their gifts – and then decided that nothing was going to impede upon her Christmas experience. And so she excitedly bound over to the tree, located one of the presents she'd bought for her mother, and brought it over.

"Merry Christmas mom!" she said with an excited smile.

Elena smiled, and moved over to the tree to collect one of her gifts for Gabriella, and handed it over to her daughter. "Merry Christmas, Gabi."

Finally, Gabriella allowed herself to feel like it was Christmas, to revert back to the land of being a kid and tearing into her presents and exclaiming over each with an excited glee. Gabriella wasn't a material person, she was content with the simpler things at life. Unlike her boyfriend who seemed to be constantly buying new video games and downloading new music albums, she was content with her seasonal shopping spree with her mom and then the occasional extra shopping trip for special events, like school dances. So Christmas was always exciting for her, being surrounded by pretty things that she never would have bought for herself, but that she cherished upon receipt. She had a new messenger bag, a purse, perfume, the new J.K. Rowling book, a cute stationery set, earrings, a Grey's Anatomy DVD box set, and a teddy bear calendar – she was in heaven, poring over her new items.

"Oh and Gabi honey? I also have this for you," Elena said, handing over a piece of folded over paper.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, accepting the paper from her mother's outstretched hand.

_I Elena Montez O U Gabriella Montez, the payment toward drivers' ed lessons to commence a.s.a.p._

"You keep putting it off honey, and I'm telling you that I just don't feel comfortable teaching you for those first few lessons. It's not about you, it's about me. A drivers' ed instructor is in a car where he has his own controls and where he is trained on how to teach you best. I know you feel nervous and embarrassed to be taught by a stranger, but I would much, much, much prefer that then you getting one of your friends taking you out in their cars in parking lots."

"That hasn't happened anyway," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"I think that the sooner you just do it, the sooner you'll realise you were being silly and putting this off for way too long."

Gabriella sighed. "Probably."

* * *

When the sound of a revved up engine roaring down the street sounded through the window, Troy didn't really think anything of it, he was still poring over his gifts. He was in the midst of texting to and fro with Gabriella – she'd responded informing him that the sunglasses were very hot, and attached a photo of her new 3-in-1 printer, scanner and copier that she'd been given before they'd left Albuquerque and asked jokingly if Troy thought it was hot. His cell began to ring just as he was trying to think of a dirty response, and viewed Chad's number as the called ID.

"Yo," Troy greeted him.

"Come out the front, man," Chad said.

"Dude, you can just come up to the door, my family don't…"

"No, you have to come out," Chad insisted.

Troy rolled his eyes, but jumped up from the carpet and made his way down the hallway and to the front door.

Spotting his afro-headed friend leaning casually against a shiny, silver car.

"Dude!" Troy exclaimed, jogging down to meet his friend.

"Troy!" Chad's sister Jayme called, waving frantically from the passenger seat. She proceeded to hobble out of the car.

"Hi Jayme, Merry Christmas," Troy said somewhat distractedly, his eyes boggling at the car. "Dude!"

"I know!" Chad exclaimed, and then informed Troy proudly, "It's a '99 Lancer Evolution."

With the car already lowered, a spoiler on the back, mag wheels – it was the teenage boys dream.

"Dude!" Troy exclaimed for the third time.

"Okay, stop saying that," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"This is fu…" Chad shot Troy a glare, jerking his head toward Jayme. "This is _freak_ing awesome! Where'd you get it from?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Dad got it for me. I think he feels guilty about me getting ripped off with that crapbox car that mom's ex-boyfriend hooked up for me to buy. So we're sorta doing a swap, he's gonna take my car and sell it and so it's only really the difference between the two that he got for me."

"It's unreal!"

"Look what daddy bought me!" Jayme beamed, holding out for Troy to see. She was clutching onto a Nintendo DS.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Troy said, genuinely impressed. "Did he get you any games?"

Jayme nodded. "I got Mario Party, and Guitar Hero, and Imagine Movie Star!"

"Totally off the hook… well… the first two anyway," Troy added with a smirk.

Jack and Lucille appeared in the doorway, heading over to the trio who were at the end of the driveway.

"Hey Coach, Mrs B, Merry Christmas!" Chad called out.

Christmas greetings, handshakes and kisses were exchanged between the Danforth siblings and the Bolton parents, leaving Jack and Lucille to admire the car.

"Well, Santa did pretty well, fitting this one onto his sleigh," Jack remarked.

"It's a guilt present," Chad said rolling his eyes. "Here son, I haven't seen you for six months, have a car!"

"Dude, don't say that," Troy said, glancing toward Jayme.

"Oh, he's right," Jayme piped up. "But it's fine. I got my DS. And Daddy says he's gonna come visit us more in Albuquerque in the New Year. He's getting this promotion at work which is gonna let him take more time off."

Chad rolled his eyes, which Jayme missed – not quite as optimistic as his sister that Mr. Danforth would live up to his word.

"Where is your father, guys?" Lucille asked.

"He woke us up early for presents and now he'd just dropping by his office to pick up some paperwork," Chad answered, his voice a little strained.

"He's in the office on Christmas Day?" Troy asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes," Chad answered, eyes shifting over to Jayme who was playing with her DS, and not saying anything more about what he really thought about that fact. "He said I can take the car out for a spin, then meet him back home so I can drive him and JJ to my Uncle's house."

"Sweet," Troy said.

"We should get back inside, but just wanted to say Merry Christmas," Jack said.

"Thanks Coach, have a great day and enjoy skiing. Make sure captain keeps practising, can't let him get out of shape."

Troy shot Chad a small glare as Jack laughed. "Don't you worry, I have a fitness plan all worked out."

"Awesome," Chad declared.

"Troy, don't be long," Lucille said, giving Troy a pointed stare, as she and Jack headed back up the driveway.

"I don't know why they're being all weird, it's like, all I'm gonna do is go back inside and chill until lunch time," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"So you guys fly to Denver tomorrow?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, and get a shuttle thing to the lodge. Mom and dad and Ms. Montez decided that we only need one rental car."

"Sounds awesome. Anyway, I should get going, I have to drop by the gas station to buy some ice," Chad said, glancing at his watch. "But just thought I'd come show her off to you."

"Yeah man, I'm totally jealous. We'll have to go cruising when I get back."

"Fully. Have fun with Gab, don't do anything I wouldn't do," Chad said with a smirk.

Troy snorted. "Yeah, with Gabi in this double room with her mom and me in like, an open aired loft thing – it's fully gonna be like that."

"You'll find a way. The parentals will go out, won't they?"

"Fuck I hope so. Six days with her and _not_ doing anything would be harder than just spending a week apart."

* * *

Just like every year, for months and months Christmas seems so far away, and then it comes so quickly and it's over before you know it. The morning and early afternoon is spent admiring gifts, a late lunch morphs into a continual feast into dinner time. Christmas text messages are sent and received, carols are sung, stories are told – and then the day comes to an end.

Gabriella was curled up in bed at 10:30 that night, exhausted from the early start to the day and from eating far too much. Her mom was still out in the dining room having a few drinks with the other adults, leaving Gabriella in the den alone. She texted Troy wishing him a good night, and her phone began to buzz instantly with his reply.

_Night baby. just think, 2 sleeps til we c each other again._

* * *

**Next time: **Our couple reunite in Breckenridge, Colorado. :-)


	15. Chapter 15

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N: **Thanks everyone for the amazing support last chapter. I was really touched by your feedback and comments, particularly those pertaining to my A/N from last chapter.

Again, thanks to Audrey for your patience with beta-ing this for me. Here, have some tropical juice, just from me. :-P

Information about Breckenridge is obtained from Breckenridge dot com; I haven't been there, in fact I've never been to a ski resort. So if you have been to Breckenridge, you may need to narrow your eyes and slant your head sideways if you're thinking that what I'm describing throughout the next few chapters just doesn't sound 'right'. There is only so much information that the world wide web can provide!

****

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these broken wings and learn to fly  
All your life  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

**The Beatles 'Blackbird'**

* * *

"And here we are, our home for the next six nights," Elena Montez announced with a bright smile.

It was two days after Christmas, and after what felt like an eternity since she'd farewelled Troy in the visitor parking lot at Chad's townhouse complex, Gabriella was practically bouncing out of the vehicle. Elena smoothly pulled up the Ford Fusion Avis rental car she'd hired into the parking space in front of the Bolton-Montez condo. As they'd been driving up the narrow street of the lodge toward the requisite condo, Gabriella had already been in preparation mode to leave the car. Her scarf was wrapped around her neck and she'd gotten her coat out and ready. Before Elena even cut the engine, Gabriella had opened the door, and then quickly moved to the trunk of the car; promptly taking out the two suitcases and placing them onto the ground. Her mother was taking in the scenery, admiring the outside of the condo and gazing at the view of the snow capped mountains. Gabriella meanwhile was more intent upon the front door.

"Come on!" she urged her mother. "We've got six days to look at the scenery!"

Elena hid her smile, but picked up her pace and followed her daughter up the side pathway toward the front door, pulling their suitcases along with them. Gabriella brought her hand to the brass knocker of the oak door and knocked firmly. A few moments later, a bright eyed Lucille Bolton opened the door, smiling widely at the new arrivals.

"Come in, come in, it's freezing out there! How was your flight? You're earlier than I expected you."

The Montez women had departed O'Hare International Airport in Chicago at six in the morning. With the time difference, by the time they'd landed in Denver and collected their luggage it had been just after eight. There were no problems with picking up the rental car they'd booked, and between being familiar with the area and the GPS in the car, there'd been no need to take time consulting with a map. They'd made good time, the Interstate 70 had been running well and it was just after ten in the morning when they arrived at the condo in Breckenridge.

"The flight was standard, nothing out of the ordinary and no delays. And then we just made excellent time coming here," Elena responded, as she and Gabriella pulled their suitcases inside the condo.

"Any trouble finding us?"

"None at all. GPS is a modern wonder," Elena said with a light laugh.

"I'll show you through to your room so you can put down your luggage and then I'll give you the tour. We were so happy with it, because we sort of got the good deal through Jack's colleague we were worried that it might be a bit… substandard," Lucille said tactfully. "But it's been wonderful so far – for the first night anyway. Here we are."

They arrived in the twin room that they'd already discussed would be shared by the Montez women. The room, like the rest of the condo, featured dark timber furniture, the walls were a dark teal green which reminded Gabriella of her own room at home, and each of the beds were pristinely made with ocean-esque linen and bedspreads. Elena promptly walked over to the bed which was closest to the door.

"You can be near the window, sweetheart," Elena said generously.

Gabriella had to refrain from rolling her eyes, knowing very well that the true reasoning for her mother's bed selection was to add that extra obstacle impeding late night trysts between the young couple, Gabriella now was required to pass by her mother's bed to enter and exit the room.

"Thank you," she said simply, and walked over to place her suitcase at the foot of the bed.

"Now come on out, and I'll show you around," Lucille said.

She began the tour by pointing out the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom at the end of the hallway which she and Jack were sharing, the second bathroom to be shared by Elena, Gabriella and Troy, a small laundry area, and then moved back out into the living area at the front. "So we've got the kitchen and dining area through here, which is wonderfully equipped. We went to the store yesterday and bought a few things, but we'll have to go do our full grocery shop today. And then the living room is through here… and those stairs lead you up to the loft where Troy is located."

Lucille's voice had lowered as they entered into the living area. Gabriella's eyes followed up the stairs to the open aired loft. She could see part of the very top of a bunk bed from where she was standing.

"Where are Coach Bolton and Troy?" Gabriella asked. She had attempted to sound somewhat aloof, but truthfully she was feeling the tiniest bit perturbed that Troy hadn't been the one to open the door in the first place.

"Jack just went down to reception to make some enquiries about day trips. And Troy is a seventeen year old boy and it's only a quarter past ten and we're on vacation – so he is asleep."

Gabriella's eyes lit up slightly, her gaze once again drifting over to the stairs – a look of excitement the mothers were not oblivious to.

"Have you had breakfast? You wouldn't have had meal service during your flight, would you?" Lucille asked.

"No, and I am famished," Elena responded.

"Let's you and I go look in the kitchen and Gabriella honey, why don't you go wake up lazy bones?"

Gabriella didn't protest, and immediately scurried over to the steep staircase. Her gait slowed as she reached the top, a smile tugging her lips up at the sight of the sleeping Troy. The bottom bunk was double bed sized, and Troy was asleep on his back with his head cocked slightly and facing toward the living area. His legs were spread apart, one arm splayed out on top of the comforter and the other rested on his chest. Gabriella quietly padded across the dark burgundy rug which was on the timber floorboards, and perched herself upon the edge of the bed.

"Tro-oy," she murmured in a sing song voice. "Time to wake up, baby."

He didn't respond, the peaceful rise and fall of his chest as he slept continued. She leaned over further, and ran her fingers through his hair, tucking strands away from his face. She was transfixed by his serene sleeping features, so transfixed that she didn't notice the slight movement from his hand which rested upon his chest, which suddenly reached out and grasped her wrist.

Gabriella almost shrieked, the first microsecond of a yelp emitting from her voice before Troy's sharp reflexes allowed him to clamp his other hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. He then pulled her down on top of him, his hands raking through her silky mass of curls

"What do you think you are doing, missy?" Troy's teasing, low voice asked, before pulling her head the additional inch south to connect their lips in a gentle kiss.

"You just scared the crap out of me!" Gabriella said softly.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. I heard you and your mom arrive," he confessed with a teasing smile. "And I hoped that my mom would send you up here to wake me up. Then allowing me to do this." The sentence was punctuated with the initiation of a deep and probing kiss.

"Mmmmm, I missed this," she whispered between kisses, her tone hushed. Both were aware that remaining quiet was going to be the secret to prolonging this experience, before Lucille would undoubtedly be at the foot of the stairs calling them to come down.

"How was your flight, and the drive?" Troy enquired, before kissing her again.

"Good," Gabriella responded simply, shifting her weight so that her entire body was on top of his. Her hands threaded through his hair. "Long."

"Don't suppose my mom said you'll be crashing in the bunk above me?"

"Sorry Wildcat. Besides, wouldn't be much use, with the whole… open aired thing going on here."

"We can be quiet," Troy said lowly right by her ear, his voice so quiet that she could barely hear him.

"Troy, Gabriella?" Lucille called up the stairs. "Do you kids want bacon and eggs?"

"Yes!" Troy called back. "Scrambled for both please."

"Okay, see you down here in a minute!" Lucille called back pointedly.

Troy rolled his eyes, but made no effort to move. Gabriella giggled, and moved her weight off him and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Troy pouted.

"Where are _we_ going," she corrected him. "And downstairs. Come on."

"Why?"

"Because, it's day one. And if we get on their bad side right now, it means they'll put even more effort into trying to keep us apart."

Gabriella scooped up a pair of jeans and a white with royal blue long sleeved t-shirt that were slung on the top bunk, and tossed them beside Troy. "You'd better not walk around in your boxers in front of my mom."

Troy rolled his eyes, but obligingly sat up to put on the t-shirt, before standing up to pull his jeans up. Gabriella precariously made her way down the ladder, Troy scaling down with more ease. The pair then entered into the kitchen and dining area, a mindful gap between them as they walked. Jack had returned to the condo, and was now seated at the dining table as Elena and Lucy were in the kitchen.

"Hi Coach Bolton!" Gabriella said brightly.

"Hello there Gabriella, I see you made it here safe and sound."

Troy entered a moment later, having paused at a mirror in the living room to quickly run his fingers through his hair and make it semi presentable before entering the room.

"Hi Ms. Montez," Troy said, yawning slightly. "And morning mom and dad."

"You look like you just rolled out of bed," Jack remarked. "You should have been awake hours ago! The fields opened at 8:30!"

"Yeah yeah, I'll get there. I was tired."

"Troy? Do you like your bacon soft or crispy?" Elena asked, from where she was poised over the pan.

"Crispy please," he responded promptly.

"Can I help with something?" Gabriella asked politely.

"Sure honey, there's some condiments in that cupboard in the back corner. If you could bring them over to the table, that would be wonderful," Lucille said.

Gabriella moved over to the cupboard she'd been waved toward and scanned the shelves, and then spotted the salt, pepper and ketchup. She gathered the items and brought them over to the table. Lucille grabbed the relevant items of cutlery from the drawer and handed them to Gabriella to also take over. Troy, not wanting to be seen as completely useless and lazy, moved toward the fridge.

"Gabriella, do you want some juice?" Troy offered, standing to head over to the fridge. "We have…" he scanned the shelves, and frowned. "Why did we buy apple juice?"

"Because I said I didn't want to buy any more than one type of juice yesterday and _you_ picked it," Lucille said matter of factly.

"Oh."

"Apple juice is fine, Troy," Gabriella said with a slight smile, knowing that he had been looking for some sort of tropical juice for her.

"Ms. Montez?" Troy asked.

"I'm just making a coffee, so no thank you Troy."

Finally the group gathered at the rounded dining table, breakfast plates and beverages in front of each of Troy, Gabriella and Elena; Jack and Lucille both with just a cup of coffee – both had already consumed their breakfast.

"There was decent snowfall overnight," Jack said, and looked at Troy. "If you hurry and eat that, we can be out there by 11:30 and…"

Jack was cut off by Troy. "What's this 'we'? You're going skiing, I'm going snowboarding. I'm not going to hang with you."

"You won't even walk with me to the lift?" Jack asked incredulously, eyebrows raised. "Aren't you a bit old for the whole, not wanting to be associated with your parents thing?"

"It's got nothing to do with you being my parent, it's just that you are you," Troy said jokingly, to be swatted playfully on the back of the head by his father.

Gabriella giggled, and Lucille merely rolled her eyes, turning away from the banter between her husband and son, and asked Gabriella and Elena, "Do you both have your lessons tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm taking the ski class," Elena answered.

"Oh, oh, oh, are you taking the snowboarding one?! So we can go snowboarding the day after tomorrow?!" Troy asked Gabriella excitedly, his mouth half filled with eggs as he spoke. His right foot slid over, playfully nudging her left foot.

Gabriella responded non-verbally by returning the nudge, her toes rubbing over the top of his foot; as she finished chewing her mouthful of bacon before replying. "Yes, I am taking the snowboarding class which I _know_ I will regret. Because you will take me snowboarding and realise in about three seconds that I am such a complete klutz that I am holding you back and you're bored out of your brain and you'll ditch me and I won't see you for the whole day."

"I would never do that!" Troy protested, his foot playing pausing to gently kick her in the side of the shin.

"Yeah, you say that now…" Gabriella said ominously, kicking him back.

"I think it's good that you're trying something new," Lucille said, nodding in admiration.

"Well, it was try snowboarding, or fail at skiing again," Gabriella confessed.

"What were you doing at Keystone last year the whole time you were there?" Jack enquired, raising his eyebrows and taking a sip of his coffee. "You could have taken lessons then."

"Hmm, last year I was reading mainly," Gabriella responded, shrugging slightly.

"Well she tried skiing lessons the year before and didn't particularly enjoy it," Elena said.

"I was _terrible_ at it that's why I didn't enjoy it," Gabriella pointed out, rolling her eyes. "And something tells me that snowboarding isn't going to be any better."

"That's _so_ the wrong attitude to have. Snowboarding is completely different to skiing, I'm not very good at skiing either but I am good at snowboarding," Troy told her.

"That's because you skateboard. It's using the same principles, the same centre of balance," Gabriella said.

"She makes a good point," Jack said, nodding in agreement.

"Well, I offered to teach you to skateboard over summer and you kept refusing. You kept saying that you'd never need to know how to do a twisted flip. Well now, it would have come in use," Troy said somewhat triumphantly.

"I still bet I'm gonna fall off," Gabriella said.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Elena said consolingly – and at the same time Troy responded.

"Course you will, you'll fall off lots of times. You'll spend more time in the snow than on the board during your first lesson. It's fun! You then like, play in the snow!" Troy said excitedly.

Gabriella giggled. "You're just a little boy at heart, aren't you?"

"You just worked that out?" Jack said jokingly.

* * *

Lift tickets had been organised for four days of the vacation for both Troy and Jack and three days for Lucille. Elena and Gabriella had their day of lessons organised, plus an additional two days on the slopes. With Jack's prodding, he and Troy left the condo not long after breakfast for their first day out in the snow – a quick kiss being stolen between the young couple with a promise of seeing each other later that afternoon.

This left the women of the house to head to the Food Kingdom which was situated in the main part of town, armed with a grocery list of required supplies for the next six nights. Lucille had bought a few things at the store the day before, but after arriving and confirming the facilities they had available, the mothers compiled an official grocery list. They anticipated eating out for one or two nights of the vacation, but the rest of the time it was going to be more economically effective to cook at the condo, just as it was going to be cheaper to have supplies on hand to come back during a day out in the snow to make sandwiches for lunch.

Lucille, Gabriella and Elena spent about an hour wandering through the town, familiarising themselves with the area and looking at some potential restaurants and stores to come back and spend more time at throughout the week. They then spent almost two hours in the grocery store, casually browsing through the aisles, comparing prices and brands. Gabriella wandered along, pushing the cart with one hand and texting Taylor and Ryan with the other hand.

"Ohhh Taylor got a puppy for Christmas!" Gabriella exclaimed. "A belated present, they went and got it this morning. Can we get a puppy?"

"Are you taking it to college with you?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure they'll allow it in the dorm rooms," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"Then no. We're not. Oh look, Luce, jasmine rice is on special!"

This was only the food section of the shopping trip; they hadn't even ventured near the liquor department, where Gabriella knew the mother's had intention of selecting a few bottles of wine and a couple of six packs of beer for Jack. Gabriella pouted, and turned back to her cell phone – anticipating an extremely tedious afternoon.

* * *

Troy returned to the condo after a successful afternoon of snowboarding. He'd already worked out the plan in his head – he had four days of snowboarding, one of which was going to be Gabriella's first time out on a board out of the security of the lesson environment. So he needed to push it hard on his first day out, so that the following day he would be ready to try out some of the more intermediate to advanced trails and challenge himself – because on his third day out, he'd be going back to basics. Not that he minded, of course, it just meant that his routine from the year before of gradually building up his skills was going to have to be altered.

He was happy with how the first day had went, and was even humming to himself under his breath as he re-entered the condo. His mother and Gabriella's mother were on the sofa in the lounge, talking and presently laughing about something.

"Hi honey!" Lucille said brightly, upon seeing him in the doorway. "How was it?"

"Awesome," Troy declared. "I think I should throw in the towel on all this basketball crap, and just snowboard, like, all the time."

Elena laughed gently. "You say that now, after living in this kind of climate for a few months, I'm sure you'd be craving the sunshine."

Troy shrugged. "Maybe, I doubt it though." He moved through the living room toward the steep staircase that led up to the loft area, and kept speaking as he traversed up. "Is dad back?"

"He came back not long ago and went down to the fitness centre for a swim," Lucille answered, raising her voice slightly so he could hear her from where he'd disappeared up in the loft.

Troy quickly stripped off his waterproof snow clothing and interchanged it for jeans, a wife beater, a long sleeved t-shirt and a zip up sweatshirt. He shoved his cell phone and wallet into his pockets before returning to the ladder to traverse back down.

"And uh, where abouts is Gabriella?" he asked casually.

"She's in our room reading," Elena answered.

Troy nodded. "I might go see if she wants to check out the games room in the common area with me. If that's okay with both of you."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you; that's fine," Elena said with a slight smile.

Troy didn't hesitate a moment longer, having received his blessing he practically power walked down the corridor, slowing his gait just prior to the first door on the right. She'd left the door open, and Troy peeked around the corner, spying her lying on her stomach, novel open in front of her. He smiled slightly, and then lightly rapped on the door just to make his presence known.

Gabriella looked up, smiling brightly upon seeing him. "Hey! How was your day?"

"Really, really great," Troy responded enthusiastically as he came to perch upon the edge of the bed. "I love the snow, why do we live in stupid Albuquerque?"

Gabriella giggled. "But the rest of the year, you love how it's generally quite warm and that we don't get too much rain and…"

"Yeah, yeah, point taken. How was the grocery shopping?" Troy asked, wrinkling up his nose as he asked.

"Long, tiring and boring," Gabriella answered, rolling her eyes. "I go grocery shopping with my mom all the time at home and it's never that bad. But when you put two mom's together…"

"Insanity," Troy said, nodding in understanding. "My mom and Chad's mom went through this phase of doing their grocery shopping together, like making a social outing from it. This was way back, like in elementary school. Chad and I would be dragged along, and seriously since then, I have been scarred for life. Grocery stores are the devil."

Gabriella giggled. "Poor Wildcat."

"So, is your book really riveting?" Troy asked, gesturing to the paperback which lay before her.

"I am enjoying it. Why?"

"Wanna come check out the games room with me?" Troy asked, his eyes widening a little as he stared at her hopefully.

"Games room?" Gabriella said somewhat dubiously.

"Yeah, I went and wandered down there yesterday. There's like, a foosball table, and air hockey and pool, and… well, a whole bunch of things that won't interest you in the slightest, but I'll be going so…"

"Troy?" Gabriella interrupted, her hand enclosing over his. "I'll come."

She immediately put her bookmark in place and snapped the novel shut, tucking it beneath her pillow.

He smiled broadly. "Awesome. And also… I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies tonight?"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows, and as she rose to her feet and grabbed the coat and scarf which she'd slung over a chair in the corner, enquired, "The movies? There's a cinema in Breckenridge?"

"Just the one. They have a stunning selection, one which I know you'll be indecisive about. At 8:30, we have Alvin and the Chipmunks playing. And at half past eight there's also Alvin and the Chipmunks playing. And finally, Alvin and the Chipmunks is playing at 8:30."

Gabriella giggled, and pressed a finger to her chin. "Hmm, you're absolutely right. Decisions decisions. I think… that maybe… we should go see Alvin and the Chipmunks. What about the 8:30 session?"

"Sounds perfect," Troy declared. "We'll clear it with the parents at dinner. Meanwhile, there's an air hockey table calling out to me."

"You just want to display your manliness and kick my butt, don't you?"

"Hmm, I could display my gentlemanliness and let you win?"

"_Let_ me win? _Let_ me win?" Gabriella repeated incredulously, her lips turning upwards in a teasing smile. "There will be no _letting_ me win required."

"Oh really?"

"Really. You're on, Bolton!"

* * *

Back in Albuquerque, the remaining Wildcats were left to find their own entertainment throughout the winter break. Chad, Jason, Taylor and Kelsi had met up with plans of a double date – but after determining that they were all broke, wound up back at Taylor's house. It was around 10:30 at night, they'd scrounged enough money to order some pizza and had then watched a DVD. After the movie had finished they'd just sat around, randomly talking – and being entertained in an entirely different manner.

"Sit Bailey! Sit!" Chad commanded, staring down at the dog that was running around madly throughout the living room.

The Maltese cross Bijon Frise puppy ran around in a circle and barked.

"Chad, he's only a puppy, and we only got him this morning," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "I don't think he understands commands yet."

"Come Bailey, come!" Chad persisted, patting his knee.

The puppy ran over, raising up onto his hind legs and pawing at Chad's shins.

"See! He knows what Uncle Chad wants him to do!" Chad said triumphantly, and somewhat proudly.

Bailey went running around the room madly, and then charged right at the sofa where Kelsi and Jason were sitting. She leaned in a little closer to Jason, clutched onto his arm and let out a slight yelp.

"I can't believe you don't like dogs," Jason said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's not that I don't like them. I just… don't know how to act around them. I've always grown up with a cat around, not a dog," Kelsi said defensively.

"Well he seems to like you," Taylor said, watching Bailey sniff around at Kelsi's feet.

"He probably senses my fear," Kelsi said under her breath.

"Attack, Bailey, attack!" Chad exclaimed.

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed, glaring at him slightly.

Bailey did not follow Chad's instruction; instead he stopped running around and calmly sat down right in front of Kelsi.

"Hello," Kelsi said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Aww," Jason said, and leaned down to scoop up the puppy into his arms, and proceeded to talk in puppy-baby talk. "Whose the cutest dog in the world? Whose the cutest dog in the world? You are! That's right, you are!" Bailey promptly barked and Jason set the animal down onto the floor.

"I want a puppy," he said forlornly, and then turned to Kelsi. "You think my parents will get me a puppy for my birthday?"

"I thought you wanted a car for your birthday?" Kelsi asked.

"Can't I get both?"

"Get a car, not a dog man," Chad said. "And make it a cool car. Then Bolton will be regretting showing off his stupid rusty truck when you, me and Zeke all have sweet cars and his keeps breaking down."

In perfectly ironic timing, Chad's cell phone began to ring – and when he picked it up from the coffee table and glanced at the caller ID, he smirked.

"It's Troy," he said, before answering the call. "Hey man."

"_Hey dude, what's happening?"_

"Not much, just chilling. How's the snow?" Chad asked.

"_It's cold," _Troy said with a laugh_. "You at home?"_

"Nah, me and Jason and Kelsi are chilling at Taylor and Bailey's."

"_Hey, have… huh? Bailey? Who is Bailey?"_

"Taylor got a puppy for Christmas," Chad informed him. "It's sooo cute. It's a Maltese cross Bijon Frise."

"_Awesome. Hey, have you seen the movie _Alvin and the Chipmunks_?"_

"I haven't, you want me to ask them?"

"_Yeah."_

"Yo, Bolton wants to know if anyone has seen Alvin and the Chipmunks," Chad announced to the group.

"Me and Kelsi went to see it yesterday afternoon," Jason answered.

"Did you hear that?" Chad asked Troy.

"_Yeah, can I talk to JC?"_

"What's this about?"

"_I need to know about the film,"_ Troy said vaguely.

"Well obviously, but why?" Chad prodded.

"_Umm… me and Gabi went to see it tonight. But… we didn't see it. You know?"_

"What, you think the 'rents are gonna quiz you on the movie?" Chad asked, rolling his eyes. "Dude, they're not stupid, they know you went there so you can make out. They just choose to ignore it."

"_Yeah but just in case. We've got almost a week of trying to sneak around, the last thing I want is them deciding to try to separate us all the time, or have a chaperone like we're twelve or something."_

Chad rolled his eyes, but nevertheless handed his cell phone over to Jason. "Bolton and Gab were making out when they went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks tonight and he wants you to tell him about the movie in case the parents ask them about it."

Troy's yelped, "_Chad, dude!" _was heard even with the phone in mid air waiting to be taken by Jason.

* * *

The town of Breckenridge had a complimentary bus service which Troy and Gabriella had utilised to get from the lodge to the cinema, and then back to the lodge again after the film. There was a light snow falling as they stepped off the bus, with only a short walk up the road, and then through the lodge to their condo.

"Are you cold?" Troy asked Gabriella.

She shook her head. "I'm wearing enough layers, you'd hope I was warm enough." She wasn't exaggerating either – she was wearing thick stockings beneath her jeans, tall Ugg boots, a camisole, a tank top, a long sleeved t-shirt, a tight fleece sweater, a zip up sweat shirt, a coat and a scarf.

"We've got a half hour til curfew, let's walk slowly back to the condo," Troy suggested, entwining his fingers with hers. "It's fun walking in the snow when it's all fluffy like this."

"Why, coz you can do this?" Gabriella asked, poking her tongue out and allowing a flake to land upon it.

Troy laughed. "Yeah totally, that's exactly why."

"I'm so, so, so happy that mom agreed to come here with you guys. When she and I were gonna be at Keystone, it was bad enough – like, we would have had to have made a whole lot of effort to meet up and see each other. And then when we might not have been here at all… that would have been so depressing, having this awkward Christmas in Chicago and then just going back to Albuquerque."

"Even though that means you have to wait to see Taylor's new puppy?" Troy teased.

"I'll take spending time with you over Taylor's new puppy any day," Gabriella declared.

They paused for a moment, lips meeting for a short but tender kiss. A snowflake landed on Gabriella's nose and she giggled as Troy lightly kissed it away.

"I keep wanting to subtly harass my mom to find out what they're all gonna be doing for New Years," Troy commented, as they turned into the lodge and began to walk up the path toward their condo. "She mentioned that one of the bars in town is having a function, and our lodge also has a bit of a gathering thing happening."

"No 'young adults' party that I've heard of," Gabriella said. "Thank goodness."

"What, you don't wanna do karaoke again?" Troy teased.

Gabriella laughed. "The karaoke wound up being fun in the end but… the party sucked," she said frankly.

"Yeah it did," Troy agreed. "Did you see that kid wandering around wearing a _viking_ hat? I was like, what the hell is that about?"

"Who knows."

"What do you want to do for New Years? I was thinking I'd book somewhere for dinner, and then hopefully our parents will be going out and we can just come back here and hang out… have our Christmas and just spend some time together."

"Sounds perfect," Gabriella said, squeezing his hand.

Troy sighed, seeing the condo just up ahead. "Even walking really slow, that took hardly any time at all."

"Well, back at home if you were dropping me off at home after a date, I wouldn't go straight back inside, would I?"

Troy's lips curved into a smile. "No, you wouldn't."

"Just because we're not in Albuquerque, doesn't mean we have to break with that tradition."

"I love your thinking," Troy murmured.

The pair came to a halt on the door step, and without any further words being spoken, their lips fused together, moving in their familiar dance of an expression of their mutual love. Gabriella's hands rested upon the nape of his neck, slipping beneath the fabric of his scarf and raking through the strands of hair which peeked out from beneath his navy beanie.

The young couple were only interrupted by the sound of the front door opening – they froze, a throat cleared, and they pulled apart and looked up sheepishly to see Jack Bolton standing there with his arms folded, an amused expression upon his face.

"Luce and Elena thought they heard something out here and I came to check it out," he said. "Evidently, they did hear something."

"Uh, we were just… trying to find the key we took?" Troy supplied questioningly.

Jack didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows. Gabriella was mortified, unable to look him in the face. "Um, I need to use the bathroom, excuse me," she requested politely, and Jack stood aside to allow her to rush past him.

"You coming in? The cold air is getting inside," Jack said, motioning for Troy to step forward.

Troy rolled his eyes and stepped inside. As he slipped off his shoes and took off his coat, his father stood still, mute, still staring at him with a somewhat amused expression.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that!" Troy exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "We're back before curfew, and it's not like we were _doing_ anything. She's wearing like, eighteen layers of clothing."

"Oh, good to know its just the layers of clothing that were in the way," Jack replied. "Not, you know, the parents just beyond the front door."

Troy chose to ignore his comment. "I have to use the bathroom."

"I think Gabriella is in there," Jack said pointedly.

"I'll wait outside then," Troy responded, before stalking down the hallway.

He waited just outside the bathroom door, and Gabriella emerged a few minutes later now wearing her flannel pyjamas and a fuzzy navy bathrobe.

"Hey, you okay?" Troy asked softly.

"A little mortified," she replied quietly. "But other than that, fine."

"It's all good. My dad isn't as bad as he seems."

"I'm going to bed, anyway," Gabriella said.

"Hiding from him?" Troy asked.

"A little," she confessed. "But I'm also really tired. Don't forget I was awake at like 4 this morning. And mom and I have to be up early for our lessons in the morning."

"True. I'll say good night to you now then," Troy said, and leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips. "And I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh, you don't have to wake up early," Gabriella said.

"I will," he said firmly. "I want to get out there early on my board anyway."

"Okay then. Good night," Gabriella said, squeezing his arm before turning to head to her room to set down the neat pile of clothing she'd changed out of. She went out to the living room where Lucille, Jack and her mother were sitting around, two empty wine glasses and an almost empty beer stubby littering the coffee table.

"Um, I'm going to bed, good night," she said simply, avoiding making any eye contact with Jack.

A chorus of good night's came in return, and as Gabriella padded away she overheard their conversation saying that they too should turn in. She hadn't felt particularly tired while she'd been out with Troy, but after changing into her pyjamas she'd literally felt the exhaustion hit her like a sudden wave. She was relieved to crawl into her bed, and reached over for her purse she'd put down on the nightstand to fish out her cell phone so she could set an alarm. The screen was lit up, having just received a text message.

_Nite baby. Thanx for an awesome night. C u in the morning. –T xxx_

* * *

When Troy awoke the following morning, a part of him wanted to hurtle his beeping cell phone against the wall. His weary body was screaming at him that it was far, far, far too early to be awake. And then he registered the faint sound of voices in the kitchen wafting through the condo, and a lazy smile spread across his face as he registered where he was. He dragged himself up and out of bed, and pulled a t-shirt over his head. He knew a shower and some food would make the world of different to his bleary demeanour. He wandered up the hallway in the direction of the bathroom, but the door was closed and he could hear the shower running. Instead he quickly went into his parents room to use the bathroom in the ensuite, before heading back out into the main living area of the condo and into the kitchen and dining area.

His father and Gabriella's mother were both sitting at the dining table, both with segments of the newspaper in front of them. Troy's mother was standing over a pan in the kitchen. Lying out on the table was maple syrup, whipped cream, a mixed berry jam, sliced strawberries, ice cream, sugar and lemon juice.

"Do I smell pancakes?" Troy asked excitedly. "And good morning everyone."

"Yes you do, and good morning," Elena said.

"Bacon and eggs yesterday, pancakes today… why don't I get fed like this at home?" Troy enquired with a grin. He sat down at the table, eagerly awaiting the pile of pancakes that his mother was creating.

"It'll be back to the basics of toast or fruit and yoghurt tomorrow," Lucille said. "Don't get too used to it."

"Are you excited about your lesson, Ms. Montez?" Troy asked politely, making conversation.

"I would go with nervous anticipation rather than excitement," Elena responded.

"I know the feeling," Lucille said sympathetically. "Every year when I am about to ski for the first time in a while, I get a bit of a nervous flutter."

"Totally unnecessarily, I might say," Jack put in. "She's all nervous and then five minutes later she's practically skiing like a pro."

"I'll be taking it much more slowly – hence enrolling in the beginner lesson," Elena said.

Lucille brought over a plate of freshly cooked pancakes, and set them down into the middle of the table. "There you go, dig in."

Troy waited politely until the three adults had all taken a pancake before taking one for himself. Silence filled the room as everyone was busily preparing their own pancake and began to consume the delicious breakfast treat. Troy quickly scooped a little ice cream, some strawberries, added a liberal spray of whipped cream and poured some maple syrup over it all. He scarfed down the pancake, having finished the pancake and prepared his second set of toppings before any of the others had finished eating their first.

"Don't eat too quickly, it's not good for you," Lucille admonished.

Troy rolled his eyes and very deliberately made a show of cutting off a tiny morsel of pancake, slicing slowly, and then placing it into his mouth to chew at a snails pace.

"That's the way, do it like that and then the rest of us might be able to get some," Jack joked.

Troy began to tune out as Elena made a comment about something she'd read in the business section of the newspaper – something about stocks and the market and the economy, stuff that Troy knew was important and that he _should_ take an interest in, but he just couldn't be bothered to pretend to care. He was planning out his next pancake as he finished consuming the current one, and decided that he wanted banana to be involved.

"Do we have bananas?" he asked abruptly.

"There's a fruit bowl on the bench by the wall," Elena told him.

Troy rose to his feet and moved over into the kitchen area, snagging a banana from the bowl and a knife from the drawer.

"Morning all!" Gabriella's bright voice sounded as she appeared in the room. Troy took in a breath, smiling at the scent of her honey vanilla shower gel. "Ooooh pancakes!"

"Morning Gabriella, there's a place right here for you at the table," Lucille said, gesturing beside her.

"Awesome, thank you. I'll just get a glass of juice first."

"Do you want some banana?" Troy offered, gesturing toward he was just finishing slicing up his piece of fruit. "I only want half, the other half is calling out to you."

Gabriella came up behind him, her hand brushing against his lower back as she peered over at what he was doing. "Ummm," she contemplated, wrinkling up her nose and contemplating whether she did, in fact, want banana or not. "Okay," she finally decided.

Troy smiled. "Good choice."

She took a second glance at her boyfriend after acquiring a glass from the cupboard, and she giggled slightly. "Wildcat, you've got maple syrup on your chin."

"I do? Where?"

She stood in front of him, her thumb reaching up to deftly wipe at the spot on his chin, lingering against his skin as they smiled at one another. She withdrew her thumb, and delicately licked at the sweet substance upon her digit. For a brief period of time, it was as though the couple had become oblivious to the three parents who were sitting at the dining table just feet away; a dining table that wasn't in its own separate room, rather it was an adjoined facility. Gabriella suddenly felt very conscious of the sets of eyes that were putting up a pretence of not paying attention to their exchange; but in reality were hanging on to each and every nuance of the interaction.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Anyway, I finished in the bathroom so the shower is free when you want it."

"Awesome. Hey, what time is your lunch break during your lesson today?" As Troy spoke, he retrieved two glasses for himself from the cupboard.

"Ummm, 12:15," Gabriella answered. She opened the fridge, and took out the carton of milk and the carton of apple juice, placing them by his two glasses on the bench, before turning back to grab the carton of tropical juice for herself.

"Cool, I might drop back here around then too, if that's okay with you."

"Not much I can do about it even if it's not okay with me," Gabriella teased.

"Ouch!"

* * *

There were three keys to the condo being shared by the Montez and Bolton families. They'd distributed them for the day with Elena keeping possession of one, Jack of the second and Troy of the third. Lucille had began her day out skiing with Jack; but at lunch time when they all met back at the condo, she arranged to meet Elena and Gabriella after their respective lessons as Jack was planning to go off on his own and try some more advanced trails.

Promptly ten minutes after the conclusion of the lessons, Gabriella and her mother met at the location they'd designated, Lucille already waiting for them.

"So, are you both super stars?" Lucille asked with a smile.

"Let's just say that I'm not entirely terrified to give the slopes a go on my own tomorrow," Elena said. "I was surprised, a lot of it just came back to me very naturally."

"And Gabriella? How was your afternoon? Feeling at all confident?" Lucille asked.

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose. "Not particularly," she confessed. "When I told Troy at lunch time that I was having trouble, he seemed adamant that he'd be able to teach me tomorrow so… I guess I'll just have to wait and see if he can work miracles like he seems to think he can."

It was only a short walk to the shuttle bus stop, and then only a few minutes on the bus to take them to the stop just outside of the lodge. Upon arriving back at the condo, Lucille turned the key in the lock of the door, but discovered it was already unlocked. She turned the handle with a slight frown on her face – she'd been the last person to leave the condo after lunch and very clearly remembered turning the handle and it being locked. The matter was clarified when the door swung upon and she laid eyes upon the snowboard and snow boots that Troy had rented for a three day period, lying in the middle of the entry way. Lucille rolled her eyes and leaned over to move the items aside out of the direct pathway. Elena followed just behind, with Gabriella a little further back, being left to lock up the car and then to lock the front door behind them.

"Troy?" Lucille called out.

"Yeah?" his reply came from the kitchen.

"If it's dangerous to leave your skateboard lying around in the hallway at home, what makes you think it's acceptable to…" Lucille entered the dining and kitchen area to see Troy sitting at the table, with a hand towel wrapped around his wrist. She trailed off, immediately kicking into motherly instinct mode, putting the bags of groceries onto the floor. "Are you okay?!"

Troy glanced up. "Some di… umm… some idiot who obviously doesn't know how to ski rammed into me from behind and I fell forward. I felt a bit of a twinge in my wrist. Dad's gonna kill me, isn't he?"

Lucille sat down beside him, and Elena stood back, watching on out of slight concern.

"What's a bit of a 'twinge'?" Lucille asked, gesturing Troy to put down the ice filled dish cloth.

"It wasn't anything major at all, seriously," Troy assured her. "I didn't even come back straight away. I finished my run down the hill then took the lift back up and went again. But then I thought I should play it safe so I came back to ice it."

"Bend it forward like this," Lucille said, instructing. "Then back… then rotate around. Did it feel fine?"

"Totally normal," Troy said adamantly. "But the random pain at the time wasn't normal. That's why I thought I should ice it just in case. Can you imagine if it turned out something was wrong and I hadn't iced it straight away? Dad would flip out." He picked up the dish cloth of ice again, pressing it to his wrist.

"It's up to you, if you say that was totally fine then I suspect there's nothing wrong. You'd have time to go out for a few more runs. But…"

"What happened?" Gabriella's concern filled voice asked from the entry way, where she'd just entered the dining room and witnessed the scene.

"Nothing serious, really," Troy said with consoling conviction. "Just felt a bit of pain in my wrist when I was pushed off my board before. But it feels fine now, I'm just being precautionary and icing it just in case."

"Are you sure?" she asked somewhat dubiously.

"I'm sure."

The ice cubes that Troy had put into the dish towel weren't particularly effective in the first instance and had since melted, leaving a small puddle on the dining table. "Do you want me to get some more ice?" Gabriella offered, glancing from Troy to his mother. "Or maybe, if we bought like some frozen peas or something?"

"I think dad brought one of those gel ice pack things," Troy said, glancing at his mom.

"I'm pretty sure he did too, but it's still in his suitcase. I'll go get it," Lucille said.

"Troy, would you like a drink?" Elena offered, moving toward the fridge.

"Some water would be great, Ms. Montez."

"Gabi?"

"Water for me too thanks, mom. You said you were pushed off your board?" she asked Troy, her brow furrowed.

"Well, not deliberately. Someone skied into me accidentally. He kept apologising over and over and I said it was cool. Literally it was just the moment I fell when I felt the bit of pain, but then it went away and I didn't stress about it. But with the championships coming up…"

"Better to be safe than sorry," Gabriella said, nodding in understanding.

"Exactly."

Lucille returned a moment later, having located a couple of ice packs in Jack's suitcase and putting the items into the freezer. "I'll put the freezer onto the quick freeze setting. Since its best to ice an injury for twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off – by the time the ice pack is frozen you should be right to put it on again."

Troy nodded, and sighed in annoyance. "I almost wish I wasn't being so careful. I'm gonna have missed out on like, forty five minutes of snowboarding time. It's just really frustrating. And there's almost definitely nothing wrong anyway."

"Maybe we can watch some DVDs?" Gabriella suggested, wanting to fill in his afternoon with something distracting.

"What, you want to subject me to your _Grey's Anatomy_?" Troy asked with a smirk.

"Mister, I wouldn't be insulting _Grey's Anatomy_ while I'm in the room," Lucille said.

"Oh… you watch that too, don't you?" Troy said, and then took a glance at Elena. "I bet you watch it as well."

"That I do," Elena confirmed with a slight smile.

Troy pouted slightly, and turned back to Gabriella with a compromise. "We could watch an episode of _Family Guy_, and then I'll be ready for an afternoon nap and we can put on an episode of _Grey's_?"

"Sounds like a plan," Gabriella agreed with a smile.

* * *

Elena and Lucille made a head start on dinner preparations, scrubbing and peeling potatoes, while Troy and Gabriella watched an episode of Family Guy. The couple were seated on the three seater sofa; with Troy sitting on the right cushion, and Gabriella half on the middle cushion and half on the right cushion, snuggled into Troy's side. The mother's came out to join them during the episode of Grey's Anatomy, Lucille bringing with her the now frozen ice pack for Troy. Gabriella went to shift back slightly when they entered, but Troy clamped his left hand onto her thigh, preventing her from moving. They weren't doing anything wrong, they were merely sitting close together. They'd been dating for coming up to a year. Their parents had permitted a joint family vacation. As far as Troy was concerned, if their mothers couldn't handle seeing the two sitting close to one another on a sofa while watching television, that was not a problem of concern to him.

This slight movement, the look that Gabriella shot Troy and the warm, comforting smile he gave in return was not lost upon Lucille, who was handing the ice pack over to Troy. He settled his right arm onto the arm of the sofa with the dish towel covered ice pack wrapped around it.

"Thanks mama," he said simply.

Gabriella spent the next few minutes feeling slightly uncomfortable, convinced that from each of the arm chairs on either side of the room, a set of motherly eyes was glaring at the closeness she and Troy were sharing. However soon she relaxed, and allowed herself to enjoy her favourite television show.

It was approximately half way through the episode when Jack Bolton returned back at the condo.

"Hello?" he called out, multiple signs that people were home evident just in the doorway – coats on the hooks, Troy's snow boarding equipment in the entry way.

"In the living room!" Lucille called back.

Jack entered a moment later, his eyes scanning around the room – and then falling upon Troy, going straight to the ice pack. Jack didn't say anything at first, but Troy could feel his father's eyes boring into him. It was a conversation which Troy would have preferred to have skipped altogether. Troy simply remained sitting, and pretended to be riveted to the television screen when really he had no idea what was going on, which of the characters was McDreamy and which was McSteamy and whether perhaps there might be a McHottie.

"What happened to you?" Jack asked, attempting to keep his worry at bay – nevertheless it seeped through his tone. It was worry that Troy knew was only partially for the welfare of his son and more so relevant to the Wildcats championships upcoming defence.

Gabriella felt Troy flinch slightly, despite his aura of calm. She shifted away from his side and along on the sofa, moving not only to the middle cushion but partway onto the left cushion.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Troy said, somewhat aloofly.

"You're sitting here nursing your wrist with an icepack because you're fine? Because you like the sensation of the ice?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Jack, I think you…" Lucille began to say.

"I'm talking to our son, Lucille," Jack said evenly. "Troy, why don't you leave the ladies to watch their show and come with me to the kitchen so I can take a look at it?"

Troy glanced sideways at his mom before letting out an exaggerated sigh, making a show out of being put out by being asked – or rather told – to leave the room. He purposefully left the icepack on the arm of the couch, and stalked through to the kitchen. Jack stood back and allowed Troy to pass him before following. Jack closed the door that separated the two parts of the condo behind him.

"Don't bull shit with me Troy," Jack demanded, the moment they were secluded within the semi privacy of the separate area. "Why are you sitting out there with a ice pack on your wrist?"

"I'm fine dad, really," Troy insisted. "I could go out and play the championships right now if you want me to. Someone was skiing behind me and got out of control and went straight into me. I fell forward and right when I landed I felt a bit of pain in my wrist but I got up and the guy was apologising and it felt totally fine, it was like a momentary jar is all. But I thought I'd do the right thing and take it easy, just in case."

"Were you wearing wrist guards?" Jack demanded. "With the championships so close, you have to be…"

"Yes! Of course I was!" Troy responded, annoyed at the suggestion. He couldn't blame his father for having an initial reaction of concern – but Troy didn't appreciate being spoken to in such a condescending tone, when the fact that he was sitting around nursing a non existent wrist injury was evidence in itself that he was being cautious and aware of just how necessary his maintained fitness was at that point.

"Did you make a fist when you fell?" Jack persisted.

"YES! That's like, the number one rule of snowboarding. If you're gonna fall, make a fist. It's drilled into you," Troy exclaimed. "Dad, you're freaking about nothing."

"I'm not '_freaking out'_ I'm just concerned…"

"Yeah, concerned about your valued captain," Troy muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Jack said, stunned, arms folded. "What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Calm down dad, just chill. Your captain is fine, he'll be fit and ready to play for the championships," Troy said darkly.

Troy moved toward the door exiting the kitchen and into the living area, his general direction being to get to the front door. He didn't even cast a look into the room where his mother, girlfriend and girlfriend's mother were watching as he huffed away.

"Where do you think you are going?" Jack asked, hands now on hips. Troy's sneakers were at the front door, and he quickly shoved his feet into them.

"For a walk," Troy said crisply, tugging the heel of his left sneaker up, and then his right. He reached out to grab his scarf and jacket which were hanging on a hook by the door.

"Make sure you take your cell, just in case you get lost or…"

The front door slammed behind Troy, cutting off Jack's sentence.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter 16**

_Every time that you believed  
You were there to carry me  
Now here I stand  
I know who I am  
You knew how to guide me  
Now this moment feels so right  
I never thought that I could win this fight  
Until you saved me tonight_

**Anthony Callea 'You Saved Me Tonight'**

* * *

Lucille Bolton wasn't a worrier by nature. When her five year old son had befriended a certain curly headed boy in preschool, she'd been forced to strip away some of her natural motherly worrying tendencies and just allow herself to ride out the dramas of Troy's childhood. Between climbing trees and getting stuck with no way of getting down; winding up on the roof of the tool shed with a cape around his neck; and being pulled along by Chad's bicycle on a piece of cardboard attached by rope – Lucille could have had grey hairs emerging before Troy hit puberty, if she'd let the worry take her over.

But that evening, there was no mistaking that she was glancing at her watch every twelve seconds or so, keeping track of just how long it had been since Troy had stormed out in his adolescent, hormonal huff. Dinner time was approaching, with roast lamb and vegetables in the oven and not far away from being ready. Jack had secluded himself in the master bedroom of the condo, leaving Lucille in the kitchen with Elena and Gabriella as the mother's prepared dinner with Gabriella's assistance – or rather, as Elena prepared dinner with Gabriella's assistance, and Lucille worriedly wandered around, absentmindedly switching between taking cutlery out of the drawer, to stirring the gravy, to poking at the meat in the oven, and then returning back to her cell phone to try calling Troy yet again. All eight times she'd called, he had failed to answer and she'd reached his voicemail greeting.

"_Hello? … Hello? … Are you there, HELLO? I can't hear you… Ohhhh I guess that's because I can't answer my cell right now so leave a message and I'll get back to you!"_

Lucille didn't even need to ask Gabriella, she too had gotten her cell phone out and attempted to call her boyfriend a few times– only to reach the same voicemail message each and every time.

"He's still not answering," Gabriella informed Lucille quietly.

"Lucy, I'm sure he's fine," Elena said consolingly.

"If we were at home, I wouldn't be worried in the slightest. At home he knows where everything is and it's more than likely that he would have just gone over to Chad's or to the basketball court at the park or to your house. But here, we're not familiar with the area and it's dark and it's starting to snow outside and it's cold and he wasn't dressed properly for the snow and…"

The sound of the front door swinging open was heard from in the kitchen, and Lucille rushed out through the living room and then turned into the entrance way. Troy was just closing the door behind him, and kicked off his sneakers into the pile of shoes that had formed.

"Oh, you're back," Lucille said, rather casually for someone who had just rushed in the direction of the doorway.

"Yeah, I went to the gym and worked out," Troy said shortly.

"Oh… you didn't answer your cell phone. I called. And so did Gabriella."

"I didn't take it with me."

"Oh well, it's fine now. You're back."

"Sorry," he said, biting his lip.

Troy knew his mother well enough to know that she had been worried and that she was playing it cool. On the whole, if Lucille had to pick a side within the tension between her husband and son that arose every so often – it would be Troy's and he was aware of that

She flashed him a small smile. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Do I have time for a quick shower?" Troy asked, feeling sticky from his work out.

Lucille nodded. "A quick one, if you go right away."

Troy nodded, and immediately headed into the living room to go up into his loft to grab fresh sweats and a t-shirt to change into. Lucille went back into the kitchen where Elena and Gabriella were awaiting. She nodded, confirming that it had been Troy. "He came back. He was at the gym. I told him he'd have time for a quick shower before we eat."

"That'll be perfect timing, these vegetables just need a few more minutes," Elena responded with a smile.

Gabriella set the table, while Lucille went to retrieve Jack from the bedroom. Troy appeared, freshly showered and his hair damp, and he assessed the table situation. Elena was in the kitchen pouring the gravy she'd made into a serving jug. His father and mother had already taken seats at the table, and Gabriella had sat down with a spare seat on either side of her. Troy actively chose the seat between his mother and girlfriend, which left Elena to sit in the final chair between Gabriella and Jack.

Dinner was fairly quiet and a little awkward. It had been left to Elena to carry the conversation – with Jack and Troy slightly tense and not speaking directly to one another, nor in a frame to carry a conversation with anyone else; Gabriella generally feeling uncomfortable with the scenario; and Lucille concerned about the animosity between her family and not wanting to appear partial in either direction. Troy had taken an additional serving of sliced roast lamb, and glanced over to see that the gravy jug was sitting squarely in front of his father.

"Could someone please pass the gravy?" Troy asked politely – in contrast to what may have been his usual, "Yo Dad, toss the gravy this way please."

Jack wordlessly had picked up the jug and held it out, and Troy took it from him, the pair avoiding eye contact throughout the exchange.

After they'd finished eating, Troy silently volunteered himself for clean up duty, beginning to gather dirty crockery and cutlery to take them over to the sink.

"I'll help," Gabriella said quietly to the adults – leaving Jack, Elena and Lucille to retreat to the living room and leave the kids to tidy the kitchen.

Gabriella gathered the remaining items from the table and took them over to the sink where Troy was rinsing plates before stacking them into the dishwasher.

"Troy…" she began to say.

"Gabriella?" he interrupted, not allowing her to continue. "I really don't feel like talking about it. It's nothing to do with you, I just… I'm in a cranky mood. And I don't think there's anything that even you can do to fix it. So just… so just leave it, and I'll wake up tomorrow and things will be better. Okay?"

Gabriella nodded. "I understand," she said softly. "Okay."

Troy nodded, and they continued to clean the kitchen in silence. Troy acquired a glass of water before moving through the living room in silence and heading up to his loft. The sound of his iPod was turned up so loud that even with ear phones, it could be heard from down in the living room.

* * *

At 11:30 that night, Gabriella was lying in her bed, wide awake. Just as she had been for over a half hour, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Across the room, her mother was fast asleep, Gabriella could hear her familiar heavy breathing and through the slight moonlight which shone through the crack in the blinds, could just barely make out the rise and fall of her mother's chest. Finally, she decided that it was useless even continuing to toss and turn. As quietly as she possibly could, she reached out, groped around for her cell phone and flicked it on so a small pool of light allowed her to see well enough pick up her dressing gown and wrap herself in the navy fabric, and then to grab her book. She tiptoed past her mother's bed, and winced slightly as the floorboards beneath the plush rug creaked slightly. Gabriella froze, ensured that her mother was still asleep, and then continued out of the room, padding down the corridor in the direction of the dining room.

She couldn't sit up in the living room because turning on the light would mean flooding light into Troy's loft. She flicked the light on in the kitchen and dining area, set her book down at the table and then went over to the fridge. She opened the door and stood in front of it for a minute, contemplating between juice, milk and water. She wanted to make herself a hot cocoa, since warm milk typically has a lethargy inducing effect upon her, but really couldn't be bothered to make the effort.

A pair of warm arms wrapped around her just as she reached in to pull out the jug of cold water. She jumped a little, surprised by his touch, but then relaxed into his comforting warmth.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" she asked softly. He moved along behind her as she took the jug of water over to the counter and grabbed herself a glass.

"Never went to sleep, was just tossing and turning trying to fall asleep," he told her, his tone hushed.

"Me too."

"Sorry about before. With the whole… not wanting to talk. And disappearing. I was just in a really foul mood and didn't want to subject it upon you or your mom, or even my mom. So I figured it was easier to just be rude and ignore everyone," Troy said, maintaining his quiet tone, aware of the parents who were asleep just up the other end of the small condo.

"Do you want some water?" she asked.

"No thanks."

She shuffled back over to the fridge with the glass of water in one hand and the jug in the other. Troy removed one of his arms from her waist for long enough to reach out and open the fridge for her to replace the jug. He then guided her into the living room, where he flicked on a lamp in the corner and they sat down on the plush sofa together.

"Do you wanna talk about it now?" Gabriella asked quietly.

Troy shook his head. "Not really. I think I overreacted. It just shit me that he was more worried about me being injured and not able to play, than that maybe his son had hurt himself."

"I don't think that's the case, Wildcat," Gabriella said softly. "You make it sound like sometimes you're his son and sometimes you're the captain of his team. You're both, all the time. The championships aren't just important to him, they're important to you – as his son, and as his captain. I think maybe that's why his mind went straight to that."

"Mmm. Maybe. So, when are you going to start taking these drivers' ed classes?" Troy asked, deflecting the topic.

They talked quietly for a while, maintaining their hushed tones, discussing happenings of the last few days, their Christmases, Taylor's new puppy that she'd sent picture messages of to Gabriella, Chad's new car, Chad and Taylor's second time around burgeoning relationship, the upcoming championships. Despite the fact that the heating was on and Gabriella was wearing flannel pyjamas, blue and white long toe socks and her thick bathrobe, she was still a little cold – which Troy found rather amusing, as he was wearing just his sweat pants and was perfectly warm. He grabbed the small blanket that was on the back of the couch and they'd held it up over them, snuggling beneath its warmth. Gabriella cuddled into Troy, leaning her head against his chest.

"You're always so warm," she murmured. "Why are you always so warm? You're like, radiating heat."

"That's coz I'm just _that_ hot," Troy said with a cocky grin.

Gabriella giggled slightly. "Well it works for me, because I'm always cold. Are you sleepy yet?" she asked, letting out a slight yawn as she snuggled further into him.

"Not really, but I can see that you are. Come on, why don't you go back to bed?" Troy prodded, tapping her leg slightly.

"No, just a bit longer," she insisted.

Troy pressed a sweet kiss to the top of her head, and nestled further back into the sofa cushions.

"So are you looking forward to tomorrow?" Troy asked. "Me teaching you to snowboard _properly_?"

"Mmm hmm…" Gabriella said sleepily. "It'll be great, and lots of fun."

"I was thinking that tomorrow night maybe we could go for a swim and check out the hot tub situation?" Troy suggested.

"You just wanna see me in my bikini," she murmured.

"Yes I do, and I'm not ashamed to admit that," Troy teased.

She giggled slightly, and yawned once more. Gabriella didn't respond, letting her eyes flutter closed. Troy didn't say anything, he merely allowed the comfortable silence to wash over them, stroking his fingers through the dark tresses of her hair. After what was to Troy an indeterminate amount of time – it could have been minutes, it could have been hours – he began to feel the soft rise and fall of Gabriella's chest, as she had succumbed to her slumber. He smiled, and carefully pulled the blanket up a little higher, ensuring it covered her properly.

'_I'll just close my eyes for a minute, just a minute is all,'_ Troy thought to himself, allowing his eyes to flutter closed. _'Just the one minute… and then I'll wake her up… just one minute…'_

* * *

"Gabi? Gabi honey?"

Gabriella stirred, and went to stretch – immediately realising that she wasn't really in a position to stretch. She was curled up against a warm body, her legs tucked beneath her. Gabriella's eyes fluttered open and she woke up enough to realise what the situation involved. That her mother was standing just before her, that Gabriella was nestled in against her boyfriend. That her mother had seen them – asleep, together.

"Mom!"' Gabriella exclaimed, immediately sitting upright. "Oh, gosh… I couldn't sleep last night and came out to get a drink and Troy was awake and we were just talking and we just… I guess we totally crashed. What's the time?" She was speaking in a blurred, nervous rush.

Elena raised her eyebrows. "Sure you did. And it's 7:30."

Troy began to stir, between the body which had been keeping him warm moving away, and then hearing the talking, he came to life. He stretched a little, his back feeling a little out of sorts for having slept upright, and then opened his eyes to realise what was going on. He cleared this throat and blinked, attempting to pull some semblance of ability to cover the situation from among his sleep hazed state.

"Wow, we just totally crashed, must have been some conversation," he said sleepily with a yawn.

Elena pursed her lips, hands on hips, contemplating the situation. Ironically, of all the situations she could have caught the pair in – this one was genuinely innocuous. Gabriella could hardly be wearing more clothes if she'd tried; and it wasn't as though they'd been caught up in his loft – they were in the middle of the living room and half upright on the couch.

Finally, Elena simply said, "The bathroom is free, why doesn't one of you go claim the shower now?"

"Uh, you can go," Troy said stiffly to Gabriella.

She nodded, immediately abandoning Troy and striding in the direction of the bathroom. He cleared his throat and shuffled to his feet. He gathered up the throw rug and tossed it over the back of the sofa.

"I might just go uh… put a shirt on," he said, averting his eyes from Ms. Montez's stare.

"Good idea."

Troy could only be grateful that he'd slept wearing sweatpants and not just his boxers as he usually would – and that some divine intervention meant his downstairs morning 'situation' wasn't as 'pronounced' as it was some mornings, particularly after sleeping beside Gabriella. Troy could only hope that given the circumstances – her being fully clothed and with a bathrobe in the living room – that Ms. Montez couldn't attach too much blame to what she had witnessed. He scampered up the ladder to his loft, and quickly grabbed a t-shirt from the pile of clothing that was forming in the corner. He quickly retreated back down, and upon hearing kitchen noises coming from that end of the house, he moved stealthily toward the bathroom. Gabriella was just entering from her shared bedroom, having collected her clothing for the day.

"Hey, can I just wash my face first before you take it over?" Troy said, a little louder than required.

"Um, sure?" Gabriella said questioningly, looking at him curiously sensing his forced tone.

"Was she mad at us? I couldn't tell," Troy whispered quietly. He turned on the cold tap and then added a little of the hot tap to create warm water.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know," she whispered back. "I think she was okay. I mean… it truly was innocent."

Troy nodded, and quickly splashed some water on his face before going over to his towel that was hanging on a rack and patting his skin dry. He passed Gabriella as he went to leave the bathroom, and she grabbed him by his upper arm, and pulled him towards her.

"Wha-"

Troy was cut off by a pair of lips pressing tenderly against his. "Good morning," Gabriella murmured with a lazy smile.

"Good morning to you too," Troy responded, returning her smile.

"Okay, go now, I have to shower," she said, pushing him lightly toward the door.

"Mmm sure you don't want company again?" he enquired flirtatiously.

"Want, maybe," Gabriella said coyly. "But that would be irrelevant in this environment. Go!"

Troy smirked and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He quickly headed toward the kitchen, where Elena was putting bread into the four slice toaster.

"Toast?" Elena asked.

Troy nodded. "Yes thanks."

She'd already pulled out the butter from the fridge, as well as the jars of peanut butter, jelly and marmalade and put them onto the bench. Troy poured his standard two beverages – a glass of milk and a glass of juice, that morning, selecting tropical juice, and then stood waiting with Elena for the toast to pop up. He cleared his throat.

"Ms. Montez?" Troy said hesitantly.

"Yes Troy?"

"Umm. Gabriella and I really were just talking last night. And we really did just fall asleep. I know that sounds like it's an excuse for something else but… that is really what happened."

Elena studied him for a moment, before responding carefully. "I actually believe you."

"Really?" he blurted, surprised.

"Yes, really."

"Oh… that's… that's good."

They were silent for another moment, before Troy ventured once again, "And um… Ms. Montez?"

"Yes?"

"I um, I just thought I should apologise for how I was acting last night. I was kinda, well, rude, I guess. I hope you know it wasn't about you or Gabriella, I just um… I was in a bad mood and didn't feel like being around people and so…"

"So you thought you'd be anti social and act like the teenage boy that you are?" Elena supplied with a small smile. The toast popped up, and Elena dropped two slices onto each of the plates she'd pulled out. "It's fine, I do understand. I suppose I found it interesting, if anything."

"Interesting?" Troy asked. He pulled some butter knives out of the cutlery drawer, and handed one over to her.

"Tell me, when it suddenly occurred to you as you returned to snowboarding that maybe the twinge might have been something serious – even though you said yourself that you felt no pain at all at that moment – what did you do?" Elena asked. As she spoke, they'd both been spreading butter onto their toast.

Troy set down his knife. "I stopped snowboarding and I came straight back here and found ice," he answered promptly, not quite understanding her point.

Elena spread orange marmalade onto her toast. "I mean, you are being honest when you say it feels completely fine, aren't you?"

Troy nodded, and responded emphatically, "Yeah, when I disappeared last night I went to the fitness centre and did weights and stuff and I was totally cool."

"So… you overreacted a little? Freaked out?" Elena asked a slight smirk on her face as she used the word 'freak' in an attempt to connect with him.

"I guess, a little."

"Like your father did?"

Troy hesitated, but then rolled his eyes and conceded, "Yeah, I guess."

Elena picked up her toast, and took a small bite, chewing thoughtfully before continuing.

"Your father seems to be one of those individuals who truly live and breathe their occupation. He doesn't just go to work and then come home – his work and his home are all entwined because they're all a part of who he is. Just like with you, your basketball isn't just some hobby that you do after school. Basketball is a part of who you are. And to your father, you're not his son at times and his team's captain at others, you exist as both at all times, which is a part of what makes your relationship so special." Elena took another bite from her toast.

"That's like what Gabriella said," Troy remarked.

"Hmm, like mother like daughter, I suppose. Just something for you to think about before you write him off completely, I guess." Elena gestured to Troy's toast. "You'd better finish putting your spread on that before it goes completely cold."

She picked up her plate and headed over to the table. She'd made her coffee before making her toast, and it had now cooled down to her ideal temperature for drinking. Troy turned to his plate, quickly spreading a healthy amount of peanut butter onto one half, and then strawberry jelly onto the other half. He pressed the two halves together, making a toastie sandwich, before sitting down at the table with Elena.

Lucille Bolton breezed into the kitchen at that point – she was a morning person, had always been a morning person.

"Morning Elena, Troy," she said brightly as she entered, promptly leaning over to give her son a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning mama," Troy said, with his mouth full of toast.

"I just brewed that pot of coffee not long ago," Elena informed her.

"Oh excellent, I knew I could smell something good. Troy, do you want me to put another slice of toast down for you?" Lucille asked.

"Ummm no thanks. I might have some cereal in a minute," he answered.

"Okay then. So how was your sleep El?"

"Wonderful, which was surprising because normally I struggle to sleep in a foreign bed."

"Troy? What about you honey? Lonely up in that loft?"

Troy coughed, glancing sideways at Elena. She didn't say anything, just picked up her coffee mug and took a sip.

"I slept well," Troy finally said simply, before stuffing the remainder of his toast into his mouth.

Lucille glanced curiously at him but didn't think about it, just continued to go about preparing both her own morning coffee as well as Jack's.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you out of bed so early, mister," Lucille remarked, glancing at Troy.

He shrugged. "Well, gotta make the most of the slopes. Gabriella's got a lot of learning to do, with only two days of snowboarding."

"Is she in the shower?" Lucille asked.

"Yes, I sent her in after I finished," Elena said.

"Mom, you're going to take Ms. Montez skiing with you, right?" Troy confirmed.

Elena glanced at Lucille, who nodded in confirmation. "That's right. Why?"

"So dad will take a key, and you guys will take a key, and me and Gabriella can have one?" Troy confirmed.

He bit his lip, realising that they might read something into his insistence that they have their own key – when truly, he'd just been making conversation and confirming logistics for the day. If either of them had read further into his words, they seemed to gloss over it.

"That sounds like the best way to do it," Elena agreed.

Jack entered the room, whistling slightly. He had the newspaper tucked under his arm, which had been left on the door step by reception per Jack's request. He paused upon the sight of Troy sitting at the table.

"Morning Elena, Luce," he said. He cleared his throat. "Troy," he said with a slight nod.

"Good morning," Troy said, somewhat stiffly – but nevertheless amicably.

Jack slid into the dining table. Lucille brought over his coffee that she'd just finished making, and the toast that she'd slipped in for both herself and Jack popped up. Troy glanced around in silence, feeling a little uncomfortable being seated at a table with both a man he'd practically shouted at and walked out on the evening prior, and a woman whose daughter he'd been caught asleep with just twenty minutes prior.

"So Troy, using that board you rented again today, or planning to give the old skis another whirl?" Jack asked, hesitantly settling upon small talk.

Troy hesitated, before responding casually, "A board, of course. I have to show Gabi how it's done, properly. I was getting right back into it yesterday before…" he swallowed and hesitated, and carefully chose the next words. "… before I finished up for the day."

"Good." Jack took a sip from his coffee. "So how was the fitness centre last night?"

"Awesome, they've got a great set up."

And the Bolton father-son tradition of sweeping issues under the rug was continued, with no further mention of the evening prior's argument.

* * *

Jack had been the first to leave the condo that morning, planning to have a go at some of the intermediate to advanced trails. Lucille and Elena were heading to start the day around the Snowflake Chair, which had access to some of the beginner trails that were more verging upon intermediate; with plans to head to some intermediate trails once Elena felt her confidence had returned.

Troy had asked around, and confirmed what the instructors had told Gabriella the day before – that the ski lift Chair 7 at Peak 8 was the best starting off point to lead to the trails for beginners. Gabriella had been stalling for time all morning. She'd fussed about doing her hair after breakfast, even though it was just going to go under a beanie. She'd dawdled on their way to the shuttle bus, dawdled on their way to the snowboard rental place – as she was merely renting her equipment on a day by day basis. Troy was being patient – if anything, he found her procrastination somewhat endearing. He advised on which of the identical helmets seemed to have the best fit, he helped her to put on her boots. And then finally, they were standing just short of the queue for the ski lift.

"Do we _have_ to do this?" Gabriella asked her voice somewhat whiney. "I feel sore from yesterday."

Troy sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and looked at her. "Gabriella? I know that you're feeling nervous. Honestly? You don't _have_ to do it. If you want, you can go and take your equipment back and you might get a refund on your last ski lift day and you can just go build snowmen and read your book and that's fine. One day of instruction in a beginner's class isn't going to make you an expert. The only way to get confidence is to practice lots. I'm not going to judge you. I'm not an expert either. Sometimes I fall. Sometimes I have a retard moment when getting off the chair lift and wind up face first in the snow. It happens. But give it a decent go before you just totally give up."

Gabriella sighed. "I don't like doing things that aren't… aren't in my field of expertise. I don't like looking stupid."

"This is me, nothing you can do will make you look stupid."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. I can do this. I am going to do this. Let's do it. Now."

"First step – getting onto the chair lift. They taught you how to do this properly yesterday, didn't they?"

Gabriella watched ahead where the lift was running. "Um, they had it going a lot slower though," she said, eyes widening at the speed it was operating at.

"We can get him to slow it down, probably," Troy said. "If you ask politely they normally will."

"How embarrassing!" Gabriella said, frowning slightly.

"Okay, come on, let's just do this," Troy said insistently. "So your left foot is your lead foot?"

"Yes."

"So you release your rear foot from the binding, and then we're going to skate over to the queue." Troy already had his rear foot released, and waited patiently for Gabriella as she fumbled around. He had to refrain from letting out an exasperated sigh – it was going to be a long, long day.

* * *

The perfect way to unwind from a long – and at times stressful – day on the slopes was a dip in the pool, followed by a soak in a hot tub. Which was exactly what Troy had suggested he and Gabriella do that night. After spending a few hours with the parents in the afternoon and early evening, the pair sought permission to head down to the indoor pool complex in the common area of the lodge.

Prior to the vacation, when Troy had informed her that there was a pool and hot tub, Gabriella had packed both a one piece swim suit and a bikini. That evening, Troy came into the room the Montez ladies were sharing as Gabriella packed her tote bag to take down to the pool area, putting in their towels and her one-piece. Troy immediately frowned, picked up the one-piece and tossed it back toward her suitcase.

"What is this?" he asked teasingly. "I thought I was specific in telling you to bring a bikini."

"I brought one, but you know I don't like to wear them," Gabriella said. "There might be other people around."

Troy was willing to compromise. "Bring both. If there are people around, I'll allow the one-piece. If not, the bikini shall be worn."

Gabriella rolled her eyes but obligingly packed both into her tote bag. Troy led her into the kitchen, grabbed two of the plastic champagne flutes that their mothers had purchased at the grocery store, and the half a bottle of Sprite which was in the fridge.

"It's like having a glass of champagne while in the tub," Troy said with a grin.

Gabriella giggled. "Not quite, but we can do it anyway."

"Okay, we're going down to the pool, and we might go to the games room after we've had our swim," Troy informed the parents casually.

"Back by 11," Elena said promptly. "Does one of you have a key?"

"Yes," Gabriella said. "Okay, bye!"

Troy practically pulled her arm out of the socket as he dragged her to the front door. "Last one into the pool is a rotten egg," he challenged with a teasing smile, darting slightly ahead of her.

"There's no point in running ahead of me, I have your board shorts in my tote bag," Gabriella pointed out. Nevertheless she was walking briskly, looking forward to the warmth of the indoor heated pool, spa and sauna area.

He grinned and slowed down, walking along side her, matching her brisk pace. After entering the pool complex and assessing that there was no one else present, Troy reached into Gabriella's tote bag to firstly acquire her one-piece, and secondly to take out his board shorts.

"Okay, I'll meet you back out here," Troy said, before turning to head toward the men's changing rooms.

"I don't think my swim suit is going to fit you, Troy… or should I say, Treasure?" Gabriella said with a teasing laugh punctuating the sentence.

He poked out his tongue. "Very funny. I'm confiscating it to make sure you don't put it on," he called behind him.

Gabriella emerged from the changing room five minutes later, dressed in a skimpy black halter bikini with boy short cut bottoms; with a towel wrapped tightly around her body. Troy was already in the warm pool, and he turned around to look upon hearing her.

"Are you sure there's no one else around?" Gabriella asked, glancing around.

"Positive," Troy said. "We're here alone. I don't know what you're so freaked about anyway. It's not like your bikini is…" he trailed off as she dropped the towel onto the chaise lounge that was by the pool, where he'd left her one piece. She set the tote bag down, and coyly walked toward him – highly aware of his palpable stare.

"Uh… that bikini is new…" Troy finally managed to say, his eyes roaming up and down her body.

"I got it on sale during spring. I umm… I put a little weight on after starting the birth control shot thing, so it uh… it fits a bit differently than how it used to."

The weight that Gabriella had put on had only been a few pounds, and those pounds had gone directly to a place where Troy could appreciate it most, and where she would stare down at her bikini top, seeking more flesh than she had upon first trying it on.

"Okay, this is so, so much better than your layers and layers of cold weather clothing," Troy said lowly, his tone burgeoning upon throaty.

"You're just a perv," Gabriella teased.

"Only with you," he said simply.

She walked over to the steps by the shallow end of the pool, dipping one foot and then the other into the water which was heated just enough, to the perfect temperature for swimming. She stepped down onto the next step, water now coming up almost to her knees. Troy waded over, and stood at the shallow part of the pool, about a foot away from her, the water rising to just above his belly button.

"Do you want to keep your hair dry?" Troy asked.

"I want to try to, anyway," she responded, as she carefully stepped down and sunk to the bottom, standing before him in the shallow water.

The two swam around the pool, splashing slightly. Gabriella eventually gave up on her plan to attempt to keep her hair dry, succumbing to the temptation of showing off her ability to do handstands and somersaults in the water. Troy matched her show with a demonstration of his bomb diving ability – which was even more impressive than his peanut butter and jelly sandwich making ability.

As she was in the midst of a handstand, he snuck up behind her and grasped onto her legs. Gabriella kicked and flailed, but Troy maintained his grasp and she came up to the surface, still grasping onto her legs.

"Troy!" she whined in the midst of a giggle fit.

"Come here, you," Troy said.

Without warning, Troy scooped her into his arms, and she laughed as he moved about in the pool, gliding through the water with her in his arms. He spun her around, Gabriella's arms firmly holding onto him around the back of his neck. Troy went to set her down onto the step, but Gabriella refused to let go, instead wrapping her legs around his waist and straddling him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Troy asked, grinning but nevertheless moving backwards in the water.

"I'm tired, don't feel like swimming but I like the water and I like being in here with you."

"Are your muscles still feeling sore from the snowboarding?" Troy asked, squeezing her thighs gently. "Or should I say, falling down?"

"A bit," Gabriella confessed. "I never expected that."

"Come on, why don't we go into the hot tub, it'll be relaxing and make you feel better," Troy prompted, moving back over toward the step.

Gabriella liked that idea, and allowed him to set her down. She quickly made her way out of the pool, the general heating in the room wasn't exactly warm – although it was certainly warmer than it was outside. She rushed over to where the hot tub was in the corner of the room, a few feet away from the deep end of the pool. Troy was only just behind her, and held her hand as she stepped into the warm water.

"Oohhh it's magical," Gabriella gasped, allowing her body to be submerged with the water.

He followed, stepping down and also dropping down, a relaxed smile filling his features as the hot water lapped at his skin. Gabriella was in one corner, allowing her body to float diagonally across the square shaped pool. Troy forced himself to get out of the spa, and went over to retrieve the plastic champagne glasses and half bottle of Sprite from her tote bag. He set them down on the edge of the spa before slipping back in and pouring each of them a glass. Without words required, Gabriella sat upright across from Troy, and each of them picked up their glass, ready to propose a toast.

"Here is to… the wonderful hot water that is in this hot tub right now," Gabriella said.

"And here is to my hot bikini wearing girlfriend that is sitting in the wonderful hot water in this hot tub," Troy responded jokingly. Gabriella giggled, and Troy turned serious. "Here's to… today. To tomorrow. To next week. To every day with you," he said, feeling a little embarrassed for the corniness, but nevertheless meaning every word.

"To me and you?" Gabriella suggested.

"To me and you," Troy confirmed, and their plastic glasses of bubbly Sprite clinked together and they each took a sip.

"We still don't know what our parents are doing for New Years," Gabriella said with a slight pout.

"Well, we know that you and I are going out for dinner, I booked the restaurant and everything. All we can do is work from there," Troy said.

"They'd better go out," Gabriella said adamantly.

"And why do you want them to go out so badly?" Troy asked, eyebrows cocked with a teasing grin.

"For the same reason that you do," Gabriella confessed. "The reason that we're not going to talk about because if they stay in, you and I are just going to have to wait until… whenever we next have to wait until."

Troy pouted slightly. "It's the anniversary of when we met."

"I know."

"And New Years Eve."

"I know."

"And our Christmas."

"Yes, that I know too."

"Maybe you can just sneak up to my loft tonight?" Troy suggested. "Like, really late. Like, at 3am. They'll all be fast sleep."

"What if my mom gets up to use the bathroom, or to get a drink of water?" Gabriella countered. "Anyway, my mom and I are going to Littleton pretty early tomorrow so… no."

Troy let out a pretend sigh, and floated across the spa to sit beside her. "It doesn't matter anyway. I might be horny as hell, but I'm getting to hang with you and that makes this the best vacation ever as far as I'm concerned."

He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, their foreheads drawn together. "The feeling is mutual," Gabriella said softly, her breath tickling against Troy's face.

"That it's the best vacation, or that you're horny as hell?" Troy murmured, his lips pressing to Gabriella's softly.

She smiled, lips just shy of Troy's as she confessed in a hushed whisper, "Both."

Her kiss was soft at first, but Troy quickly deepened the contact, kissing her harder, tongues caressing, entwining and probing. In search of additional contact, Gabriella shuffled over, turning around so that she was straddling Troy, kneeling on either side of the spa ledge. Her hands snaked around the back of his neck, his own hands rested upon her slim waist. Barely even conscious of what she was doing; as they kissed furiously, Gabriella began to rock against him, her pelvis grinding against him.

He growled lightly. "You know what you're doing to me, right?"

"You want me to stop?" Gabriella enquired.

"Want… hell no. Think you should… kinda. As it is I'm gonna have to have a long shower when we get back," Troy commented, raising his eyebrows.

Gabriella shrugged sheepishly, and smiled as she climbed off of him. "Can we keep making out?"

"For a genius, you really do ask some silly questions," Troy teased, before pulling her face gently to his, reinitiating the kiss.

* * *

Normally on a day off from hitting the snow trails, Troy would have been fast asleep as late as his body would allow him. In this instance, he'd set an alarm after returning back fro the pool, wanting to ensure that he was awake in time to join in with the household breakfast the following morning.

On the third full day of their joint vacation, the household breakfast had a certain aura of sadness to it. Both Gabriella and Elena had emerged from the bathroom dressed sombrely; with dark colours and demure styles. In the lead up to the vacation, Troy and Gabriella had off-handedly discussed plans for her to show him around Littleton. However when it had come to the actual logistical planning of the trip, it had been clear – this day was for the Montez women to be spent alone as it should be.

The forlorn look upon Gabriella's face as she'd moved about, preparing for the day, had been crushing for Troy. He wasn't quite sure what to say; it wasn't exactly a situation he'd been in before. Elena and Gabriella were presenting the pretence that nothing was abnormal, and so Troy took his queue from them, also behaving as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

The exception to this lay within was the final goodbye. The Bolton's were all seated in the living room – Jack in an armchair with a newspaper in front of him, Lucille in the other armchair with a book, Troy on the couch with the remote, as he channel surfed through the trash on morning television. Elena had just ducked back to their room to retrieve something, leaving Gabriella to wait patiently. She was seated beside Troy, sitting upright with her hands folded primly in her lap. Elena reappeared from the bedroom and Gabriella immediately went to stand up. Troy grasped her by the upper arm, pulling her back to face him for a moment. No speech of words could pinpoint the swell of emotion he was feeling, just how much he wanted to be there to support her and comfort her and help her to get through the day, a day which he knew was both instrumentally important yet overwhelmingly difficult in equal measure.

"Hey, I love you," Troy murmured quietly, but nevertheless audible to all those present.

His forehead was lightly pressed to hers; a hand cupped the base of her neck and toyed with the loose tendrils beneath the low ponytail that her hair was pulled back into.

Gabriella nodded ever so slightly, reading between the lines of what he was saying, both understanding and being touched by the layers of support contained within his words.

"I love you too," she whispered back, her voice slightly choked.

Normally such endearments were avoided around the parents; all three had overheard the tail end of phone conversations which would end with those words, but there was a difference between the words being used in the context of a casual phone conversation conclusion, and a tender, in person moment of comfort. But in that moment, Troy hadn't even paused to contemplate whether he should be censoring the usage of such terms; the presence of the parental figures was entirely irrelevant to them both.

A sweet, tender kiss was exchanged, lips lingering for an additional moment before pulling apart; his intense, cobalt orbs connecting with her glossy chocolate gaze.

"Come on Gabi, let's go," Elena said softly.

Troy's hand trailed down her arm as she stood and rose to her feet, one final squeeze of the hand before she moved out of his grasp and to her mother's side. Elena's arm curled around her daughter's waist; and then glanced back at Lucille with a small nod acting as a silent farewell. The Montez women disappeared through the door.

Troy slumped back against the sofa, letting out a small sigh. There were no snide remarks from his father, no looks of condemnation or disapproval from his mother. Instead, there was a look of slight sympathy from each, combined with a touch of respect.

* * *

Ms. Montez hadn't been specific about how long they would be – Troy didn't know if they would typically go straight to the cemetery and then back to their accommodation; or if they would spend a little bit of time in Littleton, perhaps to stop for lunch. He'd gone back to bed for a nap, and then upon waking up he'd paced around anxiously for a while, before deciding that he may as well make the most of the day off. There was nothing he could do for Gabriella at that moment, and anxiously awaiting her return would only make the day drag longer. He distracted himself by watching a few episodes of Family Guy and eating the bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato sandwich his mother had made him for lunch. There were scarce few times when he had multiple hours to himself, to just sleep, listen to music, watch TV, and simply do as he pleased. A part of him wished he could have had the day when a part of his brain wasn't with someone else.

He headed down to the fitness centre and had a good work out, doing both cardio and weights, and then had a quick shower and promptly changed into a fresh t-shirt he'd brought down with him. He wrapped his coat around him, preparing for the dash back to the cabin, having not bothered with multiple layers since he was only going to go from one heated area to another heated area with a few minutes in between.

He noted that the Montez's rental car outside, and the front door had been left unlocked for him by his mom. He quickly kicked off his sneakers and poked his head into the living room, spotting that no one was around before heading into the kitchen and dining area. Both of his parents were in there, his mom with a mixing bowl in front of her, and Jack with another bowl and a cookie tray, moulding dough into cookies.

"Hey, are Gabriella and Ms. Montez back?" Troy asked. "Is Gabi in her room?"

Lucille and Jack glanced at each other.

"Um, Elena is in their room reading. I think Gabriella went up to your loft," Jack said quietly.

Troy's face filled with slight confusion. "To my loft? Did you see her when they got back?"

"She was pretty quiet honey, she just asked if we minded if she went up there and we said it was fine," Lucille said. "I think… I think she's a bit upset."

"Oh," Troy said quietly, swallowing. "Okay." He spied a freshly baked batch of cookies on a cooling rack on the bench. "Can I take some?"

Lucille nodded, and Troy grabbed two cookies, opened the fridge, acquired the milk, poured a glass, replaced the carton and then wordlessly moved toward the ladder. He managed to hold the glass of milk and the cookies in one hand, using his other to slowly scale his way up.

She was lying on her side facing toward him; her eyes closed tightly shut; the main pillow Troy had been using to sleep upon was clutched within her arms, hugging it tight to her body. She was still, but he knew that she was awake as she'd tensed slightly upon hearing him. Troy set the glass upon the night stand, and perched on the bed beside her. His fingers gently traced a line down her smooth, tear stained cheek and her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her glistening orbs.

"Hey," Troy murmured.

"Hi," she whispered hoarsely.

"You wanna cookie? It's baked fresh," he asked, holding it up for her.

"No thanks."

Troy nodded and set the cookies down onto the night stand beside the glass of milk, before turning back to lie beside her. Gabriella had closed her eyes again, and she sniffled, in an attempt to curb the tears that were falling.

His Gabriella was strong, she was brave, she was optimistic. She so rarely let the troubles of the world get her down. She would be stressed, and she would merely smile and focus upon the needs of those around her. He so rarely saw her frown, he so rarely saw her cry. And in that moment, all he wanted was to be able to wrap his arms around her and wipe her tears and make it all go away.

But he didn't have that ability, he didn't have that power. He couldn't turn the clock back, and even if he did he had no magical scientific cure to the disease which had taken a father away from his little girl. All Troy had was himself – he had his arms and his lips and his words. And so all he could do was remove the pillow from her grasp and wrap his arms around her; to allow her to bury herself within the warmth of his chest; and attempt to provide some semblance of comfort. To rake his hands through the chocolate tresses of her hair; to rub a placating circle upon the small of her back; to press light, chaste kisses to the top of her head, forehead, shoulders and neck; and to murmur irrelevant words of comfort into her ear.

And hope that somehow, it would be enough.

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N – **A thank you/acknowledgement to Kylie for telling me an anecdote about a balloon. Gratitude to Audrey for her continually awesome beta job.

Also - once again - this chapter is _huge_. Take a break if necessary. Don't scan it. I don't put my heart and soul into this for you to scan over it.

**Dedication – **I would like to dedicate this chapter (which according to my word count breaks the 12,000 word mark) to my friend, my amiga, my little sister, Onelys – in celebration of her sixteenth birthday :-) I feel honoured (with an 'ou' Nel, see?) to have had the opportunity to converse and forge a bond with such a sweet, wonderful, fabulous, fellow Efron-loving individual. I also think it's rather appropriate that it worked out that _this_ chapter would be the chapter I would dedicate to you, because in so many ways this chapter represents so many milestones. *Blows kisses* Hope you have a wonderful birthday Nel, even if I am updating it a few hours early for your part of the world :-)

* * *

**Chapter 17**

_From this moment, as long as I live_

_I will love you, I promise you this_

_There is nothing, I wouldn't give_

_From this moment on_

**Shania Twain 'From This Moment'**

* * *

Troy had remained lying with his girlfriend for a long while, holding her, stroking her hair. She was exhausted, but not able to fall asleep, remaining on the brink between sleep and wake. The sound of footsteps ascending the ladder up to the loft area caused Troy to glance around, seeing Gabriella's mother appear in the entry way.

"Hi Ms. Montez," Troy said, giving a warm smile to his girlfriend's mother.

Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, her dark orbs meeting her mother's concerned gaze. "Hi mom," she said in a hoarse, hushed tone.

"Well, this is nice up here," Elena said, glancing around and observing the space.

"It's not bad," Troy replied.

"There's dinner ready downstairs," Elena informed them softly.

Troy was surprised to hear this, he hadn't realised that so much time had passed since he'd come up to be with Gabriella.

"I'm not hungry," Gabriella replied, closing her eyes once more.

"Baby, you have to eat," Troy said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm really not hungry; I'm not going on a hunger strike or something. I don't think I could eat anything," Gabriella said honestly, looking from Troy and then up at her mother.

"Okay, we'll keep something for you in case you change your mind later," Elena said with a conciliatory nod. "Troy, are you going to come down?"

"Uh…" Troy hesitated for a moment, and glanced at Gabriella. "I might come down later, if that's okay?"

"You should go," she said softly, gently stroking his arm. "I know you're hungry."

"I'm always hungry," he replied teasingly.

"Exactly. Go on. I might have a nap."

Troy looked into her eyes, determining whether she was feeling obliged to say he should leave, or if she genuinely meant it. He then glanced back at Elena. "I'll be down in a minute."

Elena nodded, and carefully moved over to the ladder to traverse back down.

"Are you really gonna nap?" Troy asked.

She nodded. "I'll try, anyway."

"Do you want me to bring Arnie up for you?"

"If you don't mind," Gabriella said with a slight nod.

Troy smiled. "Kay, won't be long."

He quickly made his way down the ladder, ignored the voices he could hear from the dining area and headed up the corridor toward the guest bedroom. Surely enough, Gabriella's stuffed monkey Arnie which Troy had won her at an arcade on their second date was tucked beneath the comforter of her neatly made bed. Troy grabbed Arnie, and also the book that Gabriella was reading off the night stand – _Perfect Match _by Jodi Picoult – to take back out to her. He held the book beneath his arm and the stuffed animal in his hand, allowing him to hold onto the railing with his other hand as he made his way up. The moment his head popped over the floor and glanced at Gabriella, he observed the change in her position – she'd pulled his comforter up to cover her, the rise and fall of her chest indicating that she'd fallen asleep. Troy slowly made his way over, set the book onto the night stand and then carefully tucked the stuffed animal within her grasp. She stirred a little, merely to seize the toy. Troy smiled, and backed away quietly.

* * *

Dinner was fairly quiet; it wasn't awkward but the foursome were more than content allowing the moments where the focus was upon chewing more than talking to wash over them and extend longer than usual. Once dinner was finished, Troy was surprised that Elena suggested that they play one of the board games that they'd found in the cabinet. They were being respectful and not going into the living room, given that Gabriella was dozing in the loft above. And so a board game seemed to be an ideal way to pass some time after the meal. Troy's vote was for Monopoly however he was outvoted and the adults selected Scrabble. He wasn't a fan of Scrabble – he could spell fairly well, his grammar was decent, but his vocabulary wasn't particularly extensive.

Three rounds into the game and Troy was already losing by a fair amount. He'd drawn a few high point tiles, and was seriously contemplating throwing in a turn to swap them over. There was little purpose behind having high point tiles if he wasn't able to spell anything with them.

"Okay, so with the triple word score, that's… 49," Elena said, satisfied with her turn. "Wow it's different not playing with Gabriella. After about three rounds she's usually over a hundred points ahead of me."

Jack was pondering the tiles in front of him for his turn.

"Do you think she'll come down soon?" Lucille asked quietly.

Elena shrugged. "Uh… well it's not like her to nap, really."

"She seemed pretty exhausted," Troy supplied gently. "She might sleep straight through til tomorrow. If she does, I'll just crash on the sofa."

"Aha!" Jack's proclamation came.

He began to place town the tiles to spell out 'G-U-A-R-D.' Between he and Troy, there were now four basketball related terms on the board – with 'pick' already placed down by Jack, and 'ball' and 'court' both having been put down by Troy.

It was now Lucille's turn, and as she examined her letters, Troy turned to Gabriella's mom.

"Ms. Montez?"

"Yes Troy?"

"Has Gabriella always… reacted like this? After going to see him?"

Elena shook her head. "Some years it's harder than others. This is a tough year for her."

"Why?" Troy asked.

Elena gave him a sad smile. "Well for one thing Troy… because of you."

"Because of me?" Troy asked, cocking his head to the side. He didn't mean to feel conceited or arrogant, but he couldn't help but think that if anything, due to his support it should be an easier year for Gabriella.

"Not only you, there's other things in general. Having him there to ask for advice about college, to see her as she's come out of her shell and performed in musicals and taken up leadership positions at school. But yes, then there's you. Because she hasn't had him there to insist that she can't date until she's finished college; or that he'll go around to your house with a shotgun if he's made a grandfather before he's fifty, preferably sixty."

"He would have hated you, you know."

The words weren't spoken by anyone at the table. Rather, they came from the doorway into the kitchen. Troy spun around, taking in Gabriella's presence in the room. The black slacks she'd been wearing that day were crumpled and creased, she'd discarded her navy sweater for one of Troy's t-shirts, her hair was in a state of disarray with a fuzzy pile on the left side of her head, the touch of eye make up she'd put on that morning was smudged, her eyes were red, her skin was blotchy, and she was clutching onto Arnie.

In many ways, it was the most vulnerable and innocent he'd ever seen her.

But in others, she was at her strongest.

There were times when Gabriella would let Troy into her childhood, when she'd make an off-handed reference to the years of her fathers battle with his illness, when she'd talk about the immediate year following his passing and just how wrecked her mother had been, and then the subsequent years of moving around the country. Troy found himself contemplating just how sheltered and simple his own life had been. How lucky he was to have grown up in the same house, to have two loving parents still with him, to have enough money for a comfortable lifestyle, to have grown up with a childhood best friend who had remained a part of his life.

Looking at Gabriella in that moment reminded him of just how strong she was. That moment reminded him of just how broken she was. That moment reminded him of how brave she was, to soldier on through life with her chin up high.

"You think so?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded, and moved forward into the dining area, and slid into the spare seat between Lucille and Troy. "I know so. He hopefully would have come around eventually but at first… he would have hated you. He would have insulted you behind your back on the most irrelevant levels – like, he would have told me that the mole on your left cheek is 'silly'. And then suddenly, basketball would have become the world's most awful sport."

For a long time after the death of her father, Gabriella's mother's coping mechanism – and consequently the coping mechanism of her impressionable young daughter – had sat within the place of denial. Avoiding mentioning him, attempting to wipe his memory from existence. However gradually, both of the Montez women discovered that talking about him and embracing his memory was therapeutic, that it was the healthier way to live. Photos that had been shoved into boxes reappeared onto the walls and mantelpieces; the various bits of memorabilia – such as the crystal vase that Diego had bought Elena for their fifteenth wedding anniversary – were put back into their rightful places upon display.

But most importantly, Diego was no longer a taboo topic. Gabriella and Elena felt free to recall memories and anecdotes, remembering their father and husband not only for his virtues and quirks, but also for his flaws.

"But you would've convinced him otherwise?"

"Hmm… Daddy always just wanted me to be happy," Gabriella mused. "So I think he would've had to get used to the fact that you were going to be around."

Gabriella cleared her throat, feeling a little uncomfortable at the four gazes she was receiving. Two of sympathy, one of understanding, one of pride – all of love.

"So, who is winning?" Gabriella asked, gesturing to the Scrabble board.

"Uh… that would be Lucille," Elena said, glancing down at the score sheet.

"Cool. Whose turn is it?"

"Also my turn," Lucille said. She'd already selected her word, and placed down the requisite tiles to spell F-R-I-E-N-D using the D from Jack's 'guard' – with the F on a triple letter score.

"Not bad," Gabriella said. She then shuffled her chair a little closer to Troy. "Your turn?"

"Um, yeah."

"Come on, son, another basketball term would be nice. Make the board look good," Jack encouraged with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen with these letters," Troy said with a frown. He was about to settle for writing out 'B-E-A-R' when Gabriella made a 'tsk' sound.

"You can so do better than that," she encouraged.

"Uh, _you_ can do better than that. I'm the guy who is losing by a ridiculous amount, who has only put down a bunch of four letter words."

"You and your four letter words," Gabriella teased.

"What four letter words are these?" Jack asked, eyebrows raised.

"Uh… you know. Gosh darn. Stuff like that,"' Troy responded, rolling his eyes. "Oh, hang on, I put down court. A five letter word. Snap."

Gabriella leaned over and rearranged Troy's scrabble tiles on the little rack. "On the left, along the middle triple word score," she instructed, whispering into his ear.

"Can you do that? Does that word have a plural?" Troy murmured back.

Gabriella nodded. "It's a flower."

"It is?"

Gabriella gave him a look, as if to judge him for questioning her. Troy shrugged, and smugly placed down 'B-I-Z-A-R-R-E' before an S, forming 'bizarres.'

"Bizarres. The plural of a type of flower," Troy announced smugly. "So, with the triple word score that makes it…" he stared blankly at the tiles, and then proceeded to use his fingers to count, murmuring under his breath. "57," he announced.

"You also get a bonus 50 points for using all seven tiles," Gabriella said. "So that's 107."

"Don't you mean that _you_ get a bonus 50 points," Lucille said. "Troy didn't do much."

"Oh come on Lucy, he needed to catch up. He's only losing by 10 points now," Jack said with a laugh.

"And here I was, enjoying not having my daughter show off her prowess," Elena said teasingly.

Gabriella laughed lightly, and felt Troy's hand reach across and squeeze her thigh beneath the table.

"Are you gonna stay and help me?" Troy asked her quietly.

She gave him a small nod and smile, and placed her hand on top of where his lay upon her thigh, rubbing gently, acknowledging his concern. "Looks like you need my help."

Troy grinned slightly. "Okay then, magic helper, why don't you pick out my new tiles for me?"

She wouldn't have been blamed if she'd kept to herself and allowed herself the evening to cry. But here she was, yet again, head held up high, a smile upon her face.

An epitome of courage and strength.

* * *

New Year's Eve was shaping up to be a magical evening for Troy and Gabriella. The whole day, the pair had been literally inseparable. The strength she'd drawn from him the previous day only served to bring them even closer together. December 31st was the final day they had allocated to spend on the slopes, and although Gabriella had told Troy that she was fine with him going off on his own to tackle some more advanced trails, he'd blatantly refused for the entire morning. It was only after lunch when Gabriella had insisted she wanted a longer break that he allowed himself to hit the intermediate trails – with Gabriella waiting at the bottom of the slope, watching her man in pride as he gracefully came down the hill each time, a look of triumphant joy upon his face.

For dinner, Troy had taken Gabriella to Hearthstone Restaurant; which was located inside a century old Victorian style home. At night time, it appeared romantic and ethereal with fairy lights decorating the exterior of the building. Troy dragged out not only a light blue button up shirt and black sports coat, but also a pair of black slacks for the occasion. Gabriella had pouted at the selection of clothing she'd brought with her, none of it her ideal choice of outfit to wear out for a nice date on the one year anniversary of meeting her boyfriend. Having been assured by Troy that the restaurant was indoors and heated, she'd braved wearing a black knee length pencil skirt and a purple baby doll top with a scoop neck, short sleeves and a empire tie. She could only hope that her stockings, nice winter coat and scarf would keep her warm for the short walk from the lodge to the bus stop, from the bus stop to the restaurant, and then back to the lodge again.

At the restaurant, Troy had stared at the seven page long wine list in amazement – feeling somewhat relieved that he wasn't going to be expected to be sophisticated and order the appropriate wine from the selection – instead the couple sticking to a glass of Lipton peach flavoured iced tea for her, and Pepsi for him. They'd eaten more food than imaginable, ordering the Baked Brie as a starter; sharing the Striped Bass and the Kurobuta Pork for their main course; and indulging in a dessert aptly titled Triple Chocolate Decadence. Conversation was natural, flowing and flirtatious; with grazes of the hand, gentle footsies beneath the table and a sensual feeding of the dessert.

They'd arrived at the restaurant at half past six, and were on the shuttle bus to head back to the lodge just after half past 8. Troy wanted to suggest a romantic stroll through the town but he knew that Gabriella was freezing. So they went straight back to the lodge; standing behind her and walking with his arms wrapped around her middle. As they were close to reaching their condo, Gabriella reached behind her and into Troy's pocket in search of the key. She grasped onto the metal object and withdrew it, clutching onto it in preparation for when they would reach the door. Troy leaned over and nuzzled into the crook of her neck as she turned the key in the lock. The door creaked open, the couple met by darkness. Elena's rental car was parked outside but the parents had said they were planning to get the shuttle bus into and back from town, so they could all enjoy a few responsible alcoholic beverages. Nevertheless, Gabriella listened out for the sounds of occupants, and for safe measure she called out, "Hello?!" only to be met with silence.

Troy closed the door behind him, and began to say, "I don't think anyone is…" and was cut off by a pair of lips smashing against his zealously for a short and yet tempestuous kiss.

"What was that for?" Troy murmured, his hands upon her waist and holding her close to him.

"Just coz," Gabriella said, her eyes smokey with desire.

"You're making me want to skip the presents and go straight to…"

"No, let's get the presents over and done with," Gabriella said, distracted from her initial focus and clapping her hands giddily. "Because I've been nervous about what I got you all week and I can't take it anymore."

"Gabriella, you could get me anything and you know I'd be stoked with it. You could get me nothing and I wouldn't care."

The words Troy spoke were completely truthful, and yet it didn't placate the butterflies, or rather killer moths, forming within his stomach at the thought of giving Gabriella her presents. Just as Gabriella rolled her eyes – although she knew that he was right, just as she knew that Troy could present her with a candy bar wrapper and she'd likely find something endearing about it.

"I'll go get yours, and you go get mine, and we can meet back in here?" Gabriella suggested.

Troy nodded in agreement. Most of his belongings were tossed about haphazardly in the loft, but Gabriella's present was tucked hidden away in his suitcase. It took him hardly any time at all to scurry up the staircase and retrieve the gifts, and also the larger gift bag he'd brought, and place them all inside. Gabriella had yet to reappear, so he headed into the kitchen to grab them some drinks. A note had been left on the fridge, in handwriting he didn't recognise so he assumed it was that of Ms. Montez.

_Gabi and Troy,_

_There is a half a bottle of champagne in the fridge. Don't ever say that we don't love you. _

_With love,_

_Your parents_

Troy smirked at the note, and retrieved a couple of the plastic champagne flutes and the bottle, and took them all out into the living room, just as Gabriella had emerged from the opposite end of the house with a canvas bag in hand.

"Look what our parents left us," Troy said, gesturing to the glass bottle he was setting down.

"Are you serious?"

Troy nodded. "Yup, there's a note and everything. There's only about a half a bottle, so that's about three glasses – so two each if we make them small glasses."

"It's symbolic really, a celebratory drink," Gabriella said.

They sat down together on the couch and Troy pulled off the cork, the satisfying pop sounding and he then poured each of them a small glass of champagne.

"A real toast this time," Gabriella pointed out. "What to tonight?"

Troy paused. "To another year just like the last… only better."

Gabriella smiled and picked up her glass, and tapped it against his. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

They took a small sip each, and then Troy took Gabriella's glass and set the pair down upon the coffee table. They each picked up their present bags, examining inside for a moment.

"So I…" Gabriella began to say.

"You see, I…" Troy said simultaneously.

"You go," they both said.

"You talk," Gabriella said quickly.

Troy nodded. "I kinda… I know we agreed to do Christmas on New Years' and everything, and that technically New Years' isn't like, an anniversary for us. Well it is, like since we met, but in terms of… you know, when you would exchange gifts or celebrate, it would be the year from when we started dating in February. But I still felt like I was copping out by just getting you one present so I kinda have like, a main present, and some other things and…"

"Troy? That's what I've done. You don't have to explain it," Gabriella said, feeling a little relieved.

"Okay, so how do we do this… like… one present at a time? Then who goes first?"

"Why don't we each get out a small present and we can exchange it at the same time, to start with?" she suggested.

Troy nodded, and they both began to fish around in their bags in search of their smallest present.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she confirmed with a nod.

"On three. One…" Troy counted.

"Two…" Gabriella said.

"Three," they both said, and simultaneously thrust out identically shaped small rectangle packages; Gabriella's neatly wrapped with a perfectly curled ribbon and Troy's haphazardly wrapped with almost more tape than wrapping paper and a lopsided bow.

They made their way through the small presents – exclaiming over the mixed CD's they'd each made for the other one. The medium presents were then exchanged, packages being shaken and prodded at before the paper was removed and discarded into a pile upon the floor. Troy unwrapped two new t-shirts from Aeropostale. Both were blue – one a bright blue with a small 'Athletics Dept' logo on the top right and the other a paler blue with the large graphic of 'SAVE FOR THE FUTURE' with a globe. Gabriella claimed that they were to replace the shirts which she had 'borrowed' and failed to return. She then unwrapped a small gift that was labelled as being for Arnie – unveiling a stuffed animal size knitted red and white scarf which Troy had asked his mother to make for him. Gabriella excitedly went and retrieved her monkey to dress it in its new Wildcat themed scarf. She then was handed a medium gift for herself, unveiling one of Jodi Picoult's first novels, _Harvesting the Heart_. Normally Gabriella avoided 'best selling' style of authors, but Martha had recommended _Nineteen Minutes_ to her and Gabriella had given it a go and fallen in love, and was in the process of going through and reading all of the author's books.

"Ohhh I've been wanting to read this! The library doesn't stock it and I keep meaning to ask them to order it in!"

"Well, now you don't need to."

"Thank you, thank you! I'm almost finished with the one I'm reading now, I'll definitely have finished before we fly home so now I have something to read!"

"Surely you brought more than one book with you?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I brought three. But this one I really, really want to read!" Gabriella then appeared a little crushed. "Now I'm worried about my main present. I've been looking for that book for so long, and I just got you some random shirts, and my big present is…"

"Going to be awesome," Troy cut in. "Come on, I'm getting impatient, I want it now."

Gabriella bit her lip, but nevertheless reached into the bag and shyly pulled out the final present. She hesitated for a moment, but then held it out for him to take. It was about the length and width of a CD, a little bigger, but deeper. The truth was that he had absolutely no idea what she might have gotten him, and that was what intrigued him the most. He precariously removed the ribbon and then unstuck the flaps at either end, and then pulled away the tape that ran through the middle. The paper was pulled off, to reveal a white box. He lifted the lid of the box to reveal a simple, black leather, bi-fold wallet; with a funky looking black and chrome wallet chain.

"I um… your old wallet looks like it's about to fall apart. And I know you were annoyed when your wallet chain broke," Gabriella explained, her speech speeding up as she justified her gift. "I was looking for ages, I wasn't sure if you'd prefer one with the button clasp like this or no clasp, and there were ones with…"

"This is awesome," Troy said, his tone completely genuine. A new wallet was one of those things which upon opening it, he knew that he desperately needed – although he would have carried around his other wallet until it literally fell to pieces. She'd picked out exactly what he would have liked for himself, and gotten a better quality version, the softness of the leather indicating that it wasn't your average, inexpensive version. "This chain is so awesome, it's sweet."

"The wallet actually came with one, I have it at home and I'll give it to you but I'm sure it'll just get shoved into a drawer or under your bed and never see the light of day again. But it's like, about this thick," Gabriella said holding her fingers up barely apart. "And it looks more like something I'd wear as a necklace, it looks flimsy for a good quality wallet… I know it's kinda a boring present but…"

Troy held his finger up to her lips, silencing her, and leaned over to kiss her softly. "It's not boring, it's perfect. I really love it, thank you."

Troy loved it not only because he liked the wallet itself, but he loved that it reeked of Gabriella. He loved that it was something practical, logical, something he needed – and yet that she'd put so much thought into it, contemplating exactly what he would like.

"Umm… and… open it up and look through it," Gabriella said, somewhat cheekily, hiding a smile.

Troy cocked his head and unbuttoned it again, searching through the pockets properly. He dug into the nook that was behind the plastic license holder, scoring the jackpot – and his fingers seized upon two foil packets, which he seized and removed, a grin upon his face.

"Just to start you off," Gabriella said coyly. "I'd be hoping we never have a repeat of it being empty again."

"I still can't believe that you went and bought a packet of condoms," Troy said with a laugh. "Is this from the same lot you had in your toiletry bag at Monica's?"

"God bless self check out, is all I can say," Gabriella said with a firm nod.

Troy tucked them back in carefully, ensuring they were fully sealed. "This is also an excuse to go through my old wallet and get rid of all the old movie stubs and shit."

"Yes, yes it is," she agreed with an airy giggle.

Troy felt inspired to pull out his wallet and shift things over right now, but he also felt the need to give her the present he'd so painstakingly selected for her. He carefully set the wallet and chain back into the box and placed them onto the coffee table, before reaching into his large gift bag to pull put a tiny gift bag, which was sealed shut with a piece of tape. He held it out for her to take from him.

"I was going to wait until we celebrated our actual one year anniversary of dating. But… it felt right to give this to you now," Troy said, his eyes cast downward for a moment.

She unstuck the tape and then peered into the tiny gift bag to see a small, navy blue velvet box with a bow attached to the top. Gabriella felt an excited trepidation – truthfully, she wasn't surprised that he'd gotten her some type of jewellery. She was excited on one hand but also feeling a bit cautious because knowing Troy, he'd spent a ridiculous amount of money on it. She lifted the bow way and placed it back into the small gift bag, and slowly opened the lid.

The next two seconds were the longest two seconds of Troy's life. That moment when she pulled open the velvet box and registered what he'd given her – he was hanging on for that first reaction, the initial facial expression. Even if she hated it, he knew she'd gush and say how much she loved it. But the first reaction was going to be pivotal.

Gabriella let out a small gasp, her mouth remaining open slightly as she gazed at the small white gold ring. In that moment, Troy knew that she liked it. Her finger traced over the intricate two entwined hearts, taking in the small stones in the centre of each heart.

"Oh my…" Gabriella breathed.

"Do you like it? Please tell me you like it. I spent way too long trawling through a million different jewellery stores for you to just be pretending to like it," Troy said hopefully.

"Troy, I don't like it…" Gabriella began, and Troy's eyes widened in fear. "I _love_ it!"

He relaxed, brightening up as he allowed himself to believe the genuine gratitude and shock of her tone.

"Do you really? It had better fit. It should be okay – I had Taylor's help with this part."

"You did?"

Troy nodded. "When she was randomly talking about how she wanted to get another ring, and took off her ring and said it would look better on you and so you picked it up and put it on?"

"It was staged? To see if her ring fit me?"

He grinned. "Yup. She's a good actress, I must say."'

Troy took the box from her hand and carefully took the ring from its holder, ready to do the ultimate test and slide it onto her finger. He took her right hand, her fingers naturally splaying apart in anticipation for him to do the honours. He paused just as the ring had slid over the fingernail of her right ring finger. He'd imagined this moment a few times, he'd thought very seriously about whether or not he wanted to get her a promise ring at this time. He knew what it meant, he'd thought about the look on her face when she'd receive it – but he'd never really thought about whether he needed to be saying anything.

"You know what this is right? It's… it's not just a ring," Troy said, somewhat hesitantly.

"It's a promise ring," Gabriella's sweet, knowing voice said gently, having known exactly what it was from the moment that she'd opened the box.

Troy took a breath. "I know… I know that a lot of people probably think that we're crazy, that we're too young to be taking this so seriously. But… what you and I have. It's… it's special. It's…"

"Real?" Gabriella supplied quietly, staring at him earnestly.

"Real," he echoed with a nod; his eyes sparkling at they gazed into her understanding chocolate orbs. "What we have is real."

"I know it is. And… I know that wearing this ring… that it means something to you… it represents something about us."

She held out her hand once again, nudging against his, wordlessly indicating her acceptance to wear the ring. Troy nodded, and with a smile upon his face, he slid the sparkling item of jewellery onto her right ring finger. Gabriella tilted her hand upwards, a curve smiling onto her face as she admired it.

"It fits perfectly," she declared softly, before uttering in a murmur, "I hope you didn't spend too much on this."

"I wish I could have spent more. I saw one that I know you would have loved, but there was one too many zeroes for my budget," Troy told her apologetically. "It is white gold, and they are diamond cuts, but the carats aren't very…"

A pair of lips silenced Troy's unnecessary apology.

* * *

"I'm so glad that you were able to come tonight," Jason said, his arm wrapped around Kelsi's waist.

They were at the park with their friends, and heading over toward the refreshment stand to buy some sodas. It was a clear night, relatively warm for December in Albuquerque – which was still cold enough to warrant coats and scarves – and there was a decent turn out at the celebration at the park. They'd only organised officially for Zeke, Jason, Chad, Kelsi and Taylor to meet up, but coincidentally many other of their friends and acquaintances had decided to head to the park for New Years themselves.

"I was so glad when my brother said he was going over to his friends house, otherwise I think my parents would have insisted I'd stayed home. It's a bummer that Martha couldn't get out of her baby-sitting job," Kelsi said with a slight frown.

"Have you seen her since she went to visit her relatives?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, we hung out yesterday but she was acting kinda weird," Kelsi said. "I can't help but worry that I've done something wrong."

"Ask her about it," Jason suggested.

"Mmm, it's not that simple."

"It can be if you want it to be."

They reached the refreshment stand, and Jason glanced at Kelsi. "What did everyone want again?"

Kelsi turned to the young teen working behind the counter. "Two Cokes, a Diet Coke, a Sprite and an orange soda, thanks."

The sodas were pulled out, Jason placing two of them within the large pockets of his oversized dark blue sweatshirt and juggling the other three. He realised that he then had no spare hand to pull out his wallet – and so Kelsi put her hand into his back pocket and grabbed his wallet, handing over a twenty dollar bill. She took the change, put the ten dollar bill into Jason's pocket and left the scattering of coins in the tip jar, before they headed back over toward their friends.

When they were half way back, a random guy who appeared to be about the same age as Kelsi and Jason jumped out in front of them – dressed up as a pirate, wearing a balloon hat he'd created from a long balloon.

"I have a present for you, cutie," he said, a broad smile upon his face.

Jason immediately stepped a little closer to Kelsi, regretting that he had picked up all of the sodas and that he didn't have an arm free to put around his girlfriend or take her hand in his.

"A present?" Kelsi asked innocently, her interest piqued.

He nodded, and pulled out pink balloon, quickly blew it up with this pump, and within half a minute he'd created the petals of a flower. He then pulled out a green balloon, and succeeded in creating the stem and two leaves, and attached the two together.

"Volia!" he declared, handing it to Kelsi.

"Aww, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed, and jokingly smelled it.

The pirate laughed, and took her free hand in his, pulled it up and kissed the back of her hand. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl."

"Yes, she is beautiful, and I'm the luckiest guy on the planet to be going out with her," Jason said, giving the pirate a side eye.

Kelsi glanced between Jason and the pirate, noting the perturbed look on Jason's face.

"Thank you for my flower," Kelsi said politely. "We'd better get back to our friends."

"Sure thing," the pirate said. "Happy New Year!"

Jason and Kelsi made their way back toward their friends, as they were walking seeing that Zeke had disappeared and that only Chad and Taylor remained. The couple were not so discreetly engaged in a lip lock. Jason didn't say anything at first, but finally said, "That guy wanted you."

"Huh?" Kelsi said, a little blankly.

"The balloon man," Jason elaborated. "He was hitting on you."

"He just made me a flower, is all!" Kelsi responded.

They reached comfortable earshot from Taylor and Chad, and Jason – not caring that Chad was presently occupied, said, "Danforth, can you back me up on something?"

Chad pulled away from Taylor, a shiny gloss covering his lips and the immediate area around them.

"What?" he asked, somewhat irritably.

"This dude is going around making balloons for all the little kids. He's about our age. He comes up to Kelsi, makes her a _flower – _not a dog or a giraffe, but a _flower_ – and kisses her hand and says she's beautiful… he's hitting on her, right?"

Chad didn't hesitate to respond. "Yeah, he wants to tap her."

"Maybe he was just being nice…" Kelsi said naively.

Taylor made a slight snorting sound. "Sounds to me like he was hitting on you. Just take it as a compliment. And Jason, don't stress about it."

"You're just jealous that you can't make flowers out of balloons," Kelsi said to Jason.

"No, I'm jealous that that guy was kissing my girlfriends hand."

"Even though your girlfriend only cares about you?"

Jason relented, and smiled. "Does she really?"

"Of course."

Kelsi sat back down on the rug that she and Jason were sharing on the grass, and patted the spot beside her.

"Come on. Take a gulp from your Coke so you can get out your flask and sneakily add in the bourbon," she said, before adding as an after thought. "I can't believe I am encouraging that."

Meanwhile, Zeke was meandering around the park not far away from his friends. He knew they weren't deliberately ignoring him, or excluding him. He was the one who'd gotten up and gone over to where some of his other friends were hanging out. But that too had become depressing. Evidently Paula and Marcus had become somewhat of an item, a fiery and very public kiss taking place. Liana was flirting with guy of the week – which just so happened to be the captain of the football team. A couple of the juniors on the basketball team were around, also with their girlfriends. And so Zeke headed back over to his group – to find Chad and Taylor in a liplock and Jason and Kelsi lying back on the grass with one another, engaged in a hushed conversation.

Zeke was bored to tears. Plain and simple. It was not a good omen for the year that lay ahead.

"Hey Kelsi, can I play that game on your cell phone?" Zeke called out, already reaching into Kelsi's tote bag.

"Sure," her distracted provision of permission came.

Instead of playing the game, Zeke found himself randomly going through Kelsi's contacts. There was nothing particularly interesting – until he reached S.

_Sharpay Cell._

* * *

Sharpay Evans was bored to tears.

Their vacation thus far hadn't been too bad. She'd spent countless hours shopping with Ryan. The siblings had gone to the ballet. They'd spent time at their hotel rehearsing their audition pieces for the East High's Got Talent auditions that would be held in the first week back after winter vacation. It was the most one on one time that she'd spent with her brother since the beginning of summer vacation.

But now, on New Years Eve, their parents had gone off to some party or gala or festival and Sharpay and Ryan had been dumped at a youth party being held at the hotel. A 'young adults' party as Derby Evans had optimistically dubbed it – but essentially, it was a kids party. To call it tacky would be an understatement. Ryan was in vehement agreement that it was painful being there, however it seemed somewhat sad to just lounge around in their hotel room on New Years Eve. So the young adults party it was – even if both Ryan and Sharpay were being supremely anti-social, neither of them with any interest in getting to know any of the other attendees.

They'd stationed themselves on a couch in the back corner of the room, both of them had cell phones out in front of them. Sharpay knew who Ryan was texting without him saying anything.

Sharpay's usual texting companion was her friend Lea from the country club, who attended a boarding school. She was in Paris for winter vacation with her parents, and evidently was too distracted by the Louvre and the Eiffel tower and croissants to be texting a friend. Sharpay had texted Jackie, who went to a private school on the outskirts of Albuquerque, however she was on a date with one of her school friends and so her replies were fairly infrequent. Ryan was getting replies so consistently that he'd put his phone on silent, otherwise it would be beeping every few minutes.

Sharpay had been through her inbox and sent messages, deleting unwanted messages. She'd been through and changed her profile. She'd checked her e-mails. She'd randomly flicked through the menu a hundred billion times, wanting to appear busy.

Her phone sounded with her text message tone, and she wondered whether it was Jackie or Lea who had replied.

Instead, it was a text from an unknown number.

**Hi Sharpay… just wanted to text and say hi and see what you are up to.**

Her eyes narrowed, and she immediately fired back a response.

_Who are you and how the hell did you get my phone number?_

**Oh sorry, I should have said. This is Zeke. And truthfully, I stole your number from Kelsi's phone. Do you mind? **

Sharpay softened slightly. It didn't really bother her that Zeke had her number – and if anything it came at a convenient time, when she was in need of someone to talk to.

_Not really. I'm really bored at the moment. You can entertain me. :-)_

Cell phone in hand, Sharpay kept glancing down at the screen, waiting in anticipation for it to light up again. She stood and went over to the refreshment table and retrieved a can of soda.

"Why hello there, I don't believe we've met."

Sharpay looked up sharply, seeing a tall, somewhat muscularly gorgeous guy staring down at her with a bright smile.

"Hello," she said, somewhat uncertainly.

Sharpay was a young, single and free woman – certainly free to converse with aforementioned tall, muscularly gorgeous male. However 'get out' and 'code red' flashed through her brain.

"Oh good, you speak English. I tried to make small talk with this guy earlier and he responded in French. I had to use my elementary French skills to work out that he didn't speak much English," tall and gorgeous said in relief.

Sharpay didn't care whether he had elementary French skills or Spanish skills or Swahili skills. Casually, she opened her phone and shot off a quick text to Zeke. _I need you to call me. Right now. _If there was a way she could have bolded or underlined via text, she would have.

"Well, we are in Montreal," Sharpay said, buying time from the inevitable, 'So what's your name and what are you doing here' conversation that was impending.

"I think most of them also speak English here. From my short conversation with the kid, I think he was actually from France. Or, maybe it was New Caledonia. I'm not entirely sure."

Sharpay's phone began to ring and she put on her best apologetic face as she glanced at the screen – confirming that it was Zeke who was calling.

"Hi baby," Sharpay cooed into her cell.

_"Err… hi… Sharpay,"_ Zeke said, somewhat hesitantly, off put by her term of endearment.

"I'm so glad that you called, it's like you knew that I was thinking about you.."

_"Uh… you told me to call, didn't you? Did I get that wrong?"_

"No no, I'm not too busy to talk at all. I'm just at this youth party at my hotel, this young gentlemen just came up to talk to me."

_"You asked me to call you right when a guy came up to… ohhh you wanted me to interrupt, right. I get it."_

"I've missed you so much, baby. I wish you were here."

Zeke's loud laugh came through the speaker – finding it rather ironic that he was getting a glimpse into the exact kind of conversation he'd love to be having with Sharpay, and it was all a show to get out of talking to some guy.

_"Well I kinda wish I was there too. Albuquerque blows, and all these people around me are being all gross and coupley."_

"This sounds very serious. I can't hear well in here, let me just say good bye and move away so I can hear you properly." Sharpay didn't even bother to cover the mouth piece.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," she said in a false brightness. "But I really must take this call. Toodles!"

She didn't even give tall and gorgeous the chance to reply, before bringing the phone back up to her ear and quickly striding away from the refreshment table.

"Now, where were we? Right, this serious matter," she said into the phone, taking a precaution just in case the guy had some kind of super sonic hearing.

_"Why didn't you want to talk to him?_" Zeke asked. _"Was he ugly?"_

"Um… not really. He was pretty cute, I guess," she confessed, her voice low.

"So, why not talk to him then?" Zeke persisted. _"Is it… coz of Troy?"_

"No, it's not," Sharpay said – her words completely true. In fact, she was surprised to hear Zeke suggest that perhaps Troy was relevant to the situation. "I'm… I've moved on from that."

"Is it about… anyone?" he pressed – and if Sharpay wasn't mistaken, she knew exactly who he meant by _anyone._

It would have been so easy to say 'no.' To spin a speech about enjoying being a young, free, independent woman in the 2000's. Or to make up a fictional character, perhaps someone from dance class, or someone she'd met through the country club.

Maybe it was something in the Canadian air, maybe it was the anonymity of conversing over the phone – or maybe it was that Sharpay was becoming tired of remaining complacent to the way she was beginning to feel whilst around him. But in that moment, she didn't respond with no, she didn't give a girl power speech, she didn't make up a brooding knight waiting for her back in Albuquerque.

"I don't know yet."

_"But… it could be? Maybe?"_

He'd given her yet another out.

She could have taken it.

"Maybe," Sharpay replied.

In the background, Sharpay could hear a countdown beginning, people chanting _60 59, 58…_

_"Is that people counting?" _Zeke asked.

"Yeah, Montreal is two hours ahead of you. So… it's almost the New Year."

Both ends of the line fell silent as they listened to the excited youths counting down in the background.

_"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_

_"Happy New Year, Sharpay."_

"Happy New Year, Zeke." Sharpay cleared her throat. "I'd better go find Ryan."

_"'Okay."_

"Umm… have a good night. If they keep ignoring you, just scream at them or something, that's pretty rude of them."

Zeke laughed. _"I'll keep that in mind."_ He paused. _"Hey Sharpay?"_

"Yeah?"

_"How does 2008 look?"_

Sharpay thought for a moment, and even glanced around the room at the people who were hugging, and others who were standing out on the balcony watching the fireworks.

"Not much different to 2007, so far anyway," she said. "But… I'm hoping it's better. Different, in a good way."

_"It's up to you to make it different."_

* * *

They'd danced around slight references to wanting privacy on New Years Eve for a pointed reason. And as they'd began kissing among the wave of post present exchange love and adoration, there was no need to discuss blatantly where it was heading. They'd individually done the mental calculations, they'd worked out that the parents would be out until after midnight; that even if they came back, from the loft Troy and Gabriella would be able to hear their return and throw on clothing. Neither had given it great deal of contemplation, it took about two seconds to justify the situation within their brain. It was New Years Eve, it was the one year anniversary of their meeting, they were hopelessly in love with the other and feeling a desperate desire to feel and touch and taste their lover.

And so it would be.

The presents and champagne had been left in the living room, along with their coats. Only a bottle of water was brought up into the loft, and set down onto the bedside table. Troy climbed up first, then held out his hand to assist Gabriella in the final steps of the ascent. Finally they were both standing within the semi sanctuary of the loft, in a completely empty condo.

A year ago, the pair had met and both had felt the instant spark. Neither had understood at the time exactly what it meant; but even as they'd returned to their lives expecting to never cross paths again, they'd been unable to deny that certain something that they'd both felt that fated evening.

A year later – and there was no doubting that the same spark existed, and that spark had ignited a roaring flame. With every graze of the lips, with every dance of the tongue, with every caress of warm flesh – the spark was ignited. It was a kiss of lust, a kiss of passion, a kiss of love. The air was filled by the soft sounds of a mixed CD put into the DVD player and the gasps and mewls of the couple in the loft. Hands roamed over the fabric covering each others bodies; Troy's hands ran down Gabriella's sides, his thumbs grazing teasingly against her breasts, Gabriella's hands up Troy's legs and diverting around to his hip.

As they sank down onto the lower double bunk, Troy's hand carefully held the back of Gabriella's head, ensuring that she didn't knock herself on the metal rod of the single top bunk. He hovered above her as the languorous kiss continued, her fingers deftly prying at the buttons of his light blue button up shirt, revealing the defined contours of his chest. She pulled the material away from his shoulders and off one arm and then the other. His hands began to roam a little more liberally, cupping at her breasts and squeezing gently, and then tracing a path down south, along the smooth fabric of her knee length skirt. His fingers began to bunch up the material, allowing him to graze his hand upon her thigh – at which point he realised for the first time that she'd removed the stockings that she'd been wearing earlier.

Troy pulled away from her lips, pausing to glance down at her sleek, bare legs.

"I took them off when I went to get your presents. They were itching my legs," Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded slightly, and took the broken kiss as an opportunity to grasp the hem of her blouse and pull the material above her head – revealing a scant, lacy, deep purple bra. The sight of the smooth flesh of the swell of her breast was enticing, Troy's hands gently cupping them from below and suckling at her bare skin from above, trailing a soft lick across the top of her right breast, tracing down to just above where the lace of the two cups met in the centre, and then back up to suckle at her left breast.

Gabriella's ragged breathing was indicative of the sensations he was inducing in her, and so far only her blouse had been removed. Her hands began to deviate, finding their way to unclasp the silver buckle of his belt, and then the button and fly of his black slacks. Somehow, he managed to continue the contact with his lips and her flesh, and also assist in shimmying his pants off, and then kicked them onto the floor. Her soft hands stroked down the hard warmth of his muscular back, her right index finger tracing along the line at the centre of his back before her hands came to rest upon his grey boxer briefs, gently caressing at his buttocks. Troy's suckles moved up, planting a trail of soft kisses, nibbles and licks up her chest and then to the crook of her neck.

"Mmm Troy…" Gabriella gasped.

Her hands grasped onto his cheeks a little harder before gliding back up over his back and raking through the hair at the nape of his neck. He halted his assault upon her neck and their lips met once again in a zealous kiss.

Her pencil skirt was proving to be impairing her mobility, and so Gabriella blatantly guided his hand to her side to pull down the zipper, and lifted her hips from the bed to allow him to shimmy the fabric down her slender legs and discard the item onto the rug. Without desisting from their kiss, she managed to manoeuvre her weight so that she was now straddling him, with her body flush against his as they continued with their lip lock. His hands rested upon her shoulder blades, running down to rest upon the back of her bra, and then continued down her lower back, until they passed the top of her lacy underwear and reached smooth flesh of her exposed backside.

His eyes widened, feeling himself harden as he realised what was happening, and then again paused his kissing to allow himself to look down – and confirm with the intoxicating sight of the scrap of lacy material that was masquerading for underwear. She would typically wear lacy boy shorts on days which may potentially lead to physical interaction with her boyfriend, and it was only in a semi inebriated state at Paula's Halloween party that he'd seen her wearing something more scant. A slightly throaty grunt escaped from his mouth at the mere visual.

"I may have changed into this when I took off my stockings," Gabriella informed him, a teasing, coy smile dancing upon her lips. "I can't stand the damn things, so I could never put up with wearing it all night, but I thought you might…"

Troy's lips smashed into hers, interrupting her sentence. His hands toyed with the top strip of the lacy, deep purple material and then gently squeezed and caressed her rounded ass. Gabriella's hands meanwhile were tracing patterns over the contours of his chest which had experienced a phenomenal increase in its definition over the last year. As she straddled him, she was gently rocking backwards and forwards, the increasingly damp lacy material grinding against the hardness which was being confined by his grey boxer briefs. His hands moved up from her buttocks and returned to the back of her bra, his fingers managing to undo the clasp of her bra, the two halves parting and the delicate purple lace fell away, exposing her pert breasts and hardened nipples.

With her weight still creating a friction against his hardness, his head lifted from the pillow to lightly lick and tease at her breast. He was focusing on the upper swell of the right breast, before switching to the left and then moving to the underside. His tongue circled around the circumference of her areola, eliciting a sudden intake of breath from his girlfriend. Her hands continued to rake through his hair, massaging at his scalp, a sensation which he found utterly intoxicating. As her pants and ragged breaths escalated, she kneaded at his scalp a little harder, her nipples aching to feel the sensation of his wet, warm tongue against them. It seemed that he was refusing to cooperate by fulfilling her desire, instead lifting his head and once again allowing their lips to connect, tongues dancing and probing. It wasn't exactly a bad alternative though.

It was Gabriella whose lips next went wandering, shimmying down his body to allow her tongue to explore the nooks and crevasses of his God like frame. In a similar fashion to him, she trailed circles around his nipples, before moving to the contours of his compact abdomen.

Gabriella had seen all of Troy in dozens of ways. She'd seen him naked; she'd seen him wearing layers of snow climate clothing; and she'd seen him with various clothing types between the two extremes. Board shorts, tuxedos, scruffy jeans, random costumes for _Twinkle Towne_ and _Once Upon A Time_. She'd seem him with morning hair and sleep in his eye; she'd seen him with food smeared across his face.

It didn't matter how she saw him.

It was irrefutable that Troy Bolton was utterly sublime.

Kissing, touching, tasting his body – it wasn't only about teasing him; it served as a means of heightening her own arousal. And so she allowed herself to bask in his skin, concentrating upon every inch of exposed flesh of his torso. She tugged his boxer briefs down just a touch further, allowing her to nip and kiss down the left defined line of the prominent V of his pelvic region, and then skipped over to trace up the line which was mirrored on his right side.

"Fuck Gabi…" Troy groaned.

She moved over to where his left arm was splayed palm beside his body; taking his index and middle fingers in her hand, she suckled lightly at the tips of his fingers, swirling her tongue around in an innuendo filled fashion before gently placing his arm back onto the bed, still palm facing toward the ceiling, and suckling at his wrist lightly. She traced a line up his forearm, using his basilic vein as a path. She paused midway, at the crook of his elbow, where she licked and nipped and teased, taking his skin between her teeth gently. She hadn't expected the escalation in his pants in response to this – and filed away this information into her list of Troy's sweet spots. She continued her path, again using his vein, her tongue lapping tantalisingly up and up, until she'd pressed her lips to his, initiating a steamy, luxurious kiss.

Now side by side, almost simultaneously, the lovers reached down to remove the final items which were preventing them from lying together without any barriers. Gabriella's hand grazed against Troy's erection which was evidently straining to be freed from its cotton prison, and she then hooked her thumbs beneath the elastic waistband, sitting up slightly to assist in removing the article completely. His erection immediately popped up, her delicate fingers beginning to gently toy with the head. Troy's hand made its way down her silky smooth skin, as they kissed slowly, his fingertips stroking her thigh, gradually moving up until he was just inches away from her lace covered mound. Finally, he allowed his thumb to graze against the damp material and stroke lightly, teasingly. He wasn't oblivious to her writhing, as though trying to position herself to force his fingers to deftly rub against her nub. She was paying him back for his teasing, not stroking his hard length and instead continuing to lightly run her fingers along his length, around the circumference of his balls, back along his shaft. Troy's index finger finally plunged beneath the purple lace, teasing her wet folds. Gabriella moaned into his kiss, desperate to feel more.

Troy somewhat obliged, and finally removed Gabriella's panties and discarded the final item of clothing onto the floor. Her legs immediately parted ever so slightly, being accommodating to whatever stimulation method he may choose to wreak, providing a vision of her glistening womanhood.

The electric heater was on full blast, but there was a heat of a different kind being generated in the loft of the Bolton-Montez winter vacation condo.

With no barriers between them, the gentle teasing escalated into direct teasing. Lying in an entangled position upon their sides, each was focused upon using their hands to teasingly stimulate the other. Gabriella had coyly acquired a lubricating substance from her own body, and then finally wrapped her hand around his increasingly hardening length, falling into a rhythmic up down stroke, with her other hand lightly toying with his balls. Troy had teased at first, allowing his fingers to glide everywhere and anywhere – except where she wanted them the most. His index and middle fingers slid into her tepid, glistening depths; curling slightly and thrusting. She was writhing, desperately wanting to feel his touch against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her strokes of his organ became harder, faster, more emphatic, as she attempted to encourage him to touch her exactly where she desired. He sensed this desperation, and purposely avoided fulfilling it, continuing to tease around.

He broke their kiss, his lips deviating down her neck and back to her chest, licking and suckling down the valley between her breasts and then at the underside of her left breast. His tongue began to trace circles around her areola, imitating the pattern of his index finger around her clit. His tongue finally began to suckle at her nipple, however his finger continued to avoid her nub encircling around ever so slowly, managing to remain steady despite the desperate writhing of her hips. Finally he yielded to her desires, and grazed his finger over her clit, eliciting a sharp cry and a shudder, and he then began to flick gently, and then with a little more force. He hadn't quite realised just the effect that his teasing had caused, and it was to Troy's pleasant surprise when it took less than a minute of contact with her the bundle of nerves for her to cry out in unadulterated pleasure, hit by climax. The sight of her orgasm never failed to be an incredible turn on for Troy, and his already hardened member hardened even further.

He continued to massage at her folds lightly, continuing to tease throughout her orgasm and then in the aftermath, preparing her for the inevitable union that he was desperate to move along to. Gabriella had found that since they'd first made love, the sensation of an external orgasm left her yearning to experience the sensation of his member inside of her.

"Troy?" Gabriella panted between ragged breaths.

"Mmm?" came Troy's own throaty response.

"I… I want…"

"What do you want, baby?" Troy cooed.

"You," she panted, chocolate orbs staring into his smoky blue gaze for a moment, before nipping at his neck and murmuring teasingly, "Do we need to go down and get your new wallet?

Troy growled in admonishment for her teasing insinuation that he wasn't capable of being prepared; and returned the nip, biting the flesh of her neck lightly, the skin being taken between his teeth. He pressed a tender kiss to her lips before retracting his fingers from her womanhood and moving off the bed and striding over to where his suitcase was in the corner with piles of clothes strewn about haphazardly nearby. Just as he'd known precisely where her presents where, he also knew very specifically where the condoms were. He retrieved a handful, dumped the spares onto the bedside table, and then turned to gaze at his girlfriends naked form as she lay coyly on the bed. A sight that never failed to ignite a reaction.

She lay there naked – naked except for the jewellery which decorated her. She'd already taken out her earrings, back when she'd removed her stockings and changed her panties, which left Gabriella wearing two pieces of jewellery. There was the a silver chain around her neck, the bold T resting against her flesh; and a brand new white gold ring, with its modest diamonds glistening in the dim light.

Branded.

Branded by him.

He knelt on the bed, and Gabriella was quick to seize the condom from him and gently push at his shoulder, wordlessly telling him that she wanted him to be lying down. He wasn't about to protest.

"Careful," Troy warned, as Gabriella shifted into position.

He was glancing at where the single bunk was above them. Gabriella nodded, ensuring they were on the far side of the double bottom bunk without a dangerous covering above them. She settled herself straddling his thighs as she tore off the silver foil packaging and was left holding onto the rubber, sheathing his hardened length in its protective cover.

She positioned herself, the depths of her wet channel sliding down to encase his organ. Gabriella couldn't help but momentarily reflect upon the changes in her life. New Years Eve is often an evening spent feeling remorse about all the things that were set out to be achieved the year passed, that were never even close to being fulfilled. Maybe it was simply a reflection of her age, a reflection of the changes and growth and experience which is inherent to the life of an adolescent. But nevertheless, Gabriella couldn't help but think about how this guy, this man, had changed her life and turned her whole world upside down.

She had little doubt that Troy would love for her to remain upright throughout, that he would revel in the eroticism of it. But even without having directly discussed it with her, he seemed to intrinsically understand that despite the benefits of the intoxicating sensation, that for Gabriella it lacked a certain intimacy and connection that she desired. Bringing her flush down against him allowed for the angle of entry, and it also created a scenario where it allowed both of them to contribute to the love making. Where it was not only Troy driving himself upwards to thrust into her opening, but it was also Gabriella moving herself down and up in time with his rhythm, adding to the depth of penetration.

"I love you," Gabriella murmured, lifting her head to capture his lips with her own. He returned the kiss fervently, before breaking away, his ragged breaths prevented an extended kissing session.

"Love you too," Troy panted, before thrusting in a little harder.

She loved the feeling of connection, feeling truly at one with him. She and Troy had reached a point in their relationship where it often felt like they were in fact a single entity, where they spent so little time apart, where they finished each other's sentences and voiced each others thoughts. However when they made love, she really and truly could allow herself to believe that they were one entity, connected not only physically but on so many other levels. The sensations would rise in levels, with the initial moments of readjusting to the sensation of being united; and the final level writhing and revelling in the sensations that were building. There was a time in the middle, that time when their bodies had reaccustomed to the sensation and they were moving together, when Gabriella felt the unity the most. When she felt like a part of her could remain in this realm of sensation forever.

Except that in their current position she knew that it wasn't going to last forever – Troy in particular wasn't going to.

Head buried beside his, Gabriella throatily murmured into Troy's ear, "Baby, can we try something else?"

Troy nodded – there was a part of him which just wanted to thrust into her over and over until his climax arrived. But there was also the part of him that was utterly enamoured when she would experiment, when she would want to try something new. He was at mercy to her every whim and beck and call. And so he allowed her to pull herself off his length, to guide them to change positions so that she was lying back with him on top of her. He gently thrust into her, his organ encased again by the warmth of her channel. Gabriella drew her knees up, and then without breaking their connection, gently rolled them onto their sides.

Gabriella wasn't the only one capable of researching and delving into options for their burgeoning sex life. Troy may not have issues of Cosmo in his possession, but he was more than capable of using Google and then erasing the internet history – should his parents become nosy and pry in his laptop. And so immediately, Troy immediately understood precisely what Gabriella was going.

"Trying to prolong this, are you?" Troy murmured huskily into her ear, peppering kisses along her neck as he gently thrust in and out of her depths.

"You been researching?" Gabriella panted, clutching to his back.

"Uh huh. Wanted to look at… ways that'll be good for both of us."

"So sweet… love you," Gabriella gasped, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, lingering for a moment before pulling back.

"I love that you think that's sweet… and I think… that when you look at this stuff… it's so…" Troy's raspy remark paused, kissing her. "Fucking." Another kiss. "Sexy." He pressed another kiss to her lips, the kiss continuing and becoming longer, steamier.

Troy could feel already that through this position, his climax wasn't building as quickly as it usually would – which he suspected Gabriella was appreciating. As a seventeen year old male, he was aware that longevity was his most lacking attribute – to his own dismay. The pants and mewls and increasingly ragged breathing on her part was evidence that she was enjoying the intimacy, enjoying the extended time of their union. It was an incredibly intimate position, bodies flush together, her legs wrapped around him, in perfect arrangement to kiss and caress and hear the vocal expressions of their partner in response to their love making.

As they slowly approached the culmination of ecstasy, it was Gabriella who instigated the shift in position, again returning into position with her straddling him from above, allowing him a little reprieve and taking control. Gabriella was permitting herself to be stimulated by the unique angle of penetration, with Troy's hand reaching up to flick gently at her clit.

"Oh fuck baby… so good…" Troy groaned as her body lifted up and down, sheathing his organ, rising and then once again encasing it in her velvet warmth.

Her gasps and moans were indicative that her own climax was building, and Troy placed his hands upon the small of her back to guide her to lean forward once again, lips meeting in a fiery kiss as their hips both thrust in a frenzied motion, Troy propelling up and Gabriella shifting down simultaneously, allowing for maximum infiltration.

"Oh my God… shit… Troy…" Gabriella panted.

Gabriella was catapulted over the edge first, and as she collapsed on top of Troy in a writhing, panting heap, it took only a few more thrusts for his own orgasm to arrive. Names were panted, expletives were cried. Precisely one year after Troy and Gabriella's relationship had began that fateful evening, one year after they'd so innocently sang and conversed about singing into showerheads whilst drinking hot chocolate – their lovemaking culminated in an ecstasy ridden, insatiably blissful climax.

* * *

"2 minutes 53, 2 minutes 52, 2 minutes 51…"' A child was chanting from a nearby family picnic blanket.

"Okay, counting down from a minute I understand. But from _five minutes _is ridiculous," Chad grumbled.

"Didn't you used to get really excited about midnight when you were a kid?" Taylor asked.

"I was excited about being allowed to stay up til midnight. But I didn't annoy everyone around me by counting down from five minutes."

"You're like the new years grinch, I think it's cute that he's all excited," Kelsi said, staring at the child with a smile upon her face.

"Okay, let's get ready!" Zeke declared.

He reached into their bag of snacks and supplies to acquire the party poppers they'd purchased at the grocery score. He distributed the poppers amongst them all, it was a pack of twelve so they each got two and Chad and Kelsi got a third in accordance with the standard shotgun rule.

When it reached 60 seconds until midnight, Jason, Taylor, Kelsi and Zeke began to count down. At thirty seconds, Chad joined in. And as the countdown to midnight was completed and the crowd at the park began to wish one another a happy new year, the fireworks display began to explode into a colourful array of light.

The couples exchanged brief New Years kisses – aware of Zeke's awkwardness, the guys turned to shake their buddy's hand, while both Kelsi and Taylor gave Zeke a kiss on the cheek. Other friends and acquaintances ran over, New Years hugs and handshakes being exchanged. Cell phones were going off with cheery New Years Eve messages from loved ones.

Zeke was in the midst of typing out a standardised group New Years text message, allowing his friends to make out with their partners while he was otherwise occupied.

Before he'd even had the chance to send his text message, his cell vibrated in his hand and beeped. Zeke saved the text he was typing and went to check his message.

_Happy New Year. –SE_

Zeke smiled broadly. It would be almost 2am for Sharpay. If she was going to send out a group text, wouldn't she have sent it two hours earlier, when it had struck midnight in Montreal? He was fairly certain that she was sending that text to him and only to him.

**Happy new year, Sharpay. -Zeke**

* * *

The town of Breckenridge was letting off an elaborate, colourful and grand fireworks display at midnight in commemoration of the new year. Visitors of their lodge been told that if they went outside the condo, they'd have a decent view of the display; and that if they made the effort to head down to the front of the lodge, the view would be even better.

Troy and Gabriella didn't need fireworks.

"Happy New Year, Troy," Gabriella murmured.

"Happy New Year, Gabriella," Troy responded softly.

As midnight struck and they could hear the first bang of the fireworks in town, the couple wordlessly leaned forward and exchanged a soft, tender kiss.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**Frequently Asked Questions/Comments I Need To Address**

Last chapter there were a few comments from people being concerned about the parents walking in on them and other similar things – yes, technically this could be a concern but that really wasn't the point of the chapter. I'm not even going to address that point within this chapter itself. If this is going to epically bother you, let's pretend that just after midnight they got dressed and went down from the loft and snuggled on the couch and then their parents came back in a tipsy stupor and woke them up and they went to bed. Separately. I know that before there's been the whole tension of 'ooh will the parents walk in on them' but that really wasn't the point last chapter. The point was that sometimes sex doesn't need to be a big deal, sometimes it doesn't need to be about trying to organise the perfect time and place. Sometimes it just presents itself and in the moment everything is right. Also just to clarify – the parents know that they have taken this step in their relationship, that they've had sex. I have referenced this earlier in the piece. If this is a big revelation for anyone, let me know and I can respond and highlight/clarify for you where we've learnt this

**Thoughts and Well Wishes**

My thoughts are with those who have been directly or indirectly affected by the tragic bush fires currently going on in Victoria, Australia.

**Thank you's and Apologies.**

I would like to thank Valentina Hasan and Bulgarian Idol for enlightening my life with the tale of Ken Lee. I would like to apologise to Harry Nilsson, Mariah Carey and anyone else who has released a version of 'Ken Lee' a.k.a. 'Without You' for further bastardising the song. :-) If you don't know what I'm talking about, YouTube 'Ken Lee Bulgarian Idol' and your life will be changed forever.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

_You're never gonna be alone from this moment on_

_If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall_

_When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on_

_We're gonna see the world out, I'll hold you til the hurt is gone_

**Nickelback 'Never Gonna Be Alone'**

* * *

"No. You will not be driving," Lucille said firmly. "That's final."

Troy let out an exasperated sigh, glancing at his mother who was seated to his left with a pleading look. "Puh-lease?! You guys are just going to wander around in Denver, anyway. It's a city, you can walk around, you don't need a car! And I'm a good driver, you know that."

Elena spoke up from the driver's seat of the rental vehicle, glancing back at Troy in the rear vision mirror as she spoke. "Troy, it's not that I don't trust your driving skills. After all, I have let you drive my car. _And_ I let you drive my daughter around all the time. But you're seventeen, which means you are not covered as an authorised driver of this rental car."

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Troy said, rather naively.

Jack swivelled around from the front passenger seat, glancing back at where his wife, son and son's girlfriend were seated in the back. It was a tight squeeze, the trunk wasn't built for five suitcases and so there was a suitcase wedged on the floor beneath Lucille's feet, and Gabriella and Troy were nursing another suitcase.

"And if they do find out, we can get severely penalised. And if something, God forbid, did go wrong – you wouldn't be covered under the insurance," Jack pointed out.

When Gabriella had approached her mother the previous afternoon enquiring about the possibility of returning to Littleton with Troy, Elena had been pleasantly surprised. Visiting her father's grave was such an important day of the year for Gabriella, as had been demonstrated through the extremity of her reaction upon being told of the possibility of not being able to return to Colorado over New Years. In previous years, that day would come, and then Gabriella would, on the whole, try to move on and put that day behind for yet another year. Her desire to return was significant; and her desire to return and let Troy into that part of her life was instrumental.

The group had been required to check out from their condo no later than 10 in the morning, and they were all on a return flight which departed from Denver International Airport at 6:15pm. So while the parents killed time in Denver; the parents were more than willing to accommodate Gabriella's request and allow the pair to spend a few hours alone in Littleton. It was a choice between driving them down personally or leaving them to get public transport – there was no way that they were going to allow them access to the rental car.

"Troy, it's fine, the light rail is really good. It goes right down into Littleton. From the station we can walk to the cemetery," Gabriella said softly.

"But what about all the other stuff we wanted to do?" Troy asked quietly, engaging in their own conversation, separate to his mother beside him and his father and Gabriella's mother in the front.

"The other stuff doesn't matter, that's not why I want to go."

Troy's hand enveloped over hers, and squeezed gently. "Okay then. The light rail it is."

* * *

There were three things that Chad loved about his new bedroom.

1. It was down the opposite end of the corridor from his mother's room.

2. There was a lock on the bedroom door.

3. There was a miniature basketball hoop on the back of his door.

However that Tuesday morning, none of the three things he loved about his room mattered in the slightest. Because his mom and sister were both out, so there was no need for the lock to be used. And Chad's hands were somewhat preoccupied, and the basketball hoop was the furthest thing from his mind.

In that very moment, there was one thing that he loved about his room.

He loved that Taylor was in it.

Not only that Taylor was in it, but that she was lying back on his bed, her hands clutching at his abs, little mewls escaping from her mouth in the middle of their steamy make out session. They'd genuinely made plans to study for midterms – at Chad's suggestion. They were coming in a few weeks time, and Chad knew that once the Bolton's returned from vacation, training would resume at quadruple its regular intensity up until the championships. With official basketball scholarship offers already on the table, the pressure to do well in his exams was off – but at the same time, Chad knew that his mother wouldn't be impressed in the slightest if he let his studies go downhill again. Besides, he didn't like feeling like a dummy either, he was more than capable of maintaining a C average.

Study had morphed into talking, talking had morphed into playful tickling – which then morphed into heated, passionate, steamy making out. A first for Take 2 of the Chad and Taylor relationship.

She'd already yanked off his green t-shirt with a slogan reading 'Procrastinators of the World Unite – Tomorrow' off and tossed it onto the carpet, with his white long sleeved undershirt immediately following. Chad had instinctively began to unbutton her blouse – and then suddenly halted.

"Is this… too fast?" Chad murmured, breaking apart from her kiss.

Taylor shook her head, smiling at him alluringly. "No."

"Good," Chad responded.

He continued to multi task; both kissing her and also nimbly undoing the buttons of her long sleeved blouse. She sat up from the bed for long enough to allow him to discard the black material, revealing a turquoise lacy bra.

"Is it true that girls only wear lacy underwear when they want to have sex?" Chad asked teasingly.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Don't ruin the moment, Danforth."

"Apologies," he said in a hushed tone, before allowing their lips to once again reconnect.

Lying beside one another on the black, white and red striped bedspread; their lips were fused together, legs were entangled, and hands were roaming. Taylor was re-familiarising her hands with the hardness of Chad's chest and back and arms, tracing down the line of the centre of the back, over his abs and pecs, down his arms. Meanwhile Chad's hands were recalling the softness of the supple swell of Taylor's ample breasts. Their lips parted at his bidding, allowing him to move down to teasingly suckle at her neck, and then down her chest and to the uncovered cleavage. He was sucking and nibbling upon the upper side of her right breast, his fingers then gently tugging the lacy covering to pull it down, just barely revealing the top of her areola and nipple. Chad's thumb deftly flicked across the nub, before his tongue trailed down and flicked.

"Fuck Chad…" Taylor gasped.

He smiled into her breast, continuing with the motion, meanwhile caressing her left breast with his hand.

It was the shrill sound of the telephone ringing which interrupted the moment. Chad let out a slight grunt, perfectly content to let it ring and allow the answering machine to pick up.

"Chad!" Taylor murmured. "You should get it."

"Nah, it can…"

"It could be your mom," she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes, and heaved himself up off the bed and darted down the corridor and into his mother's room where there was a phone extension.

"Hello?" his somewhat impatient greeting said.

"_Chad? It's your father."_

Chad made a face, although he was surprised that his father was calling when he'd seen him just a week earlier.

"Hi dad, what's going on?" Chad asked, carrying the portable phone back with him through to his own bedroom.

"Are you at home?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Well, I just answered the house phone, didn't I?"

He re-entered his bedroom, and saw Taylor lying back on his bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. He rolled his eyes and mouthed 'sorry' to her, and Taylor waved her hand away at him, curiously listening into Chad's end of the conversation.

"Oh, right," his father chuckled. "I thought I dialled your cell for a moment there. Listen, I'm just in the car with a work colleague of mine, she was driving down to Albuquerque for a business meeting so I figured I'd hitch a ride with her and then drive your old car back with me to take to my friend to get ready for sale. It is currently in good enough order to drive right?"

"Yeah, should be right. Might need some gas, though."

"That's fine, I can handle that. I'll be there soon."

"Do you have the address for our new place?"

"Yes, your mother e-mailed it to me. I'm not too far away, so I'll arrive shortly."

"Okay then."

Chad hit the end call button and tossed the phone down onto the bed in a disgruntled fashion. "Well, that puts an end to things," he announced. "At least for now, anyway. That was my dad; he's coming to pick up my old car, like soon. Does he just expect that I'm available whenever he wants me to be available? What if I'd been working, I have been doing extra shifts at the grocery store."

Taylor reached down and picked up her button up shirt, and also Chad's long sleeved undershirt and t-shirt, tossing the two items to him.

"Do you need to clear anything out of the old car?" she asked.

Chad shook his head. "No I've done all that, but I guess I'd better drive it over here, it's parked in one of the spare resident parks at the moment."

Mr. Danforth hadn't been exaggerating when he said he'd be over soon. Chad had just walked back in the door after moving his new car into the garage and bringing the old car up into the driveway when the buzzer went off. Chad called his father through, giving him instructions on how to get to their townhouse.

"Uh… do you just want me to hide upstairs?" Taylor asked hesitantly from behind.

Chad spun around. "Huh?"

"Well… you didn't exactly plan for me to meet your father so I thought maybe…" she trailed off.

"You can meet him, I don't mind. I don't really… I mean it's not a big deal to me. Not because of you! I'm not saying that _you're _not a big deal, or that _we're_ not a big deal. But… that _he's_ not a big deal to me. I don't care what he thinks. The only reason he knows anything about you is because Jayme was talking about you."

"She was?" Taylor asked, her face brightening up.

"Yes, and it was annoying as fuck," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, point being, no hiding upstairs! He'll be here for like, three seconds anyway. Just long enough for me to hand over the keys, I bet."

The solid knock came at the front door moments later, and Chad swiftly moved over to answer it. Taylor hung toward the back of the entrance way, overhearing Chad's gruff, "Hi dad."

"Hey Chad," his father said simply. "Hope you weren't busy doing anything, I know I didn't give you much warning."

Chad shrugged, and stepped back to allow his father to step inside. "I was just studying for midterms. Um…" Chad motioned to where Taylor was standing. "This is my…" he trailed off, glanced at her for a split second and then hastily reworded, "This is Taylor. Taylor McKessie. Taylor, my dad."

She wasn't oblivious to the pause, nor was she upset about it. They hadn't quite reached the point of redefining their relationship again. All she knew was that over the last month, things has taken a turn for the good.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Danforth," Taylor said politely, extending her hand.

"Likewise," he said, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. He then turned back to his son. "So, where are the keys for your Hyundai?"

Chad had to refrain from rolling his eyes. He'd just introduced his father to a girl who his dad knew he'd been dating seriously and had started seeing again, and the man barely blinked an eyelid. Straight to business, as per usual.

"Right here," Chad said, taking them out of his pocket. He'd kept them in his pocket, ensuring they were handy for the moment his father would arrive.

"Let's go have a look at her then, I saw her in the driveway. She doesn't look too bad, but from what I hear it's the inside that is the problem."

Taylor followed the Danforth father and son out the front door to where the vehicle in the driveway. Chad tossed the keys to his father, who went around and popped the hood.

"Uh, the spark plugs are pretty much brand new," Chad identified.

Mr. Danforth continued to poke and prod, making various remarks about the vehicle, instructing Chad to go around and start the engine. Taylor had to avert her eyes from staring at Chad. She wasn't one to buy into stereotypes of gender roles but she found something innately attractive about him looking at the inner workings of the car. Perhaps it was because Taylor found it all rather mystifying herself – or that she'd never really bothered to try to learn anything mechanical.

Finally Mr. Danforth seemed satisfied that he'd gotten enough information with Chad about the problems that had been going on with the vehicle, and closed the hood.

And the following words that popped out of his father's mouth were the last words that Chad would have ever expected.

"While I'm here, why don't we go grab lunch? We could go to that place you used to love going to… umm… where was it? That 50's diner?"

"66 Diner," Chad provided dubiously, surprised that his father remembered.

"That's the one! Just up the road from the UNM campus."

"Uh… I'm kinda hanging with Taylor today," Chad said. "Studying for midterms, like I said."

"Um, we can take a raincheck, if you want," Taylor said awkwardly. She wasn't sure if Chad was trying to get out of the lunch, or if he genuinely felt bad about changing their plans. "We can study another time."

"No, I feel bad bailing," Chad insisted.

"Why don't we all go to lunch together?" Mr. Danforth suggested. "You'll need to take a break for lunch soon, anyway, won't you? Why not eat something delicious? My treat."

Chad looked at Taylor, and she gave him a small smile, indicating that she was okay with it if that was what he wanted. Chad relented. "Okay sure. Why not?"

"Great!" Mr. Danforth's loud, booming, over-enthusiastic voice came. "I'll just take this car with me now and go grab some gas, and you kids can drive and meet me there."

* * *

Gabriella and her mother's returns to Littleton had been fairly infrequent; only returning for their winter vacation over the past five years. Despite the infrequency of their visits, Gabriella knew the pathway from the parking area to her father's grave like she knew her two times table. Without having any official knowledge of the fact, Gabriella suspected that Troy hadn't spent a lot of time in cemeteries over the years. In fact he'd only twice been to a cemetery, once for his grandfather's funeral four years earlier, and once about two and a half years earlier in a silly evening out with Chad, Jason and Zeke. She sensed his slight awkwardness, his deer in headlights expression as he slowly observed the various headstones and plaques. He was taking long routes around, and then stumbled over a large stick that he hadn't seen in front of him and accidentally trod on one of the cement engravings. He let out a gasp.

"It's okay if you inadvertently step on one. It's not… it's not like you're being deliberately disrespectful or something," Gabriella said softly.

Troy cleared his throat. "I know. It just uh… it just felt like I stepped on him, or something."

"The reality is that everywhere that you're walking in a cemetery, you're walking over buried coffins," she pointed out sadly, but matter of factly. Gabriella took his hand, entwining their fingers and squeezed, before continuing to lead Troy along the familiar route further back into the cemetery.

Within his section, he was in the sixth row back, the seventh along from the left, the thirteenth along from the right. When they were a few graves away, Gabriella dropped Troy's hand and swiftly took the final few steps forward on her own. His gait slowed, wanting to respect her privacy and give her those moments on her own, not sure exactly why it was that she wanted him to be there. Troy's eyes followed as Gabriella knelt before the headstone. As most modern graves were, it was fairly simple and modest. He watched as Gabriella's hand trailed over the text.

**Diego Bartholomeus Montez**

**04/25/65 – 10/03/02**

**Eternally loved son, brother, husband and father.**

**The spirit shall not be conquered.**

**Rest In Peace.**

She then began to fuss about with the items that she and her mother had placed there just a few days earlier. They would bring a mixture of both flowers and a few other non-perishable items – for the very reason that Gabriella now had the opportunity to observe – that the flowers really didn't last that long, particularly not in the winter air. Elena had left a small pile of pretty, multi-coloured mineral rocks; and Gabriella had left a small porcelain flower. The fresh flowers they'd placed into the vases which were dug into the ground either side of the plaque were wilted and had blown away somewhat, and Gabriella quickly began to attempt to primp them back to life. She took her water bottle out of her tote bag, pouring a little additional liquid into each.

"I'd hate to see what this looks like in a month's time, daddy," Gabriella murmured. "I guess between Uncle Adrian coming here in summer, and Aunt Maria coming during spring, it gets some extra life throughout the year."

Gabriella glanced back at where Troy was hanging back, standing just a few feet away. His hands were folded in front of him as he was staring at the grass and only looking up every so often to steal glimpses at what she was doing before him. She patted the grass beside her, wordlessly beckoning Troy to come forward. He took a deep breath and obliged, tentatively stepping forward and then kneeling beside his girlfriend in front of the headstone.

"Daddy… I want you to meet Troy. Yes, he's my boyfriend. And I know that if you'd really been able to meet him, you would have hated him at first. But I promise you that we would have fought about it and I would have won because I love him and he's been really, really good for me."

Gabriella trailed off, her fingers toying with the porcelain rose. Troy shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. He wasn't sure what Gabriella expected from him – if she wanted him to speak openly. She sensed his uncertainty, and she reached over to where his hand was clutching at his blue jeans and covered his hand in hers.

"Troy…" Gabriella began to say.

"I feel like I should say something," Troy replied softly, eyes still cast down at the grass. "You could say I've gotten it easy, meeting him without having to actually hear him speaking to me in that protective, condescending way. But I just… I haven't done this. Talked to someone… like this. I want to, but I just don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," she responded quietly, assuring him.

She was sympathetic to the awkward situation she had placed him in, by asking him to come with her. His being there was all that she expected. And so when Troy took a breath and began to speak – Gabriella was a little astonished, and incredibly touched.

"Um… hello Mr. Montez. This is… this is Troy. Your daughter's boyfriend. I umm… I know you haven't exactly had the chance to give me a foreboding warning about how I'd better not hurt Gabriella. But Ms. Montez makes up for that, she's nice to me most of the time but every so often she says something to keep me in line… except I don't really need that. Because… because I love your daughter and I promise that I'm doing my best to help look out for her. Except she's pretty amazing and doesn't really need my help anyway."

Gabriella's focus had been directly upon the stone, but as Troy spoke she'd found her attention shifting over towards him. Tears were pricking at her eyes, and she couldn't help but smile through the tears – overcome with both the grief she felt every time she was in the cemetery; and the overwhelming sensation of love for the man who, despite his awkwardness, was speaking in such a heartfelt manner.

Troy trailed off from his speech, feeling pleased that he'd found the words to speak but also a little strange for having spoken so candidly. It was only upon looking over at his tear filled girlfriend who was gazing at him in approbation, when his attention became deflected from himself.

"Was that okay?" he asked, somewhat self consciously.

This was important to Gabriella, saying something and screwing it up would be worse than just having remained mute.

She nodded, and squeezed his hand. "See daddy, I said that he's a good guy. I just… I wanted you to meet him. I feel closest to you here and so… I wanted Troy to come. I hope that's okay with you."

Gabriella swallowed, closing her eyes tightly as she willed the tears to be held back.

"Gabi?" Troy murmured. "You're allowed to cry. It doesn't make you any less stronger."

"I know that," Her hoarse reply came. "But sometimes I think that if I start crying then I won't stop."

"You'll stop. You might cry for a long time, but you'll stop. You're strong enough to make it stop."

Troy's arm grasped around Gabriella's back, his other hand soothing rubbing her upper thigh. The tears that had been pricking in her eyes began to fall, forming a glistening trail down her cheek as she was rendered incapable of holding them back any longer.

"I miss him… so much," she whispered, her voice cracking mid sentence.

"I know you do, baby," Troy said softly, continuing to rub circles upon her lower back.

It was as though something broke within her, the floodgates opening as silent tears poured from her shimmering chocolate orbs. Or perhaps, rather than something breaking, it was that something was finally right. Gabriella allowed herself to feel, allowed herself to cry.

As the tears continued to flow, her breathing shallowed, her chest congesting up. She felt herself collapsing into Troy's side – allowing herself to be enveloped and held up by Troy's weight; allowing herself to sob against him, his murmured hushed words of comfort washing over her.

She wept.

The two remained like in that position for a long time, kneeling before her father's grave. Her sobs gradually died down, but she remained clutching onto his body. For that brief moment in time she allowed herself to be comforted by someone else's strength.

After an indefinite amount of time, something clicked within Gabriella. She summoned the strength to pull away from Troy's grasp, reached out for one final, loving stroke against the stone, and rose to her feet.

"We can stay if you like," Troy assured her, his tone hushed.

"I'm ready to leave," her determined, hollow voice replied.

Troy nodded, and stood up, dusting remnants of grass from his jeans. He glanced over at where she was standing still, staring at the gravestone, her eyes still glassy with tears.

"Gabi? Are you… are you okay?" Troy asked, somewhat hesitantly.

She contemplated this for a moment, before responding through her tear stained voice, "I will be."

* * *

Taylor, Chad and his father were seated at a booth at the 66 Diner on Central Avenue; with Chad and Taylor on one side and Mr. Danforth sitting across from them. She had ordered a char-grilled chicken sandwich with a side of potato salad, the younger Danforth selected the bacon cheese burger and Mr. Danforth had requested the green chilli chicken enchiladas. Each with a soda in front of them, they were left to fill in the wait between ordering and their food arriving with conversation.

Taylor found the whole situation somewhat awkward – she knew that Chad wasn't comfortable, which made her uncomfortable as a by-product. However on a certain level, she found it somewhat fascinating observing the interaction between Chad and his father. There was a facade of a happy father son meal, when in reality, there was a gauche, forced friendliness permeating through every sentence.

"So Chad, are you still planning to study at the University of Albuquerque?" Mr. Danforth asked.

Chad cleared his throat. "Well, I applied there, but they haven't actually offered me a basketball place yet. Coach Bolton seems to think it's just a matter of time. But I've had offers a couple of other places, both of which I'm taking pretty seriously."

"You've had actual offers?" Mr. Danforth asked, unable to hide his surprise.

"Uh, yeah. New Mexico State offered places to both me and Troy. And I got offered a place by Sacramento State in California." Taylor beamed proudly at Chad.

"California! That's about as far away as you could get from here."

"Yeah. It sounds exciting actually, they made a pretty sweet deal. I think I'm going to take up their offer to fly out there and check them out, maybe the week after the championships. But Coach Bolton said I should wait and see what other offers come after the big game anyway."

"How is Coach Bolton?" Mr. Danforth asked.

"He's great. Pumped up to try and nail back to back championships."

"So, when is your final game?"

"Two weeks from Friday. Are you gonna come down?" Chad asked.

The year before, Mr. Danforth had promised he'd make the effort to drive down from Santa Fe for the game, but had failed to appear.

He cleared his throat. "I'll have to see what's happening with work. I'd love to come; I'll do everything I can."

"Guess that's all I can ask."

Mr. Danforth plastered on a smile. "So what about you Taylor, what are your plans for college?"

"Harvard," Taylor said simply.

Chad had to hold back from rolling his eyes. He knew that Taylor wasn't being completely unrealistic in hoping to be accepted – but at the same time, he wasn't so naïve as to have unequivocal belief that she would most definitely be accepted. Just like others were concerned, he too was concerned that Taylor was putting a whole lot of herself into Harvard.

"Harvard?" Mr. Danforth repeated.

Taylor nodded. "Hopefully."

"She's applied to other schools too, haven't you Tay?" Chad said.

"I have. Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia…" Taylor spoke the list somewhat dismissively. "Columbia has contacted me a few times actually. But I really am hoping to be accepted to Harvard, it's like my dream."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that," Mr. Danforth said with a smile. He glanced up, seeing that the waitress was approaching them with their meals, smile plastered upon her face. "Oh excellent; food! I'm starving."

* * *

Although Gabriella completely understood the logic of their parents when they'd resisted Troy's pleads to allow him to take the rental car to Littleton, she couldn't help but lament how different the day could have been if they'd had access to a vehicle. If they had a car – or alternatively more time up their sleeve, and therefore more time to experiment with public transport – there were so many places that would have been more accessible. She would have loved to have taken Troy back to the neighbourhood where she'd grown up, after they'd moved to Littleton before she started elementary school. She would have delighted in seeing the look on his face if she could have taken him to Dave and Busters, a restaurant within a video game arcade, which was about half way between Littleton and Denver City, closer to Englewood. For novelty purposes, she wanted to be able to show him a landmark genuinely called 'Jackass Hill.'

Instead, they'd settled for other forms of entertainment within walking distance or a short bus ride from the Littleton Cemetery. There were some pretty gardens a short walk from the cemetery – the Hudson Gardens – where they wandered around together. And then they were able to get a bus to the Woodlawn Shopping Centre. Woodlawn was barely big enough to be defined as a shopping centre. A small collection of businesses in one area was perhaps the more accurate descriptive term. The purpose of the trip was to go get lunch – Gabriella had suggested the Master Chef Chinese food restaurant there, knowing that Troy loved Chinese food and she was a personal fan of their cuisine.

Throughout lunch, she'd apologised profusely for the tedium of the area surrounding the cemetery, and of course Troy had shushed her and told her to stop being silly. Even before they'd left Albuquerque, they knew that in all reality they probably wouldn't have the chance for the grand tour that Gabriella ideally wanted to give. They'd had a nice stroll through the gardens, he'd been able to experience the bus system of Littleton – which he could profess thus far to be superior to the Albuquerque system – and enjoyed a delicious lunch. They got straight back onto the same bus going back in the opposite direction, to head to the light rail station. Gabriella called her mom, clarifying what station she and Troy would be picked up from in the city.

As Troy and Gabriella had been wandering around throughout the day, it had become increasingly evident within both of their minds that the end of vacation was so depressingly close. Vacations have a standard flow to them. During the first day or so it feels like the time away may last forever. Then there's the midweek slump where things are almost a tad boring. A day later, the realisation hits that the vacation is nearly over. And then it's over – and real life is looming ahead. The day seemed to fly, and before they knew it, they'd been picked up at the light rail station, driven to the airport, checked in their luggage and their flight had been called.

Both Troy and Gabriella were subdued as they boarded the plane with their parents. It had been a long week, a week which they would both leave looking back upon both the highs and lows times fondly. But now, they were both utterly exhausted.

It was a small plane, seating around 50 passengers. There were four seats abreast on the plane, with two, an aisle and then two. The Bolton-Montez group had been allocated two seats on one side of the aisle, the two across the aisle and one of the seats behind the two. The parents had gestured for Troy and Gabriella to take the two seats that were alone, Jack took the single seat which left the mothers sitting across the aisle from their children. After almost a week together one would wonder how they still had anything left to talk about, yet they'd managed to continue chatting away throughout their day out shopping, while waiting at the airport and right through as they boarded the plane.

Troy had insisted upon Gabriella taking the window seat, but neither of them were particularly interested in looking out the window. As soon as the take off was completed, Troy had pushed the armrest between he and Gabriella up, allowing her to nuzzle into his chest, an arm wrapped around his abdomen.

"This week has been amazing," Gabriella said, her tone wistful. "I really don't want it to end. Can we turn the clock back a few days?"

"I wish," Troy agreed, and let out a sigh. "Best vacation ever, that's what it was."

"Mm hmm," Gabriella agreed, stifling a yawn. "Hey Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming with me today."

"You're more than welcome. I feel… kinda honoured that you wanted me to come."

"I can't explain it…. I just knew I'd feel weird if we'd left Colorado and I hadn't taken you."

"Maybe next time we go back, we'll be able to spend more time in Littleton," Troy suggested.

"Next time?" Gabriella repeated.

"Yup," Troy said with a nod, not feeling the need to justify the remark. "But for now… it's back to reality." He let out a sigh, and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Aren't you looking forward to seeing our friends?" Gabriella's sleepy voice enquired, punctuating the sentence with a yawn.

"Yeah. But other than that… school? Studying for midterms? Training for hours each day?"

"Mmm… I have to meet with Ryan before school goes back. Do planning for the student council. And start helping Taylor more with the yearbook. And work on my audition piece for the showcase. And…"

"You're gonna audition for the showcase?" Troy asked. He wasn't particularly surprised but it was the first she'd referenced that she was definitely planning to audition.

"Mmm hmm. I think so," Gabriella said.

Glancing down, he could see that her eyes were fluttering closed.

"You know this is a short flight, there won't be much time for a nap," Troy said quietly.

"Not napping. Just… closing my eyes."

They sat cuddled in silence, Troy's fingers raking through her dark tresses. And inevitably, the 'just closing her eyes' became drifting away into a restful slumber.

* * *

Earlier that same afternoon, while Taylor and the Danforth's had been at lunch at the Diner, Chad had just received the banana split he'd ordered (with two spoons so he and Taylor could share) when his father's cell phone began to ring. Mr. Danforth had excused himself to go speak on the phone outside – and returned back inside to apologise profusely for having to leave so suddenly. Truthfully he'd anticipated that he may have to make a hasty exit, hence encouraging the kids to drive separately to the diner. He'd pulled out his money clip, rapidly pulled two fifty dollar bills to toss onto the table, and told Chad to tip generously and then keep the rest for himself.

"Tell Jayme I'll try to come down to see her soon," had been Mr. Danforth's final parting words, before disappearing in a hurry.

Chad tossed the spoon onto the table, suddenly rendered without an appetite.

"Well that was… okay," Taylor said tactfully.

"I know your parent's marriage blew up and you hardly ever see your dad either, but you talk to him regularly at least. And e-mail and you even Facebook each other. The guy doesn't know anything about me. He didn't really even care to get to know you. He was _surprised_ that I would actually be able to be offered a basketball scholarship."

Taylor made a sympathetic noise, but didn't say anything.

Chad took a deep breath. "I'm glad you were here. I don't think I could have handled all the fake friendly crap on my own. Normally I have Jayme as the buffer, she's just blissfully oblivious to just how fucked up the whole thing is."

"Well, as strange as it was, I'm glad I was here too… to help, in some way." Taylor picked up the spoon, and handed it to Chad. "Go on, you know I can't finish this on my own. There are starving kids in Ethiopia, it would be disrespectful to leave without finishing."

Chad rolled his eyes and laughed. "You make an excellent point." He knew it was a diversionary tactic, and he was more than willing to allow himself to be distracted by the tasty ice-cream, fruit and syrup combination.

"Hey Taylor?" Chad asked, his tone somewhat ominous.

"Yeah?" Taylor said dubiously, sensing the tone.

"You know when I introduced you to my dad before, and I uh… you know… didn't know what to refer to you as?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah…"

"If I'd have said 'girlfriend', what would you have thought?"

Normally Taylor was a brash, confident young woman, but there were certain things that Chad could do, or not too, to make her feel somewhat like a blubbering, infatuated school girl. She hesitated, before responding a little shyly with, "I would have liked that."

* * *

The return to the real world was inevitable, and the Wildcats arranged a group get together for the Thursday before school was due to go back after winter vacation. Gabriella had offered her house as their hang out location, which her friends were more than happy with – however they did bring along a few entertainment mechanisms. Jason brought his PlayStation with him, both Jason and Zeke brought a Guitar for Guitar Hero and Martha brought a few SingStar games per Zeke's request.

Taylor brought her study notes for midterms which were just a few weeks away.

Almost the whole gang had arrived – Troy, Taylor, Chad, Jason, Kelsi, Zeke and Martha – and they were just waiting on Ryan to arrive. In the meantime, they'd plugged in the PlayStation, and at Gabriella's request they'd agreed on playing a round of SingStar. She took the blue microphone and cheekily handed the red to Troy, without even asking him. He merely rolled his eyes and accepted it – if he was going to be forced into dumb karaoke, it would only ever be with Gabriella that he would feel comfortable with it.

Troy and Gabriella had sung _Amazed_ by Lone Star. Gabriella was at first struggling with the pitch of the song, but Kelsi quickly instructed her to ignore the low notes and sing it higher – singing the same note, just in a higher key. Gabriella was satisfied as she saw the notes then being hit on the screen, smiling happily, and then allowing her and Troy to proceed to spend most of the song making googley eyes at one another. They both knew the song well enough to not require the lyrics on the screen.

Kelsi and Martha were next to take the microphones, singing _Time After Time_ by Cyndi Lauper. Even though Kelsi was the musician of the group, they actually very rarely actually heard her sing – and every time it was always a pleasant surprise. Between knowing the song, understanding how to control her voice and having a good ear for mimicking the right notes, Kelsi was by far the best SingStar performer of them all. Next up was Zeke and Jason, of whom neither of them took it particularly seriously. They'd randomly selected a song, and then completed a 'stunning' version of _I'm With You_ by Avril Lavigne, to receive a round of applause from the rest of the group.

"That was fucking terrible," Chad hooted in the midst of his applause.

"I thought we were pretty good," Zeke boasted.

"We could audition for East High's Got Talent with that song," Jason suggested jovially.

Kelsi coughed. "Uh… I hope you're kidding. You know our show is going to be serious – like, actual talent. No… juggling or cross dressing acts."

"_Why_ did you look at me when you said that?!" Troy exclaimed. "I said it was a one time only thing and I meant _one time only._"

"And are you implying that our song wasn't good?" Jason added, poking his girlfriend in the ribs.

"Okay who is next?" Gabriella asked with an airy chortle. "Taylor?"

Taylor sighed. "Sure, why not?" she accepted the red microphone which Zeke passed over to her.

"Who else hasn't been yet?" Jason asked.

"That would be Chad," Taylor said pointedly, knowing very well that Chad was not particularly a fan of SingStar.

"I hardly know any of these songs," Chad complained, gesturing to the back of the Rock Ballads game case that he was clutching onto. "Can we put on Pop Hits? Fall Out Boy is on there."

"We'll just let it pick a song randomly and do whatever comes up, if we know it or not," Taylor encouraged. She knew that it was better to get their turn over and done with, because their friends would just keep harassing them until they gave it a go.

Chad sighed, and accepted the blue microphone that he was handed. Jason had the controller and put it on random disc shuffle.

"Harry Nilsson, Without You," Chad read, sounding mystified.

"Is that the same as the Mariah Carey song?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," Kelsi answered. "Mariah covered it."

"Excellent, then I know it," Taylor declared triumphantly.

"I don't," Chad complained, even as the opening chords began he wasn't familiar with the song at all. "No one ken to ken to sivmen, nor yon clees toju maliveh. When I gez aju zaaveteh na nalechoo more, new yonooz tonigh molinigh, yo sorra shooo. Yes ee shooo…"

"What the hell are you singing, man?!?!" Troy exclaimed, interrupting. Taylor continued to sing the correct lyrics, but Chad stopped. Taylor smiled satisfactorily as the points racked on for her. "Those are _not _the lyrics."

"I said I don't know the song," Chad complained. "And I hate when I'm the blue microphone, then I have to look from the top line for my notes and to the bottom for the lyrics and I get confused. It doesn't matter what words you sing, as long as the notes are kinda right. So… I'll keep making it up, and then I kinda get some of the stuff right."

He cleared his throat and picked it up again in the chorus.

"Ken Leeeeeeeee… tulibu dibu douchoo… Ken Leeee…"

By now, Taylor had stopped singing, and had burst into laughter to match the laughter of her friends. Chad halted singing, and threw down the microphone. "I'm not trying to be funny!" he protested. "I really don't know the song and to me, that's what it sounds like!"

"This guy and Mariah and all the people who have ever sung it would be _offended_ by your interpretation!" Taylor managed to gasp out.

"I think they'd be impressed that I was willing to give it a go," Chad retorted. "Like _you_ were doing any better!"

Taylor glanced at the scoreboard, where she had almost double the amount of points as Chad.

"Um yeah, totally," she said sarcastically.

"I liked Chad's version better," Jason contributed – to have six sets of eyes look at him warily. "What?!"

Jason was saved by the bell – or rather the knocking at the door. With one final roll of the eyes at Jason, Gabriella pulled herself to her feet and bound toward the front door. She peeked through the peep hole and smiled broadly upon seeing Ryan.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, excited to see her friend for the first time in almost two weeks.

"Hey!" Ryan exclaimed, with equal enthusiasm, embracing her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry I'm late."

"It's fine," Gabriella said dismissively, standing back to allow him to come in.

"Yo Evans," Chad's voice came from the living room just around the corner, having heard Ryan's entrance.

"Sup guys," Ryan called out, slipping off his aquamarine and white checked Vans, which matched his baker boy hat. He and Gabriella went back through to the living room.

"How was Canada?" Zeke asked.

"Abso-freaking-lutely freeeeeezing," Ryan said emphatically. "So glad to be home." He cocked his head, looking at Gabriella. "You look really amazing; do you have a snow tan?"

Troy snorted somewhat. "She was wearing about twenty layers the whole time."

"The whole time, sure," Chad remarked under his breath; causing Taylor to giggle and Zeke to laugh, the guys exchanging fist pumps.

"I _so_ missed you guys, Canada was so freaking boring," Ryan exclaimed. "Sharpay and I were having fun for a while, but it just dragged on and on and on. Oohhh we're playing SingStar?! Shot gun next turn!" Ryan sat down on one of the spare chairs which had been pulled into the living room, and reached out to take control of the blue microphone.

"You're rather… perky," Kelsi observed.

"I know, which is bizarre because I hardly got any sleep at all," Ryan remarked. "Kels, you'll sing with me, won't you? What disc is in? Ohhh is this Rock Ballads? I _love_ Rock Ballads! Can we sing _Left Outside Alone _by Anastasia?"

"Sure," Kelsi said agreeably with a laugh.

* * *

Another round of SingStar was played, and then the Wildcats moved on to dabble with Guitar Hero. Gabriella disappeared into the kitchen to prepare lunch – her mom had already cooked a batch of mince and mixed it in with salsa, and Gabriella had prepared some guacamole. All the work that was required was to heat the nacho meat and then put the corn chips, meat and grated cheese onto trays in the oven. Ryan followed Gabriella into the kitchen to help, and was taking out glasses to start pouring out drinks for everyone.

"So, you can't tell me that you're just in a good mood today," Gabriella said, raising her eyebrows at him. "You're practically glowing. Are you pregnant?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. Uh…. Yeah. I had an interesting day yesterday which I will tell you about. But… not here."

"Has this… got anything to do with Chase?" Gabriella asked quietly, eyebrows raised.

"Maybe," Ryan said elusively, the smile that was toying on his lips answering in the affirmative. He reached over to look at her right hand.

"He picked well with that ring," Ryan remarked, admiring the simple white gold ring. "Are they real diamonds?"

She knew that he was trying to change the subject, but was more than willing to talk about the jewellery which adorned her right ring finger. The sparkle in her eye was emulating the sparkle of the ring. "He was like, apologising because they're small and not many carats. Like I'd want to lug around some massive ring on my hand. I'm seventeen, and my boyfriend bought me a diamond ring! That's…"

"Pretty huge," Ryan supplied. "So uh… this is a promise ring?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Yes."

"A promise of what?"

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked dubiously. "It's a promise of… of commitment. Of our love."

"A promise of intent? A promise of the future?"

Gabriella sighed, and picked up the tray she'd just finished making up and took it over to slide it into the top rack of the oven. She then turned around to pick up the second tray and take it over.

"I'm not planning to break up with him, if that's what you're saying," Gabriella finally said.

"Received any college acceptances yet?"

Gabriella didn't respond, just focused on flicking the oven timer around for a few minutes, just enough time on low heat to melt the cheese and crisp the corn chips. "I take it that's a yes."

"I like how you casually avoided talking about whatever it was that happened to you yesterday, and yet you'll stand there and harass me about stuff that I can't give you answers for," Gabriella remarked.

Ryan smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"Okay, so who were these colas for? Troy, Martha and…"

"Jason," Ryan confirmed.

Gabriella picked up the three glasses, and carried them out of the kitchen and into the dining room – her mom already having specified that they would not be eating messy nachos in the living room. Ryan followed behind with three more glasses of soda, leaving Gabriella to bring in the final three. They then brought out plates, cutlery and serving utensils for the trays of nachos, as well as placing the bowl of guacamole, a tub of sour cream and some extra salsa onto the table.

The Wildcats gathered in the dining room as Gabriella was bringing the trays of nachos out.

"Just think, we're eating Mexican food which was prepared by Mexican people," Jason said.

"I'm part Italian," Gabriella pointed out. "My dad was half Italian."

"That's even better! Mexican food with Italian influence!"

The group began to scoop out nachos onto their plates, passing the extra toppings around the table before tucking into their lunches.

"So, did anyone make any New Years Resolutions?" Kelsi asked.

"New Years Resolutions are stupid," Taylor declared. "It's always the same. You set unattainable goals, don't achieve them, and then feel all self deprecating."

"Or you just set more realistic goals in the first place," Gabriella pointed out.

"What, you have a resolution?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella nodded. "I do, actually."

"You do? You didn't say anything," Troy remarked.

"I only decided the other day, when we went to the cemetery. I decided that I want to start studying Spanish this year," Gabriella said. "I've never studied it before… my dad was always going to teach me. And I always felt kinda weird studying it because it was always going to be him teaching me. But I decided that he would want me to learn anyway. So I will."

"That's a good resolution," Troy said, reaching over to pat Gabriella's thigh beneath the table.

"Anyone else?" Gabriella asked, glancing around.

"I decided that I want to stop caring what people think of me," Martha said quietly. "I never used to and I suddenly started caring last year. It's time to stop."

"That's a good resolution," Jason said.

Martha smiled tightly at him. "Thank you."

"I'm going to film a documentary before summer," Jason said emphatically. "That's my resolution. And I'm also going to try to set up a partnership with someone who is a writer, get them to just write a script for me, for another short film. Like a drama or a romance or something."

There was a knock at the door, and Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows, glancing around as though confirming that all of her friends were in fact present.

"I wonder who that is," she said under her breath, as she rose from the table.

"Ten bucks says it's someone coming to ask if you have the Lord in your heart," Chad joked.

There was more knocking at the door, a continual thudding for almost a half a minute. Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Coming!" she called somewhat snippily, and moved a little faster toward the front door. She peeked through the peep hole – and was stunned to see a familiar blonde standing in the doorway. Gabriella opened the door.

"Sharpay! What are you…" Gabriella was cut off.

"Where is he?!" Sharpay demanded, hands on hips, eyes blazing.

"He?"

"Ryan! I know he's here! I was driving past and saw his car out the front!"

"He's…"

Gabriella didn't even have the chance to answer, Sharpay breezed straight past, marching through and entering the house.

"Ryan Ferdinand Evans, I _know_ you're in here!" Sharpay called out, her designer pumps click clacking across the tiles in the hallway.

"Sharpay?!" Ryan's nervous reply came.

Gabriella hurried behind – although a part of her wanted to hurry in the complete opposite direction and avoid whatever blow up was about to occur. She entered the dining room just behind Sharpay and as Ryan was jumping up from his chair.

"Sharpay!" Ryan exclaimed. "I…"

"Ryan," she said, her voice sugary sweet but a forced edge to it. "I need to speak with you."

"But I'm…"

"_Now,_" Sharpay said firmly, her teeth gritted slightly.

Ryan knew when his sister meant business. He cleared his throat. "Gabriella, would you mind if I spoke to my sister in your living room?"

"Um, sure, go for it," Gabriella said, gesturing toward the living room.

Sharpay briskly did an about face, her hair swinging as she did, and swiftly moved in the direction that Gabriella had gestured. Ryan kept up her pace, moving behind her and into the living area. It had a pair of light wooden French doors separating it from the hallway, which he closed behind them and then turned to face Sharpay.

Immediately, she wrapped her arms around her brother, pulling him into her in a tight, protective hug. She then pulled away, and awkwardly shoved him in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Sharpay demanded.

"Been?" Ryan said dumbly, stalling for time.

"I _know_ you didn't come home last night. I'm not stupid. I didn't just think you came in super late and left before I woke up. I know you, Ryan. You have this huge fight with daddy, and then didn't come home, and then you didn't answer my calls, or reply to my texts, or…"

"Sharpay, I'm sorry," Ryan said a little sheepishly.

"You should be sorry! When I realised this morning you hadn't come home, I was _freaking_ out! And then you didn't answer my calls so I thought you must have fallen into a ditch and banged yourself unconscious or something! I've been driving around for _two hours_ trying to find you – and where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?! You're here, at _her_ house," Sharpay said with slight disgust, referring Gabriella. "Eating _nachos!_"

"I didn't realise you were worried. I'm sorry, I…"

"WHY didn't you answer my calls?!?!"

"I left my cell at home," Ryan said truthfully. "I just kinda left, you saw that. I just grabbed my keys and wallet and left. I didn't want to be anywhere near him, not after what he was saying to me."

"Where did you go?!" Sharpay demanded, arms folded, her eyes filled with concern. "You're my little brother, you shouldn't be going out randomly and staying out all night without me knowing where you are."

"I went to crash at a friend's house."

"A friend? What friend?" Sharpay demanded. "Was it one of _these_ people?"

"Uh, no actually, it wasn't one of _these_ people. Seriously Shar, I'm fine," Ryan said dismissively. "I'm really sorry, I should have found a way to call you, that was really stupid of me. But you really didn't need to come barging in here like that."

"Ex-_cuse _me for being _worried_ about you! Ex-_cuse_ me for having an emotional response to seeing your car here!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Ryan. You're sitting here eating nachos with your friends, and daddy found out yesterday that you're gay. Something doesn't make sense with that picture."

Ryan exhaled. "I know! I know it's fucked up! But I'm just trying to focus on the positives right now because thinking about him knowing just scares the fuck out of me, okay?"

"What positives? And you _still_ haven't told me where you were."

"I... I went to Chase's."

Sharpay's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "You... you what?" she asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"Yup. I just… I drove there. I was totally forming this whole plan, like I wanted to take a photo of some random sign like outside his dorm or something. But then I realised I'd forgotten my cell. So I went to a pay phone just outside his dorm building, and I was like, describing to him what I was looking at without saying specifically where I was. He hung up on me and then came like, racing down."

"Wow," Sharpay breathed – the hopeless romantic that exists deep down within every girl coming out to play. She the shook her head quickly, shaking herself from her reverie. "Um, right. Well… so it was okay?"

"Yes, it was great. So… you know what, dad can keep saying that I'm wrong and that it isn't natural and he can say whatever the hell he wants. I couldn't give a fuck," Ryan declared.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the dining room, not a single person had spoken since Ryan had followed Sharpay out of the room. They'd sat, at times straining to overhear, at times not having to strain at all to hear the conversation clearly – and at other times, feeling rather uncomfortable and wishing they could be elsewhere.

"I don't understand, why did he fight with his dad?" Zeke asked. "Gabriella, your walls aren't thin enough."

"He said something about chasing someone, I think," Jason said slowly.

Gabriella and Kelsi were exchanging worried glances – enough of the conversation had been heard for the two of them to understand enough to know the gist of what was going on.

"Err… maybe… maybe you should go check on them, Gabriella?" Kelsi suggested, a strain in her voice. What she was really saying was to go and tell them to either go talk outside or stop talking so loudly. Gabriella nodded, and immediately rose to her feet and moved out toward the living room. She took a breath, knocked at the French doors, and awkwardly opened them to peek inside.

"Look… I'm sorry to interrupt but… you're talking really loud. Bits of this conversation are being overheard. Enough to make people suspicious about… things."

"You know what?" Ryan said abruptly. "I'm gonna tell them."

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note -**

**Replies to some questions in anonymous/not signed in reviews:**

**Abby – **(who enquired as to whether I live in CO as I seemingly know a lot about the state) – Haha, no, I'm from Australia, I live about a ten minute drive from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and I've never been skiing/snowboarding in my life. About as far from Colorado as you can get! Google is my friend – Google Maps in particular, and then also the RTD website. Plus, my beta reader is originally from Colorado so she was pretty useful in providing suggestions deconstructing my Google research jargon and telling me what was factual and what sounded like I'd found it in a search engine.

**XxXlullaby-09XxX** – (who enquired how long the story will be) – Truthfully, I don't know. I'd love to have an answer. I'm sorta at the critical point of plot at the moment, I know everything that's going to happen but generally as I write things get fleshed out further and take more chapters than anticipated. I'd say no longer than the first part of the trilogy. And then the third part will be a lot shorter. But seriously, I don't quite know, I'll probably be taking the time to map out an approximate chapter by chapter thing soon.

**Thanks everyone for all the awesome reviews and feedback I've been getting. I encourage you to continue to give me feedback, I'm sorta writing some pretty intense stuff at the moment and so feedback is crucial so that I know how you're reacting to everything.**

**Thanks Audrey for all the help. Love you. :-)**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

_And I wanna be in this moment,  
No one can take it from me  
And I wanna stay in this moment,  
No one can take it away from me_

**David Archuleta 'In This Moment'**

* * *

"Look… I'm sorry to interrupt but… you're talking really loud. Bits of this conversation are being overheard. Enough to make people suspicious about… things," Gabriella said tactfully, interrupting the loud conversation that had been taking place between the Evans' twins.

"You know what?" Ryan said abruptly. "I'm gonna tell them."

"What?!" both Gabriella and Sharpay demanded.

Ryan smiled broadly. "That's right. I'm going to tell them." He turned to Gabriella, providing her the quickest Cliffs' Notes imaginable for the events which had taken place. "Gabriella, my father knows that I'm gay. He hates me, by the way. So I drove to Las Cruces last night and met Chase and spent the most amazing night with him – talking, I should clarify – and I just… I can't believe I'm saying this but if I'm ever going to be able to tell everyone, it's going to be right now."

"Right now? Like, here, now?" Gabriella asked, wide eyed.

"That's right," Ryan confirmed. "Right here, right now. I'm doing this."

Ryan breezed past Gabriella and went straight back into the dining room to confront his friends.

"What's going on, man?" Chad asked, the instant that Ryan entered the room. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… absolutely fucking terrible and yet feeling so liberated right now that I also feel fabulous," Ryan declared.

"Are you drunk?" Taylor asked, an eyebrow cocked.

"No. I'm not. In about two minutes I'm going to wish I was drunk, I bet."

Gabriella and Sharpay had followed behind Ryan, and came into the dining room behind him.

"Ryan…" Sharpay began to say. "Let's talk about this."

"No. There's nothing to talk about."

"What were you fighting with your dad about?" Zeke asked.

"Your dad seems pretty easy going," Troy remarked.

Ryan snorted. "To you, maybe. Anyway. So. I have an announcement to make."

"Ryan, you so don't have to do this," Gabriella said urgently.

"Actually, I do have to do it. Gabriella, would you like to sit down?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Gabriella asked warily, but nevertheless took her seat at the dining table.

"Sharpay, do you want to sit?"

Sharpay didn't respond, just gaped at her brother as though he'd gone completely insane.

The truth was that Ryan could have lied, made up a story, put his years of training in drama and theatre into practice. Told his friends that he'd had a fight with his dad about his credit card bill and Sharpay was angry because now she'd had her credit card limit reduced and that was why she'd been so livid.

But in that moment – telling his friends didn't seem as scary as it once had. He'd encountered the worst possible reaction to the truth from someone who was _meant_ to accept him unconditionally. Which put him in good stead to be able to deal with any reaction he may receive from his friends.

Practically ignoring his sister – who had remained standing with her arms crossed in the doorway, he slid back into his seat at the table – conveniently at the head of the table, the perfect place to glance around at his friends.

"So, here's the situation." Ryan paused, deciding that the best way to say it was simply to say it. "Right. Okay. I... am gay."

No one said anything, and in that moment silence was the worst noise that Ryan could hear, and so he instead continued talking, allowing the sound of his own voice to fill the air. "Which possibly doesn't surprise you but maybe it does, I don't know. But yes, so there it is. I have told you, that I am gay. And the reason that Sharpay came here is because yesterday my dad found out and we had this rather large argument which Sharpay was at home for and interrupted – thanks for sticking up for me, by the way," Ryan said genuinely, glancing back at her. "And then I stormed out. And I didn't come home last night and didn't call her which is not like us at all so she was a bit worried. And… that pretty much sums up the last twenty four hours of my life. Oh, yes, and that I was staying with a friend in Lac Cruces who, just so happens to also be gay. Then I came back here and we played SingStar and Guitar Hero and ate nachos and you're pretty much up to date from there."

Finally, Ryan stopped talking, finally allowing the silence of his words being registered to wash over the room.

He recalled having a long winded deep and meaningful with Chase on the phone one evening; they'd been talking about coming out. Ryan had remarked that it wasn't the kind of thing you could casually announce at the dinner table. And yet that was very precisely what he had just done.

There was a lot of information in that paragraph of speech to process at once. Ryan glanced around the room expectantly, waiting for the first person to react. The shock on Gabriella, Kelsi and Chad's faces was more so derived from their surprise at just how candid he'd been with his announcement. Zeke appeared genuinely blown away, Jason appeared somewhat confused. Taylor and Martha were glancing at one another. Troy's expression was currently unreadable.

"Well… duh to the first part," Martha's voice sliced through the silence. "But as for the stuff with your dad… that's a little more surprising. And… rather… well… not good."

"Duh?" Ryan said, double taking.

"Well yeah. Ryan, you don't exactly hide it all that well. One baseball game over summer doesn't count as a valid smokescreen," Martha pointed out.

"So you were right," Taylor said, glancing at Martha. "Good pick."

"The two of you talk about this?" Ryan asked, looking between them, eyes wide.

"Not frequently," Taylor said in a sheepish, defensive tone. "But we have. On occasion."

"How long have you known?" Zeke asked him, somewhat stunned.

Ryan shrugged. "A while. Always, on some level, I guess."

"I don't understand. How did your dad find out?" Chad asked.

"Um… it was really stupid of me really. I left my cell on the counter yesterday morning, my dad was working at home but I thought he was already at his office. We have the same iPhone. It vibrated with a text, he was in the room and went over to check it because he thought it was his and it wasn't and it wasn't a text he should have read."

"Oh, dirty text?" Chad said knowingly.

"Not quite but along that line," Ryan said sheepishly.

"So you went to Chase's? Oh this is like a movie!" Kelsi exclaimed.

"I'm glad you find my dad now thinking I'm the most disgusting thing on the planet entertaining," Ryan said bitterly.

"Oh please, you came in here this morning all giddy. Maybe the cause sucks but the effect seems to have made you happy!" Kelsi shot back, raising her eyebrows.

A smile crept onto Ryan's face. "Yes I went to Chase's and yes we met and yes we got along well."

"And?" Kelsi prompted, seeking more details.

"And I stayed overnight – in his roommates bed because he's out of town for the holidays," Ryan added emphatically.

"Is this your… err… boyfriend?" Zeke asked, a little awkwardly, having to force out the word 'boyfriend' as though he were in a biology class and they were discussing the reproductive system.

"No! He's just… a friend," Ryan said, somewhat lamely.

"Now maybe, but not for long," Chad said under his breath.

"So… you knew about this?" Taylor asked, looking at Chad. She then turned to glance between Kelsi and Gabriella. "And you two?"

"I can't believe you already knew! Why didn't you tell me you knew?" Gabriella asked Chad.

"Um, because Ryan's life and what he tells me about it is between me and him?" Chad supplied, as though it were obvious.

"Was your dad really, really, really mad?" Gabriella asked Ryan, reaching out to squeeze his thigh beneath the table. "Like… as mad as you thought he might be?"

"Do you think it's like me to get into an argument and storm out mid way?" Ryan asked, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, he was really mad. Actually worse than I anticipated. He was umm…"

"On a scale of one to ten? He was about a hundred," Sharpay spoke up, still standing in the door way with her arms folded across her chest, observing the exchange between her twin and his friends. "And that was from my room. From where Ryan was standing, it was probably more like a two hundred."

"But the positive side – it's out now. I think this is good, it's healthy," Gabriella said encouragingly, trying to be optimistic about the scenario. "Does it feel good? Telling people?"

"Coz you didn't have to tell us. I mean… I think it's cool that you did, but you could have gotten around it," Zeke pointed out.

"I wanted to tell you guys. But… I wasn't ready to tell my dad. I wanted to tell him on my own terms, not have him find out."

"I don't get why he's disappointed," Jason said. "Who cares about that stuff?"

"Plenty of people," Ryan said. "Including my dad."

"Maybe it was just a shock," Martha said. "He might calm down."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm shocked by it," Zeke said truthfully.

"You never suspected?" Ryan asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not legitimately," Zeke said. "I mean… not… not in the way where I actually thought it could be true. More in the..." he trailed off, not sure how to word what he was thinking tactfully.

"The way where you joke about fags that sing and dance?" Ryan supplied. "It's okay. I get it. But like… you might be shocked but… does it bother you? Because it _more_ than bothers my dad, and…"

"Bother me?" Zeke cut in incredulously. "Why the hell would it bother me?"

Ryan glanced around at Taylor, Martha and Jason.

"Doesn't bother me at all," Taylor said.

"If anything I'm bothered that you told these guys and didn't tell me," Martha said truthfully. "But… the fact itself doesn't bother me."

"Whatever, man," Jason said with a nonchalant shrug.

Ryan's eyes shifted over to Troy, who had been silent throughout the exchange. "Troy?"

Troy cleared his throat, and then finally spoke, very slowly. "You… You're gay…"

"Yeah, keep up, Troy," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes Troy," Ryan said patiently.

"And this isn't a recent thing? You've been, like, all school year?" Troy asked, the pieces of a puzzle falling into place for him.

Ryan knew exactly what it was that Troy was wrapping his head around. "That's right," Ryan confirmed.

"Which means that… You uh… you don't like… and you do like…"

"That's right. It means that you've been an idiot. But it's fine," Ryan said, nodding. "Water under the bridge, yeah?"

A clearing throat from the entrance way prevented Troy from responding in any manner. Everyone glanced back to where Sharpay had taken a step forward.

"Okay, great. So your friends are happy, you've had your big group hug, Troy's realised he was an idiot, we all know that you have an internet boyfriend. Fantastic," Sharpay said, her tone dripping in sarcasm. She threw her hands in the air. "Priorities, Ryan! This stuff doesn't matter! Daddy is really, really furious. You need to come home _now_ and fix this."

Ryan stood from his place at the table again, moving to face his sister. "Sharpay, it's not that simple."

"Yes, yes it is. Tell him you were confused. We'll… hire you a pretend girlfriend!" Sharpay said triumphantly. She glanced around the room, where most of Ryan's friends were paired off – and then her eyes fell upon Martha. "Martha will do, you'll pretend to be Ryan's girlfriend, right? Just until graduation. After that, you can go to Juilliard and make out with as many internet boyfriends as you like."

Martha blinked, glancing backwards and forwards from Ryan to Sharpay. "Uh…"

"No!" Ryan interjected. "No. I… I know dad's mad, but he's just gonna have to deal with it. But not today. Later. Some other time."

He knew his sister well enough to know that she wasn't going to be willing to reason with him with a crowd of onlookers. He grasped her by the hand, and pulled her back toward the living room.

As soon as they were in the privacy of the living room, Ryan spoke again. "Shar… I have to do this my way. I know that you want everything to just be right but… it doesn't work like that."

"But don't you at least want to _try_ to make this right? Maybe you _can_ make it right, if you do something about it. He's not going to just deal with it. Especially not when you are running away and hiding from him."

"Hey! I am _not_ hiding!" Ryan snapped defensively. "I'm hanging with my friends because we'd already made plans for today."

"You're hiding. It would have took like, a minute to make a phone call and tell them you couldn't make it because something came up," Sharpay pointed out.

"You don't and never will get it Shar; because _you _are Daddy's little princess," Ryan said sardonically. "I'm the son that's never going to be quite good enough. Did you hear the stuff he was saying to me?? Right now, I don't think I can physically stand being in the same house as him without throwing up."

"So, what, you're planning to just drive back down to Las Cruces and stay at your 'friends' house?" Sharpay demanded. "For how long? Because you can keep avoiding daddy but it's not going to solve anything!"

"I'll talk to him eventually, just not today!" Ryan exclaimed, before adding sarcastically, "If that's all right with you, of course."

Sharpay let out a big sigh and took a step closer to him. Her voice softened. "You're an Evans', Ry, whether you like it or not. And Evans' don't hide, Evans' stand up for who they are – regardless of what other people think."

And with that, Sharpay did an about face, flounced out of the living room and out the front door.

* * *

In the dining room, the occupants had overheard the click clack of heels, they'd heard the front door open and close. The next two minutes was spent with the silence continuing – this time, with no conversation to be overheard. With eight people sitting at a table with no conversation being exchanged – the silence was deafening. Eye contact was being avoided. Chad was poking at the nachos there were still on his plate. Kelsi's foot was jiggling. Jason picked up a corn chip from his plate, one which hadn't been covered in hardly any topping, and as he bit into it a particularly loud crunch sounded. Gabriella was contemplating whether she should go into the living room or leave Ryan in peace – and so she was the first to observe him standing in the entrance.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed.

He stepped forward, slumping down into his chair. Reality seemed to have sunk in about what he'd just done. The feeling of liberation was gone – and instead, it had been replaced with a feeling of wanting to crawl into a hole, or be drunk – or possibly both.

"Did Sharpay leave?" Martha asked.

He nodded. "I'm really sorry guys," Ryan said quietly.

"Sorry!? Why are you sorry?" Kelsi asked incredulously.

"For… ruining today. I uh… I wasn't exactly expecting Sharpay to come crashing in here like that."

"Were you just planing to keep pretending like nothing happened?" Chad asked.

"I was planning to have a fun day with my friends," Ryan said truthfully. "After that, I wasn't sure yet. I certainly wasn't planning to make a big announcement about my sexuality, that's for sure. That's right, ladies and gentlemen – the dancing, singing boy is, in fact, a fag. What a surprise."

"Don't say that," Gabriella reprimanded.

"Ryan, I don't care if you like chicks or dudes or elephants man. You're still you," Zeke said.

Ryan cracked a smile. "Thanks. Although the elephant part of that sentence was scary on so many levels."

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to go talk to him? That's what Sharpay wants you to do, right?" Taylor said. "It seems like the best solution, deal with it now."

Ryan shook his head. "I can't avoid him forever but right now… I just can't go there. It's too much. Maybe I should go back to Chase's for a few days… except he has work, and then his roommate gets back late tomorrow. And I have dance class… okay that's not going to work."

"You could crash at mine while you sort it out," Chad suggested. "It's just a sofa bed in the living room, no room or anything, but it's something."

"Or you could crash at mine, we have a spare room," Jason added.

"I could ask my mom too," Zeke offered.

"Umm… thanks guys. I'll… I'll let you know," Ryan said awkwardly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Not now. Later maybe," Ryan replied, not particularly wanting to discuss the details of what had happened with the entire group present.

"Can I get you anything, another drink maybe?"

"Do you have any tequila?" Ryan asked, deadpan.

Gabriella blinked. "Umm… my mom might have some wine but I think she'd notice if it was gone and…"

"I was kidding. Well, not really. I wouldn't mind some tequila. But I wouldn't expect you to provide it."

"I have some bourbon at home," Jason said.

"I think I might go for a drive," Ryan said abruptly, not even acknowledging Jason's offer – barely even hearing it, really.

"Hopefully this is instead of the bourbon, not as well as," Taylor remarked.

"Just the drive. I think I need to get out."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Are you… I mean… are you okay to drive?" Kelsi asked, worry permeating through her tone.

"Yeah. Fine. That's it. Driving. Clear my head." Ryan stood up rapidly, his chair squeaking as he pushed back and moved to the doorway. He called back, "I'll talk to you guys later, thanks for not throwing shit at me, sorry for bailing."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN –**

**Just a quick apology**

Because given the shortness of and the cliff hanger last chapter I'd intended to update this sooner; but I sorta just had this week (which is still continuing…) of feeling really negative about this fandom. Negative about the sides and the cliques and the pettiness. This is a fandom of people who love a movie which, at its core, is about the youth of the world being able to look beyond their differences and nevertheless _respect _one another and bond over the common threads they do have. And yet this fandom is just… it's broken. It really is. I'm put into a position where I'm made to feel as though befriending particular people is something that other people look down upon – as though I may as well never bother trying to get to know certain people because there is judgement and I'll never be taken seriously as a person (yeah, there's a person behind this story, not just a machine) because I belong within particular 'alliances' or something or other. This isn't directed at anyone in particular, its just an overall feeling I've been developing and just feeling really yucky and moody every time I laid eyes upon anything to do with the HSM universe. [ / rant ]. Anyway so yeah. Feeling blah and it affects my ability to write. Trying to snap out of it. Finally spat a chapter out, so means I can post this. Yay me.

**Thanks**

To the people who've been reading, reviewing, alerting, favouriting, whatevering. You guys rock my world, seriously. Thanks to Audrey for beta reading for me. You're fabulous. :-)

**In response to comments from last chapter**

Yeah, it was short in contrast to my usual attempts to replicate War and Peace length. Ryan just came out. He deserves his own chapter for that, not to have it squashed in among another stuff. I originally wrote last chapter and this chapter as one, and it was just like this massive overwhelming onslaught of information, so I cut it and gave Ryan the moment he deserves, and then you get the expanded Wildcat reactions/the aftermath here.

**This chapter is dedicated**

To people who live in countries who do not get HSM3 on DVD/Blu Ray for a ridiculous period of time. Let us band together in our misery.

**Chapter Disclaimer –**

Reference is made to a few television shows and movies in this chapter – Queer as Folk (US Version); Cruel Intentions; and The Iron Chef. I have no ownership of any of these titles, I make no profit from their inclusion within this piece of fiction.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 20**

_Stay in this moment with me  
The wind through the window  
The words that we whisper  
A touch only true love can claim  
As long as the moonlight chases the shadows  
There's nothing that I want to change_

**Trick Pony 'Stay In This Moment'**

* * *

"Yeah. Fine. That's it. Driving. Clear my head." Ryan stood up rapidly, his chair squeaking as he pushed back and moved to the doorway. He called back, "I'll talk to you guys later, thanks for not throwing shit at me, sorry for bailing."

And with that, he was gone.

After giving it a moments thought, Gabriella jumped up from her seat, abandoned her friends and her hostess duties, and rushed after Ryan. With his head start and swift movement, they were all the way on the front lawn before she was able to catch up with him.

"Ryan!" she called, darting after him.

He ignored her, and kept moving down to where his Audi was parked by the curb.

"Ryan, please just talk to me for a minute!" Gabriella pleaded.

He'd reached the footpath and turned around to face her, allowing Gabriella to slow her gait until she reached him.

"I'm not gonna go and like, hurtle myself off a bridge if that's what you're worried about."

"No, but you seem a bit worked up and I don't think you should be driving like that. Just talk to me for a minute til you calm down a bit, okay?"

Gabriella Montez could be very stubborn when she wanted to be, and Ryan sensed the determination in her tone. He sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be getting away as quickly as he'd intended. "I don't know what you think you can say to fix this mess."

Gabriella shivered slightly – and it was then that he realised that she'd run outside barefoot, without wearing a coat. Albuquerque may not have been the coolest climate but it wasn't a bright move anywhere during winter.

"Come sit in my car," Ryan urged, pressing the unlock button on his keys.

She wasn't about to argue, and sat in the front passenger seat while he moved around to sit in the drivers seat.

"I didn't come out here to 'fix' it or somehow make it better," Gabriella told him. "I just want you to talk to me about it."

He let out a sigh and rested his elbows on the top of the steering wheel, his head falling to his hands. His eyes were closed firmly.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Ryan whispered. "This isn't something that happens in real life. I'm like… it's like I'm Justin in Queer as Folk or something. Except… Chase isn't like, way older than me like Brian, he's only a year older. And I didn't meet him by going out to a gay club and then fucking him."

"Ryan?" Gabriella ventured.

"Or maybe it's like in Cruel Intentions, when Mrs. Caldwell's housekeeper finds the letters to Cecile from Ronald in the doll house. Except more modern. And direct. My dad invading my privacy and reading my text messages."

"Ryan…"

He lifted his head from the steering wheel, and stared wide eyed at Gabriella. "It really happened… all this… didn't it?" he breathed. "My dad knows. Which means my mom knows, even though she wasn't actually there I'm sure dad told her. And I really went to Las Cruces and I met Chase. And I really just told everyone, didn't I?"

"Yeah. You did." Her voice was quiet.

"Yesterday morning everything was normal and now… now I just… fuck… I don't know anything any more. I don't have any control over anything."

* * *

Whilst Gabriella and Ryan were conversing in his Audi, the rest of the Wildcats had resumed their sitting around in deafening silence.

"I have to go home," Zeke said suddenly. "I uh… have to… clean my room."

"Are you cool, man?" Chad asked, eyebrows cocked at the abruptness of Zeke's announcement.

"Yeah. I just uh… I totally forgot that my mom was ragging me about it and wanted me home early. Something tells me we're all just gonna be sitting around feeling weird."

"Probably," Taylor agreed with a small smile.

"So anyway yeah. I'll see you guys later."

And then there were six.

"I'm going up to Gabi's room. I'm going to check my e-mail," Troy said evenly, his voice somewhat hollow.

Chad rolled his eyes, but no one said anything, allowing Troy to abandon them, leaving just five – Jason, Kelsi, Taylor, Martha and Chad – sitting in the dining room.

"I might start tidying up," Kelsi said, abruptly standing. "Who is finished with their plate?"

Chad and Jason quickly shovelled an extra serving of nachos from the centre trays onto their requisite plates, and clutched at their lunches protectively. Martha and Taylor both handed their plates over to Kelsi, and then began to assist by gathering the empty glasses and plates belonging with Troy, Ryan, Zeke and Gabriella. The girls disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Chad and Jason at the table, munching away at their nachos.

"So," Jason said.

"So," Chad echoed.

"Ryan's gay, huh?"

"Yeah. He is."

Jason shrugged. "Whatev. Hope things work out okay with his dad."

"Yeah, me too."

Jason picked up another topping covered corn chip and popped it into his mouth. "I so fucking love this salsa, Ms. Montez is like, the best cook ever."

* * *

Meanwhile in the kitchen at the sink, the three girls had formed a dish washing line – with Martha washing up, Kelsi drying and Taylor putting the dry items away.

And as they worked, they talked.

"So how long have you known?!" Taylor exclaimed, asking Kelsi.

"Known? In the sense of being aware, or officially? Because I've _known_ since probably sophomore year. I've been friends with Ryan longer than you guys, and if you pay attention to the signs, it's quite obvious – which you obviously get Martha, since you weren't surprised at all."

"Okay, so when did he tell you?" Martha asked.

"He didn't tell me." Kelsi sighed. "Okay. So… it would have been after summer. I worked out that he'd told Gabriella – she and I were talking about the whole situation with Troy and Ryan and the jealousy and everything. And she was just way too casual about it – like she just was so firm and adamant that Ryan wasn't interested. I wound up asking her directly, she admitted that it was true, like that he had actually told her."

"Did that annoy you?" Martha asked. "That he hadn't told you? Because…" Martha lowered her voice. "He tells _Chad_ but not you or me? And he's only been friends with Gabriella since summer."

Kelsi shrugged. "I was a bit annoyed but Ryan explained it to me from a different perspective and I see his point of view. But anyway. I wound up confronting him about it and now he talks to me fairly openly about it, like he tells me and Gabriella about this guy who he met online – and evidently met for real last night."

"I'm happy for him. I mean, obviously we don't know everything that's happened with his father, but I can't imagine actually trying to live some kind of secret identity. I never understood how or why Chad managed to do it with all that stuff with his family – and with Ryan, it's about hiding everything about who he is," Taylor said.

"Maybe that's when Ryan told Chad? Because didn't Chad tell Ryan about the stuff with his family?" Kelsi pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe. That would make sense," Taylor agreed.

* * *

Zeke only lived a ten minute drive away from Gabriella's – well, ten minutes the way that he drove; fifteen the way his mother drove. He'd gone straight to his bedroom, and was sitting with his cell phone in his hand for two minutes. Two minutes, sitting alone, with nothing other than your thoughts to entertain you – is a really long time.

Finally, he opened a text message screen, and tapped away a message.

**R u ok?**

_My twin brother is a basket case, my dad is completely fucked up and my mom has been crying about her precious Duckie. How do you think I am?_

**U wanna talk about it?**

_No. But, thanks anyway._

* * *

After watching as Ryan drove away at a healthy speed, as opposed to the speed she suspected he may have screeched away in if she hadn't followed him, Gabriella trudged back across the lawn to her front door. She'd almost forgotten about everyone still remaining inside her house. Upon re-entering, she found Taylor, Kelsi, Chad, Jason and Martha all sitting around in the lounge room.

"How's Ryan?" Kelsi immediately asked.

Gabriella shrugged, and collapsed into the arm chair which her mother usually sat in. "Umm… I think he's feeling numb. Too many ups and downs, feeling upset about how his dad found out but happy that it made him get the courage to go meet Chase for the first time. Glad that he finally felt liberated enough to tell all of you guys, but overwhelmed by the ramifications of that. It's… the whole thing is just really complicated."

"I think it'll all work out fine," Chad said. "Seriously."

Gabriella was a little more dubious. "You guys have been in Albuquerque longer so maybe know more about the Evans' family but from what I know… Mr. Evans is very…" She was searching for the right word. She wanted to say 'bigoted' or 'judgemental' or even 'gay-hating' but instead settled upon saying, "… traditional."

"It's 2008. It's possible our country is going to have a black or a female president elected this year," Jason said. "Are you seriously telling me that Ryan's dad can be that pissed that his son is gay?"

The whole group looked at Jason, surprised by his statement.

"What?" he asked; confused at to why they were looking at him.

"I didn't realise you were following the elections," Taylor commented, hiding a smile.

"Oh, I'm not. My mom is like, _really_ into it. She thinks Hillary Clinton is totally off the hook," Jason said. "And talks about it _all_ the time."

Gabriella shook her head slightly, and then frowned – as though suddenly realising that people were missing.

"Where are Zeke and Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Zeke had to leave," Martha answered. "Didn't you see him go out to his car?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, totally missed him."

"And Troy… said he was gonna go check his e-mail on your computer. And went upstairs," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Lamest excuse ever to go brood on his own."

"Troy does not _brood_," Gabriella said indignantly.

"He _so_ does," Taylor agreed with Chad.

"Okay, maybe brood isn't the word," Chad conceded. "_Sulk_ might be a better word."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'll go get him. You guys will be right down here, won't you?"

"Of course," Taylor assured her. "Go on."

She wearily stood from the arm chair and headed out to the stair case, trudging up slowly one stair at a time. When she'd volunteered her house to be their hang out location that day, she'd had no idea that things were going to wind up so dramatic. Hang out, play some PlayStation, talk about their holidays, watch a DVD – that had been the proposed itinerary.

Gabriella went straight to her room, and slowly opened the door. As anticipated, Troy was there. However he wasn't sitting at her desk using her laptop as stated. Instead he was on her bed nestled among the pillows. His legs were stretched out in front of him with his right leg crossed over his left, and his hands propped behind his head. She couldn't help but smile slightly, and think that even when he was feeling a bit overwhelmed by something, he felt perfectly at home to just come up and make himself comfortable in her room. It somehow made her feel less anxious about the conversation which was to follow – if he was truly pissed, he would have left her house altogether.

"Hey," Gabriella said softly.

"Hi," Troy returned shortly.

"Finish checking your e-mails?" Gabriella said.

He didn't even respond to her statement – when he'd given that excuse, he'd known that his friends wouldn't buy it. And even if by some miracle they did, he'd known the moment that Gabriella returned and they informed her of his whereabouts, she would see through the excuse and know that he hadn't segregated himself for the purpose of using the internet.

"Did he leave?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sat on her bed cross legged beside him, but facing toward him. "Um, yeah. I think he just needs to have some alone time, catch his breath. It's pretty… pretty huge for him."

"So. How long have you known?"

"A while."

"How long is a while?"

"A long while."

"Gabriella."

She sighed. "Since the end of summer."

"The _end of summer?!_" Troy repeated incredulously.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes."

She wasn't ashamed for having known that long. If Troy was going to make an issue out of it – it wasn't something she was going to concede that she'd lacked good judgement. Ryan was her friend, he'd shared with her something in confidence. As far as she was concerned, there was no room for negotiation on that point.

"Okay," Troy said slowly.

"Let's skip over all this because I'm actually feeling really drained right now," Gabriella said quietly. "Are you mad at me for not telling you?"

"Mad at you?" he paused, contemplating that notion. "No. No, I'm not. I'm… kinda just feeling like even more of a wanker."

"Troy, you don't…"

"Oh, but I do," he interrupted. "Seriously. It's like… one of those things that in hindsight, when you know all the context… all these conversations are coming back to me, like ones where you would tell me with such unequivocal certainty that there was nothing going on. He's… I mean, now that I know, that I've been told, it's kinda obvious, you know?"

"Yeah. I guess even though stereotypes are bad, they are developed on a basis, they are developed for a reason. Sometimes when someone fits the stereotype, they are it."

"Why would you think that I'd be mad at you?" Troy asked.

"Because if I'd told you, we could have avoided so much drama. I mean… I'm glad that I didn't tell you, both because of my loyalty to Ryan and because I think it was better for our relationship that I didn't. But I guess I thought you might see it differently."

Troy shook his head. "No… no I… I'm proud of you for not telling me. That so would have been the easy way out. I… I think it's amazing that you kept his confidence. That's just on that massive 1000 page list of reasons why I love you, you know? That you are such a great friend and so loyal and can be counted on all the time and…" he trailed off. "No. I'm not mad. I just felt kinda weird being down there. They were all going to be gossipping about it and asking Chad and Kelsi what they knew. Even when he was talking about what happened with his dad, all I could do was be self centred and think about what an ass I'd been. And then I was thinking about how I was an ass for being so self centred and only thinking about me being an ass. So I figured I'd just come up here and wallow in self pity."

"I think you're being a bit dramatic," Gabriella said tactfully.

"How's Ryan, by the way? See! I didn't even ask you that yet. Self centred."

"He's okay," Gabriella responded, picking up Troy's hands and interlacing their fingers. "And you're not being self centred. How can you be self centred when you're thinking that you've been an ass?"

Troy sighed. "I don't know. I still feel like shit about the whole thing."

"It's the past, Troy. You and I are in such a better place now than we would have been if I had told you. You needed to make peace with everything to do with Ryan on your own accord. You did – and you did it without knowing about him. Which means a lot to me and is important for us."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay with this though? I mean… do you think it's weird?"

"That he's gay?" Troy clarified, and Gabriella nodded. "Hell no! As long as he doesn't hit on me, whatever. And you know, as long as I don't have to hear all about it. I'd find that weird. But that's what you are for."

"I don't hear the details either! Not like… like _that_! Besides, I don't think there are any details yet. Well, except for that one…"

Troy covered his ears with his hands. "La la la la la not listening don't want to hear la la la la. And that you also probably shouldn't be telling me la la la…"

Gabriella giggled, and pulled at his arms to remove his hands from his ears. "I'm sorry. I have stopped talking about it, I promise."

Troy's expression broke into a smile at the pleading look on her face. "Well, okay then."

"So… are you okay with this? Are you gonna keep beating yourself up over something that you've moved past?"

"I think with some convincing I can manage to stop feeling down about it," Troy said innocently.

"Convincing? And how does this convincing work?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows raised.

"Through kisses," Troy said, his tone very serious.

She laughed. "Oh really?"

"Yup."

"What like… this sort of kiss?" Gabriella pecked him on the cheek.

"Oh come on! That's how my aunties kiss me!"

"Okay, what about this?" She kissed his other cheek, with a longer, noisy kiss.

"And that reminded me of my grandma."

"I hope you're not implying that I look like your grandmother," Gabriella said with a slight pout.

"I'll have you know that my grandma is very handsome for a seventy year old lady."

She was giggling as she finally pressed her lips to his in a sweet, tender kiss.

"Mmm, that's getting warmer," Troy murmured with their lips lingering tantalisingly close.

"How warm?"

"Oh fuck it," Troy said. "I have been wanting to kiss you senseless all day. First there was the singing and then you were there cooking in that little apron. And then you took a mouthful of your soda and a tiny bit dribbled down your chin and you thought no one was watching and quickly wiped it away but I saw it." He practically pushed Gabriella onto the bed, a squeal emitting from her throat which he silenced with the initiation of a steamy kiss. He broke apart to ask, "Is it highly inappropriate that all this shit is going on and all I can think about is how much I wanna…"

"Inappropriate, probably. But then I guess we're both inappropriate," Gabriella admitted. "There's nothing either of us can do for Ryan right now."

"Your mom and my mom are both at work and dad has gone into school for an all day teacher meeting; and you invited all our friends over _why?!_?" Troy enquired, before dipping down to suckle at her neck.

"Uh… I had all these really great reasons at the time but at this moment I can't recall a single one of them," Gabriella asked with a slight moan. "Do you think if we just stay up here, they'll leave?"

"Unlikely." Troy hoisted himself up off her, and held his hand out. "Let's go get rid of them."

Gabriella accepted his hand but looked at him with a bemused expression. "And how exactly do you propose we do that?"

"Well… I don't know. But there must be a way," Troy uttered with determination.

The couple moved back downstairs, hand in hand, both brains working overtime in search of a legitimate reason why everyone but Troy had to leave pronto.

What Troy and Gabriella didn't know was that Gabriella's shriek hadn't exactly been quiet, and that the majority of their friends weren't completely naïve. The moment they re-entered the living room, Chad was the first to speak.

"Right, well, we're all gonna take off," Chad announced.

There were many words which could be used to describe Troy Bolton. Athletic, attractive, handsome, charming, corny, passionate.

Discrete was not one of them.

The look he shot Gabriella in that pure moment was not mistaken on any of their friends. They all saw the gaze of pure lust – confirming what they'd already suspected.

"Oh, really?" Gabriella asked. "We don't have to let this spoil our day."

"I uh… I have to get home to my puppy, anyway. We're keeping him inside until he is toilet trained," Taylor said.

"And I have to work on some compositions," Kelsi added.

"I have to wash and polish my car," Chad supplied.

"Yes and I uh, have to look after my brother," Martha informed them.

"I don't have to be anywhere, I can stay hang if you really want me to," Jason offered.

Troy's eyes widened. "Err… isn't… Martha giving you a lift?"

"No, Chad is," Martha said quickly.

"Whatever."

"True. Okay, so I can't stay and hang. Unless you wanna give me a ride home, Hoops?"

"Jason, shut up, and let's go," Chad said, grasping onto his friends arm and moving him toward the door.

The group all began to migrate, Troy and Gabriella walking their friends out. Normally they might walk all the way out to their cars – but on this occasion, they got as far as the barrier of the front door before Troy was unable to continue being patient – being directed by something other than his brain. Martha, Kelsi, Chad, Jason and Taylor had all passed through, and Gabriella was about to step through the doorway, when Troy pulled her back and kept her on the 'inside' area of the door frame.

"Okay guys, well have a great afternoon," Troy said cheerfully. "JC, Danforth, I'll see you tomorrow for practice."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah that totally blows, a game of two on two maybe, but whoever heard of practice during the…"

"Yeah it sucks, oh well, that's coach for ya! See you tomorrow!" Troy cut in with a fake smile.

Gabriella raised her hand to wave to her friends, but the front door was pulled closed by Troy, leaving the rest of the group on the doorstep. Martha rolled her eyes, Chad and Taylor exchange knowing glances and Kelsi looked somewhat embarrassed.

"I bet about two point five seconds until…" Martha was cut off by the sound of a crash inside the house.

"By the end of the school year, he will have corrupted every morsel of innocence that exists within that girl," Chad said, shaking his head.

"Uh, I don't think you have to worry about Gabriella being corrupted. I think it's self inflicted, voluntary corruption," Taylor commented.

Jason glanced around, looking puzzled. "Huh? What are you guys talking about?"

* * *

After spending a blissful afternoon together, Troy and Gabriella managed to win an award for perfect timing. They'd tidied themselves and the house up, opened the door to Gabriella's room and settled themselves a safe distance apart listening to music – at which point, Elena Montez arrived home from work.

Troy was lying back on Gabriella's bed. Her cell phone began to ring – and it was positioned closest to Troy, on her bedside table. Troy picked it up to hand it over, and glanced at the screen.

"It's Ryan," he informed her.

Gabriella nodded and accepted the ringing phone, and answered the call.

"Hey Ryan… Thanks, I appreciate you calling me, how are you doing? … Troy is here… no, no, just talking, I promise you. My mom got home a little while ago… yeah she's just downstairs starting dinner…" Gabriella paused for an extra long time as Ryan spoke, her eyes drifting over Troy as she was listening. "I'll go ask her. What can I tell her, she'll want a reason… okay then, I'll let you know. It should be fine. Call me back in like, fifteen minutes."

* * *

A half hour later, Gabriella and Troy were seated in the living room, the smells of the satay chicken and rice that were being prepared in the kitchen wafting through and tantalising taste buds. However dinner had been put off until the final person who was to be present arrived. The television was blaring in the background with the evening news, however neither of the pair was paying attention. Troy was clutching onto his cell phone, playing a golf game. Gabriella was hugging her knees to her chest, staring out the window expectantly, impatiently. At the sound of a car pulling up outside, her ears practically pricked up like a dog or cat. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Gabriella took a deep breath, rose to her feet, and moved toward the door. She opened the door, and there he was.

"Ryan."

"Gabriella."

His eyes were red, his face was blotchy – his voice had sounded broken over the phone earlier, and his appearance confirmed Gabriella's suspicion that he'd been crying.

"Come in," Gabriella said, standing back to allow him to come in.

"Thanks." It was a loaded thank you – he wasn't thanking her for allowing him through the door, he was thanking her for allowing him to be there.

"Anytime."

Gabriella led Ryan through to the living room where Troy was still seated with his cell phone. He hastily saved his golf game and flipped his cell shut.

"Hey man," Troy said casually.

"Hey, what's up?" Ryan asked, his tone equally aloof.

That was the end of the pretence. Both would have loved to continue to pretend that they were just there to hang out casually. But the reality was that it was a social scenario that very infrequently occurred, just Gabriella and Ryan and Troy in one room at one time. With the exception of a musical rehearsal, Gabriella couldn't really recall a time she'd been alone with her boyfriend and Ryan.

Troy was fidgeting with his cell phone, flipping it open and closed, open and closed. Ryan cleared his throat. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you and I cool?" he asked. "Because I uh… I really hope that this hasn't caused any problems with you guys." Ryan glanced between Gabriella and Troy.

"Oh no, not at all," Troy assured him. "I uh… I totally respect that Gabriella has friendships that are separate to our relationship and that what's between her and you isn't automatically between me as well. I admit it was… it was weird at first, just knowing that Gabriella kinda has known this huge thing that I didn't know anything about. But like, if one of my friends told me something and asked me very specifically to keep it private, I would. So… yeah. It's cool. We're cool, we have been for a while and this doesn't change that."

Every word Troy spoke was the truth – he wasn't just assuring Ryan for the sake of keeping the peace. The smile on Ryan's face told both Troy and Gabriella just how grateful he was.

"Okay. You get to choose between two rooms to stay in," Gabriella told Ryan. "You can have the room next to mine, which in my opinion, has a much comfier bed, but the room itself is a bit smaller. Or there's the room across the hall from mine, which is bigger and has more closet space; but the bed is a bit crappy."

"I don't mind, really. I'll curl up on the carpet right here if I have to."

"That won't be necessary. There's also dinner going to be ready soon," Gabriella told him.

"Oh… I'm not very hungry," Ryan said. "If I could borrow like, a towel or something, I think I might just have a shower and…"

"Not hungry?" Elena Montez's voice asked from the doorway.

Ryan looked up, and smiled. "Hi Ms. Montez. Um… thanks so much for agreeing that I could stay here tonight."

Gabriella hadn't told her mother specifically why Ryan needed somewhere to stay. However Gabriella and Elena had the type of relationship where Elena intuitively knew that there was something bigger going on. She'd met Ryan multiple times, and liked her daughters friend and respected that he wasn't the troublesome type. So when Gabriella had said that he has 'stuff' going on at home with his dad; that was enough information for Elena to agree.

"You're more than welcome. However, I must point out that I do have three stipulations."

"Okay…" Ryan said slowly.

"Firstly – I want you to make sure that your parents know that you are here. I don't know the details here but if you don't want to talk to them, you can leave a message with a house keeper for all I care, or get a message to your sister. But I want them to know that you are safe and not rolling around in a ditch."

Ryan nodded. "Okay."

"Secondly – while you are here, you live under the same rules that Gabriella lives under, which she can tell you all about."

"Um, I really just want a place to crash, I can promise you that nothing I'll be doing will be against any kind of house rules," Ryan said truthfully.

"Nevertheless she will outline them. And the third rule is that if you are living under my roof, then you will humour me and sit and at least try to eat the food that I cook."

Ryan nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

"Excellent. So, dinner is nearly ready, and in honour of rule 1…" Elena brought her hand out from behind her back and handed Ryan an extension of the house phone. "You can call home."

"Ms. Montez?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind if when I called home, if I asked for my sister and if I got her to bring me some of my stuff here?"

"Of course, that's more than fine."

* * *

Ryan had requested that Sharpay bring his phone and phone charger, laptop, pyjamas, a change of clothes and toiletries. She'd brought almost a whole suitcase filled with stuff.

"Well, I didn't know what you were doing tomorrow, or what the weather would be like. Or I might have packed clothing which you just woke up tomorrow and didn't feel like wearing. So… I brought a few options," she had explained defensively.

She'd sat on the bed in the spare bedroom that Ryan had selected – the room beside Gabriella's because it had a nice view of the backyard – as he'd unpacked his things.

"I guess you want to call Chase, so I'll get going," Sharpay said. She tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder. "I have a nail appointment early in the morning, anyway."

Ryan knew this was her way of just wanting to get the inevitable parting over and done with. He walked her back down the stairs and to the front door.

"It's just for tonight, Shar," Ryan said quietly. "Maybe two, if dad is too busy with work for me to talk to him tomorrow."

"I have a feeling it might be for longer," Sharpay said, biting her lip.

Ryan swallowed. It was a gut feeling that he had inside as well.

"No matter what happens, no matter where either of us are living – you and I will always be cool. You know that, right?"

"Then why won't you just come home?!" Sharpay asked desperately. "Who cares what he thinks? You've got me there. And mom is going hysterical, she is barely talking to him. She is _so_ on your side. Just come home, and we can sort everything out. You and me, together."

"I think this is something I have to solve on my own, Shar," Ryan said quietly. "Mom and I are meeting for yoga and smoothies tomorrow. I'll see what happens after that, okay?"

* * *

Sharpay sniffled the whole way back to her car.

Ryan had never, ever, _ever_ seen her cry. Every time she'd felt herself breaking in front of him, she would bite her lower lip, and find a way to hold back the tears until she could excuse herself. When their grandmother had died. After she had given away the star dazzle award over summer. During her ACT exams in junior year when she had her period and was feeling hormonal and her father had banned her from using her credit card again that month and she had no way of shopping to induce stress relief.

And she wasn't about to allow him to see her cry now. She'd come dangerously close, feeling tears prick in her eyes as she'd hugged her twin goodbye. Hence the hasty escape, doing a quick about face and charging down the driveway to where she'd parked her pink Mustang.

She went so far as to get into her car, start the engine and drive down the block – knowing that Ryan was going to stand in the doorway of the Montez home until she had driven away. There was a small park on the corner of where Gabriella's street met the main thoroughfare in a 'T'. With an aura of calm, Sharpay pulled over and parked in one of the designated curb side slots. She sat with the engine running for a moment, before reaching out to turn the key to switch off the engine.

The aura of calm was a facade.

In one moment, Sharpay was sitting still, staring blankly at the swing set which was directly in front of her line of vision.

The next, her facial features crumbled and the tears which had been forming began to roll down her cheeks.

* * *

Zeke was lying back on his bed in his room, remote control in his hand as he flicked through the television stations. Finally he found something he wanted to watch – something he owned the DVD box set of and had watched every episode at least twice. The show was just beginning, the opening sequence playing. Zeke mimed along with the narrator.

"And he named his men the iron chefs, the invincible men of culinary skills…"

His cell phone began to ring, as he reached over to grab his phone he pressed the volume button down a few notches on the remote. He froze upon seeing the caller – not afraid, or annoyed, but rather surprised.

"Sharpay?" Zeke asked hesitantly.

He heard a slight sniffle. _"Zeke… are you busy?"_

"Are you okay?" Zeke asked, feeling somewhat alarmed. "Are you hurt, or…"

"_Are you busy?"_ she repeated.

"It's winter vacation and I'm watching a rerun of the Iron Chef. But even if I was busy, I would make myself unbusy for you."

"_Can you like… tell me about basketball, or something."_

"What, are you serious?"

"_Okay, maybe not basketball. Tell me about your cookie recipe."_

"Sharpay…"

"_Zeke… please."_

There was something pleading in her tone which Zeke couldn't help but comply with. "Umm… which recipe? Coz, I have a few, you know."

"_You do?"_

"Yeah. It was my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I think you've tasted. Oh, well, at Paula's party you had a bunch but you probably don't remember those."

"_Not so much. What were the ones you were making over summer at Lava Springs? The ones they brought backstage for the Mid Summers Night Talent Show?"_

"Ohhh, that was my shortbread."

"_I liked that."_

"You probably don't want to know what's in it, then."

"_Lots of calories?"_

"Yup."

"_Damn."_

The conversation continued, mindless chatter, Sharpay asking questions about things that she didn't really care about and Zeke responding, although he knew that she wasn't really listening and that if he asked her to repeat his recipe back tomorrow, she would likely not recall a single ingredient. They continued to talk, Zeke telling Sharpay about his uneventful winter vacation, and asking her about her vacation in Montreal. Her voice brightened as she talked about one of the shows which she and Ryan had gone to see – and a bittersweet sigh then emitted from her.

"You guys are really close, huh?" Zeke said gently.

"_Yeah… we are."_ She then cleared her throat. _"Anyway, I'm tired. I guess… I guess I'll let you get back to things."_

"I don't mind talking," Zeke told her. "Really."

"_No, it's all right,"_ Sharpay said quickly.

He bit his lip, worried he'd spoken too quickly, been too insistent. "Oh… okay," he said quietly.

"_I'm uh… I'm sitting in my car at the park at the moment. I just… didn't quite want to go home yet. It feels… a bit wrong. But I guess I should. I want to talk to mother, anyway, she wants to know how Ryan is."_

Zeke eased a little, feeling better about her rejection to keep talking. "Okay then."

"_Zeke?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Thanks,"_ Sharpay said quietly.

"You're welcome. Anytime. Seriously. If you ever want to…"

"_I know. Good night, Zeke."_

"Good night, Sharpay."

* * *


	21. Chapter 21

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN**: Hands up, who is feeling narky at fanfiction . net right now? Yes I know technology sucks and sometimes crap happens. But you don't leave an error message saying it'll be fixed in a few MINUTES for DAYS. For the record, I had this chapter ready to post with a 'Happy Oscars Day! Good luck Zac and V with their official duties tonight' author's note. I'm feeling seeeeeriously irate at the moment, like, I want to throw stuff at the wall but I also am just so incredibly excited, it's sad just how excited.

The author would like to remind readers that this story is rated M, this is not only for coarse language and sexual themes, but also for themes of generally adult/controversial nature. The real world is filled with moral ambiguity. Some readers may take offence to the portrayal of some of the adult themes being discussed. The author means no personal harm or offence.

Thanks Auds for picking at the awkward bit. Mwah!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_What you see is crystal wall, what you breath is silver air  
But weigh this moment with a future of your dreams no longer there  
What you'll see is burning black, and what'll you see is empty air  
So weigh this moment with a future of your dreams no longer there_

_So will you keep on falling… until you reach the ground? _

**Missy Higgins 'Falling'**

* * *

Ryan was nervously pacing outside of the yoga room at Lava Springs. The class was designated to begin in approximately eight and a half minutes. The instructor, Jon, had already arrived, greeting Ryan with a smile and a wave.

"Are you coming in, Ryan?" Jon had asked with a broad smile as he passed.

"I will be, I'm just waiting for my mom to get here," Ryan replied.

"Fantastic, see you inside."

And Jon disappeared inside the yoga room, consequently leaving Ryan to continue pacing.

He first spotted her emerging from the health spa and beauty salon; he suspected she'd been having her weekly facial and nail appointment. His eyes quickly averted, focusing on a small trail of ants that were marching along the pavement in front of him. Focusing on anything but the look in her eyes. Seeing his fathers' look of condemnation twenty four hours earlier had been hard enough. He was putting off seeing that same look from his mother.

However, it was a look that was never to arrive. Because as Derby Evans came to stand in front of her son, her hand rose for her index and middle fingers to tilt his chin up; and the look in her eyes as Ryan's gaze met hers was not one of condemnation or disapproval.

It was a look of love.

"Duckie," Derby said simply.

Ryan's eyes widened as he felt his mother engulf him in a warm, comforting hug; allowing himself to be enveloped within her arms. He felt involuntary tears prickling at his eyes.

"Hi mom," Ryan said quietly.

Finally, Derby let go of her son – wiping beneath her eyes carefully, being careful to not smudge her make up.

"We should go inside, Jon doesn't like it when people arrive late into the lesson," Derby said. "I'm sensing a lot of tension, I think we both need to cleanse our auras."

"That's it?" Ryan asked incredulously. "You don't… you don't want to talk about it?"

"What exactly do you mean by 'it', darling?"

"Uh… you know, the whole thing with you guys finding out that I'm gay?"

"Your father may have 'found out', but I most certainly didn't need some text message to be made aware of that fact."

"You mean… you knew?" Ryan asked, voice filled with surprise. "How?"

"Duckie, I'm your mother. We just… we know these things," Derby attempted to explain. "Anyway. So no, we don't need to talk about it, not at the moment anyway. Let's go in and enjoy our lesson. And then we'll go to the juice bar and discuss your father."

Ryan wrinkled up his nose. "Now that you've told me that's on the agenda, there's no way this class is going to be enough to de-stress me."

* * *

"Last time we tried to have girls night, Kelsi was texting to Jason half the time and Gabriella was on the phone to Troy. There will be _none_ of that tonight," Martha declared valiantly.

It was late afternoon and Taylor, Martha and Gabriella were gathered in Gabriella's living room, the former two having just arrived. Kelsi was at her little brother's birthday party, and was due to arrive in a couple of hours around dinner time.

"If Troy calls me; I can't just _not_ answer my phone," Gabriella said rolling her eyes.

"You can answer it. And tell him you're busy and you'll make out with… I mean… _see_ him tomorrow," Martha said.

"So do these rules apply to me and Chad as well?" Taylor asked. "Because, since we just sorta made it official again, I shouldn't even _be_ here. I should be out, on a date, with my boyfriend."

Taylor was sympathetic to Martha – knowing that in particular, it was Kelsi's conversations with Jason that bothered her friend. However she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she said the word 'boyfriend'.

"You've seen him like, every day since he got back from his dad's!" Martha pointed out. "And you saw him today! I'm sure you'll handle the night apart."

"I know we're all probably really annoying for you, going on about the guys," Taylor said carefully.

"There's no reason why you can't join in with boy gossip," Gabriella said. "You can't tell me that of _all_ the guys at East High, there isn't at least one who you think is hot."

"None that I'll be sitting here gossipping about, anyway," Martha said.

"So there is someone?" Gabriella asked, perking up.

"Gabriella…" Taylor said quietly, warningly.

Martha sighed. "I kinda do like this guy but he's seeing someone so it's not really something I want to talk about, okay?"

"Maybe it would help you… you know, to move on?" Taylor said gently.

"What are you talking about, moving on?" Gabriella asked. "Can you take her? Might this guy be into you? That sounds rude but if you're into him and if he was into you but maybe didn't know that you were into him…"

"He's not into me, he's totally, completely into her," Martha said, her tone dripping with envy. She then added hastily, "Just to clarify, it's not Troy."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I really didn't think it was Troy for even a second. What is it… is it someone we're friends with? Am I missing something here?" Gabriella said slowly, glancing backwards and forwards from Martha to Taylor and then back to Martha again.

"Gabriella, don't worry about it, okay," Taylor said, trying to protect her friend from having to talk about it.

"I like Jason," Martha admitted, exhaling with a sigh as she said it.

Gabriella blinked a few times, her eyes widening. "Oh…"

"But it's cool. It's not like… I obviously am not planning to do anything about it. He's totally into Kelsi and even if he wasn't, she's one of my best friends so… it's just something that happened which I'm dealing with. I told Taylor about it a couple of weeks ago, which has surprisingly made it seem more… it's made it real," Martha explained. "Real that I have to just get over it."

Martha was very matter of fact, very frank about the issue. It seemed to be a weekend of confessions for the Wildcats. It was a different situation for Gabriella, in the world of girl talk. Advice to Taylor throughout her up and down sometimes friendship sometimes relationship with Chad had been that he was very clearly into her and that they could make it work. Advice to Kelsi during the months and months of flirtation with Jason had been that he was very clearly into her and she should just go for it.

The reality was that there was no chance for Martha and Jason. But it was the real world – sometimes crushes are unrequited. Gabriella wanted for all of her friends to be happy, but the situation Martha was in wasn't one which allowed for that scenario to play out.

"Yeah, I guess you do," Gabriella said quietly.

"Anyway," Martha said. "So now you know why I get sick of all the boy talk. It's not that I don't want to hear about you and Troy, or that I don't want to offer advice. And same for Taylor and Chad. It's that once Kelsi gets here later tonight, the boy talk also leads to her talking about Jason. And I am happy that she's happy, I really am. But it kinda bums me out at the moment. And then she starts talking just like how you did – how surely there must be some guy who I might be interested in. And the truth is that right now I'm just kinda crazy about him. So… yeah."

"I get that," Gabriella said, squeezing her friends hand. "So I'm sure that we can find heaps of stuff to talk about that doesn't have anything to do with the boys, okay?"

"Yeah!" Taylor said enthusiastically. "Like… umm… okay."

There was silence, only the sound of the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway permeating throughout the room.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "So… midterms are soon."

* * *

Ryan had a fairly close relationship with his mother, he respected that she was very much so her own person separate from his father. She had her own interior design firm– which granted, she'd been able to set up thanks to Vance's money. Which in itself was money and a business he'd inherited. But Derby made the most of the opportunity, and she played a hands on role within her interior design firm. Certainly, she had a prominent visibility using the facilities of Lava Springs, but she also co-ordinated charity drives for the country club to sponsor and played an active role on the board of directors and also in the management of the club spa and health facility.

Gradually over the last few months, Ryan had been coming to terms with his sexuality. Telling friends was the first step to admitting to himself who he was. Beginning to converse, and now forge what he could only hope was going to be a relationship, with Chase – had been revolutionary. Chase was only a year older, but he'd come out to his parents when he was sixteen. They'd been wary but on the whole accepting, however there were extended family members who had found out and Chase had dealt with adverse reactions.

Nevertheless, no story, anecdote or advice could have prepared Ryan for that look of contempt in his father's eye. The disgust, which had then morphed into a shouted insistence that it simply couldn't be the truth, that Ryan must just be 'going through a phase' or 'having hormonal surges and experimenting.'

He didn't regret telling his friends. The feeling in that brief sliver of time where he'd felt so liberated and empowered was a feeling he wanted to hold onto forever. In that moment, he hadn't cared what they thought. Their reception had been everything he could have hoped for, it wasn't contrived, it wasn't forced – it was real.

But telling his friends was like saying good bye to the old Ryan, to the Ryan who was hiding, to the Ryan who was pretending to be someone he wasn't.

Over the last twenty four hours, Ryan's whole world had been turned upside down

And then, he spent the most refreshing afternoon of his life with his mother – something he never thought he would do.

And all they did was sit and do something they would quite often do. After yoga, they went to the juice bar and got smoothies, and they sat and talked.

They didn't talk about the prior morning.

They didn't talk about Chase.

It was just as it always had been, Derby wanting to know about Ryan and Sharpay's preparations for the East High's Got Talent Show, about his class president role, talking about redecorating in their formal dining room to something a bit more contemporary.

It wasn't that Derby was in denial, or that she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't _need_ to talk about it. Because it simply didn't matter. And for those couple of hours, Ryan sat and talked to his mother, feeling completely free, completely at ease. Acting just as they always had, with just one added difference – there were no secrets.

However that comfort had to come to an end at some point, and Derby had quietly said to her son, "Your father is in Santa Fe today for business meetings but he'll be home for dinner. You'll be there, won't you?"

Ryan had sighed, and asked, "I suppose I should get it over with, shouldn't I?"

"If anything, I think your father will appreciate that you are man enough to confront him about it," Derby said optimistically.

And so that was why, at 5:30pm, Ryan was back at home, in his room. Sharpay was sitting on the plush arm chair that was in the corner, watching as he came in and out of his walk in wardrobe, wearing a different outfit each time.

"What about this one?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay twirled a lock of blonde hair around her finger, glancing up and down at the fourth 'straight' outfit that Ryan had put on. The baggiest jeans he could find – which weren't very baggy – a pair of scuffed up sneakers that he kept purely should he ever need such an item for a costume, a navy t-shirt with only the smallest amount of white detailing.

"You look like Troy," Sharpay said bluntly.

"He was kinda my model, to be honest. Since Dad loves him so much. Maybe I should do a red and white outfit – like, an East High t-shirt. Do I have one of those? I think I do, somewhere."

"Ry?" Sharpay said. "Isn't the whole point of this… thing… that you're not hiding anymore? Just… be you."

Ryan sighed. "I would wear this," he said, glancing down at his outfit.

Sharpay snorted. "What, out running?"

"No, even then I'd be wearing better sneakers and probably be wearing shorts and have a headband around my head," Ryan admitted.

Sharpay smiled, somewhat triumphantly. She promptly rose from the armchair and breezed past to enter into his closet. She narrowed her eyes and scanned along, selecting rich grey dress pants; and then pulled out a silk long sleeved shirt with a large checked pattern with different shades of blue. She finally moved over to his hat wall, and chose a grey and blue plaid fedora.

"Get dressed and come downstairs," Sharpay said simply, handing the items over.

Ryan took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

Twenty minutes later, Ryan, Sharpay and Derby Evans were all seated around far end of the 12 seater dining table.

Vance Evans was a man of habit. When he wasn't away on business, he would phone his house to inform the cook when he was going to be home for dinner. He would walk in from the garage, go into the bar and pour himself a single scotch on the rocks with a twist of lemon. He would then go into the dining room – where his doting wife would be waiting. Once upon a time, his twins would be there every night without fail; however with the package of adolescence and a growing assortment of extra curricular commitments, their presence was sporadic at best.

But when they were all there, their was a routine in place. A quick, tender kiss for his wife. A hug for his Princess. A pat on the back for his son.

He'd seen the black Audi and the pink Mustang in the garage.

Vance was prepared for the family, the _entire_ family to be home.

He went into his house, into the bar, poured a single scotch on the rocks – and then on afterthought made it a double. He then plastered a smile onto his face and went into the dining room, where his wife and children were seated, waiting for him to take up his position at the head of the table.

"Vance," Derby said stiffly.

They'd gone to sleep not speaking to one another the evening before, Derby not impressed by his reaction to the discovery about their son. He'd awoken and left the house before her alarm had even gone off. The word she'd received about his whereabouts that day was passed on by the housekeeper.

"Derby," Vance said warmly, leaning over to press his lips to his wife's. Derby didn't exactly return the kiss, but she didn't pull away from it either.

"Princess, you're looking very pretty today. Is that a new dress?" Vance asked brightly, as he gave his daughter a half hug and kissed the side of her head.

"Daddy," she greeted him somewhat hesitantly, void of the bubbliness that would typically be associated with the greeting. "It's one of the dresses I bought in Montreal."

"Ryan," Vance said, his voice gruff. He bypassed his usual pat on the back in favour of sitting down at the head of the table and taking a long gulp from his glass.

"Dad," Ryan said.

"So, how was everyone's day? Sweetheart, how was your yoga class?"

Derby cleared her throat. "It was good, Ryan came along with me."

"Fantastic." Vance picked up a little bell that was on the table, dingling it. A moment later, the cook appeared in the door way.

"Yes sir?"

"We're ready for our salads, once you have them ready."

"Yes sir."

Vance glanced toward Ryan. "So, how was your sleep over last night?"

"My sleep over?" Ryan repeated.

"Yes, didn't you stay over at your friend Gabriella's? She's a nice young girl, very pretty."

Ryan coughed. "Uh, yeah, she is."

The cook came back into the dining room, carrying three salad plates up her right arm and the fourth in her left hand. She placed a plate down in front of each of them, and waited for Vance to take a bite.

"Excellent, love the dressing."

"Thank you sir. Main meals straight away after this course?"

"Yes, thank you. Anyway, so Lava Springs is hosting a Youth Ball in about a month's time. Maybe you could invite Gabriella to come with you," Vance suggested to Ryan.

"What? As my date?" Ryan repeated. He glanced warily toward Sharpay and his mother. For a brief moment, he wondered if maybe he'd hallucinated everything that happened over the last day and a half. Or maybe he'd fallen asleep upstairs before his father came home, and this was actually a dream.

"Yes. You spend a lot of time with her, don't you?"

"She's class vice president with me, and one of my best friends, so yeah, I do," Ryan said.

"Daddy, Gabriella is dating Troy, remember?" Sharpay supplied.

"That's right. Such a silly boy he is, he would have been lucky to have you. This dressing really is amazing, Derby sweetheart, do you know what this flavour is?"

Derby cleared her throat, she'd yet to actually take a mouthful of the salad. She promptly picked up her fork, stabbing a piece of coral lettuce and a cherry tomato, popping them into her mouth.

"I think it's an Italian dressing," she said.

"Maybe. There's just something different, I can't pinpoint what it is." Vance shrugged. "Okay, what about your other friend from school? The one that writes all the songs? She's a pretty young girl, I'm sure she'd look lovely if you put her in a nice dress."

"Um, yeah, Kelsi's cute, but she's dating Jason," Ryan said.

"Do I know him?"

"He worked at Lava Springs over summer, in the kitchen mostly," Ryan said.

Vance shook his head. "No, don't remember him."

"He filmed part of his movie here?"

"I was away that weekend."

"He's on the varsity basketball team?"

"Nope, not a clue."

Ryan exhaled. "_Anyway. _Kelsi is dating him."

"Oh well, I'm sure we can find you someone pretty to bring to the ball. Maybe one of Sharpay's friends. Or a couple of my work colleagues have daughters about your age."

Ryan picked up his fork and stabbed at a slice of cucumber with vigour. He'd thought the disgusted shouting from the evening before was the hardest thing to handle. However that evening, his father had redefined 'awkward situation'. Blatant denial and ignorance that the confrontation had happened was _not_ something that Ryan knew how to handle.

"Uh, Vance, I think it's up to Ryan whether he wants to bring a date to the ball. Or, if he even wants to go, for that matter," Derby said delicately.

"Of course he wants to come! And why wouldn't he bring a date?! That's what all the other boys will be doing. Bringing girls with them. Right son?" Vance's usual bright and cheery tone was now dripping with force.

Ryan couldn't even say anything. He didn't know whether his father actually wanted to maintain this charade, or whether it was just a temporary thing and any moment now he was going to explode.

"Cook! Clear these plates away. I'm ready for my main," Vance announced loudly, not even bothering to tinkle his bell.

The cook didn't dare disobey Vance when his tone was so firm and strained. "Yes sir," she said quickly, snatching up the salad from in front of her boss.

"Thank you, Marci, that was lovely," Derby said, pulling back to allow her barely touched plate to be cleared away.

Ryan dropped his fork onto the plate, also pulling back and allowing his plate to be removed. He glanced over at Sharpay, making a face at her. She shrugged slightly, also not particularly understanding their father's behaviour.

One thing was for certain.

It was going to be an interesting evening.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeke, Chad, Jason and Troy were having a boys' night – having been ditched by the female members of their social group. They'd first gotten together in the late afternoon, starting off at Chad's where they played two on two at the hoop in his driveway. By 6pm, they concluded that they were all starving and so scrounged up enough money to go out and grab dinner at Mario's, a pizza and pasta restaurant which they often frequented in post match team celebrations over the years. The pizzas were gourmet and fairly pricey, but the subs and burgers were decently priced and came with a side dish. Chad had ordered a sausage parmigana sub, Jason a chicken parmigana sub, Troy a pizza burger and Zeke a cheese Calzoni – being a pizza pocket. They'd saved money by going to the grocery store before hand and hiding two large bottles of soda from the shelf in the freezer section. They then ordered tap water at the restaurant and after dinner returned to the grocery store, the 2 litre soda bottles now cool enough to be consumed.

Zeke, Jason and Troy had carpooled down to Chad's place, with Zeke picking up the other two guys on his way through where they lived fairly close to one another. They'd all then used Chad's car as their means of cruising around. When Zeke had first gotten his '83 Mustang convertible, it had been the coolest thing since sliced bread. But Chad's Lancer was officially their cruising vehicle. The subwoofers were incredible, and with the turbo kit and blow off valve, a 'psssh' noise sounded when the gears were changed. Troy's truck was also beginning to make sounds at random points while driving – his friends thought they were cool, however Troy knew that he hadn't installed anything into his car to create the 'mrrrghwrmmph' sound and he would much prefer the smooth 'psssh' sound. He suspected he was going to need a new fuel pump within weeks. And so he was more than content to give his truck a rest and be chauffeured by Zeke and Chad.

After dinner, the guys had found themselves just parked in one of the outdoor lots outside of the Coronado Center. Chad had burnt his version of a best of 2007 CD – all the official compilations were filled with far too much bubblegum pop for his liking. They were standing around just outside Chad's car with the doors open and the music blasting. His skateboard had been pulled out and they were taking turns demonstrating their skills – or in Zeke's case, lack of skills.

"So, I bet the reward for that rock you got Gabriella was sweet," Zeke commented casually.

"It wasn't exactly a rock," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever."

"You gave her a rock?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. I gave my girlfriend of almost a year a rock," Troy said sarcastically. "I gave her a ring."

Jason's eyes widened. "A ring? Dude."

Troy shrugged casually. "Yeah."

"So was it hot?" Chad asked, continuing with Zeke's line of questioning.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Our parents went to a party at this bar in town."

"And?" Zeke prompted.

"We played Scrabble."

Chad and Zeke exchanged knowing glances.

"Nice," Chad said with a smile.

"Scrabble is boring," Jason remarked. "Dude, I can't believe you got Gabriella a ring!"

"Why, what did you get Kelsi for Christmas?" Troy asked.

"A hat," Jason said.

"A hat?" Troy repeated.

"That's right. A hat," Jason said defensively. "Kelsi likes hats, in case you didn't notice. It's one of those… you know… the ones with the…" Jason motioned at his head, haphazardly waving his hand around. "The thing. And you know, with the thing. Anyway, I took a photo of it with my cell and texted it to Martha asking if Kelsi would like it. She approved. And Kelsi seems to like it. She's worn it like three times since then."

"Okay, enough girlfriend talk," Zeke said abruptly.

"You're the one who brought up Gabriella," Troy pointed out.

"I was asking you about getting laid, not about what presents you got each other," Zeke said.

"I wonder what they're doing now," Jason said.

"Who?" Zeke asked.

"The girls," Jason clarified, and Zeke rolled his eyes.

"Pillow fighting in their underwear," Chad said, a dreamy smirk on his face.

Jason grinned. "Nice."

"I might text and find out," Troy offered, pulling out his cell.

"No! Don't let him!" Zeke said desperately. "Once he starts texting, we'll lose him altogether!"

"Dude, it's one text!" Troy said incredulously.

"It's never just one text, not with Gab," Chad pointed out.

"Like _you're_ one to talk!" Troy shot back. "You're constantly texting Taylor. You think you're all suave with your cell out under the table, but no, I saw it."

"I'm allowed to though. We just started going out again. I have to be all, like, doting and shit. You and Gab are practically married. Engaged anyway, with the ring. _And_ you just spent like, a whole week with her. So you shouldn't need to be texting her at all."

"Uh, guys?" Zeke interjected.

Troy and Chad glanced up to see Jason had moved away from the group and was sitting on one of the concrete stoppers at the front of a parking spot a couple down from theirs.

"Sounds like you girls are having great fun."

"Cross!" Zeke said. "Get off the phone! We're having a guys night, we're not moping around after our girlfriends!"

"I'm finding out what they're doing!" Jason said. "Not moping. Kelsi just got there, she said they are listening to music and reading magazines."

Troy perked up at the word 'magazines'. "Oh really?" he said with a smirk.

Jason went silent, listening for a moment, and then looked a bit confused. "Kelsi heard you say that Bolton, and she told Gabriella and Gabriella got all embarrassed. I feel like I missed something."

Troy rolled his eyes. "You did JC, don't worry about it though."

Zeke rolled his eyes, and quickly snatched the cell phone from Jason's hand. "Hey Kelsi it's Zeke. I'm going to hang up on you now, don't take it personally, okay? …" Zeke laughed. "Awesome. Have a good night… yeah I'll tell him. See ya." Zeke hung up and handed the phone back to a dumbfounded Jason. "Kelsi said good night and that you should call her tomorrow."

"Dude, that was harsh," Chad said.

"If you were me, you woulda done it too. Come on guys! We don't need the chicks to have fun! We have spent just about the entire night talking about them. From the very beginning of the night you were all acting all depressed and sneaking glances at your cell phones," Zeke said accusingly. "Liven up! Seriously! Why don't we go to JC's and watch a movie?"

"My mom is being really bitchy at the moment, I don't know why. I'm hanging out with you guys to get _out_ of the house," Jason said.

"All right then, we can hang out at Chad's new place, surely there's something fun in that whole common area?"

"The pool closes early in winter, like at 8pm. There's the gym, but we're gonna be drilled from Monday – I'm trying to _enjoy_ my weekend off, thanks."

"PlayStation is always fun, we can go back to mine, or over to Bolton's to play with his new Wii," Zeke suggested.

Jason and Chad both perked up slightly at Zeke's suggestion of playing with the new Wii.

"I'm so sick of my parents it's not funny. Vacation was great, as far as parents go I admit they're not too bad. But this is the longest I haven't been around them since before Christmas, I swear," Troy said.

"Actually, my mom and dad have these really boring people over for drinks, so we can't go back to mine," Zeke realised.

"And we're back at square one," Chad said with a sigh.

"Where are the girls? At Gabriella's?" Jason asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, they're all staying there tonight."

"Why don't we go over?" Jason suggested.

Chad's face brightened. "Cross, you are a genius!"

"I am?"

"Look, I want to hang out with Gabriella but I don't think that Ms. Montez is going to appreciate us just rocking up," Troy interjected.

Chad had already opened his door, turned on the engine and shifted the car into gear. "Whatever. Let's go."

Zeke let out a sigh. He'd known he was fighting a losing battle. It was either get in the car or be left behind. Even if it did mean being led into the land of disgusting couples.

* * *

Taylor, Martha, Kelsi and Gabriella were all gathered in Gabriella's bedroom. Kelsi had arrived about an hour earlier after finishing with the clean up from her brother's birthday party, just in time for dinner. Both Taylor and Martha were on 'new year' health kicks, and so the girls had been super healthy and purchased roast chicken and collaborated together to make Caesar salad – the unhealthiest of all salads, but nevertheless healthier than the alternative of ordering pizzas. They'd been in contact throughout winter break and had decided while Gabriella was in Breckenridge that they would have this girl's night. With the previous days events hanging over them, and Ryan presently at home – now, more than ever, they felt the need to come together as friends.

However now there was something else hanging over their heads.

The evening had started out fine, Kelsi had come in to help with the final touches of the salads, they'd eaten, and then they'd retreated to Gabriella's room with their piles of magazines, make up and the facial products that Martha and Taylor had brought along. Taylor was sitting at Gabriella's computer, flicking through her iTunes music library; Gabriella was sitting on her bed with Martha kneeled behind her, brushing her hair. Kelsi had been also on the bed, with a magazine on her lap.

Taylor and Gabriella had done an excellent job of minimising the conversation about Troy and Chad. It helped that they had the Ryan situation to discuss and speculate about. Once Kelsi arrived they talked about the birthday party for a while, and then discussed the East High's Got Talent auditions that were coming up in just over a week's time.

But then Kelsi's phone rang, and the mood shrivelled from there.

Without even saying his name, all three girls knew it was Jason. There was a different tone in her voice when she spoke with him; she was softer, more giggly. The careful brush strokes that Martha had been raking through Gabriella's ebony tresses gradually became harder and harder as Kelsi sat in the corner, her tone becoming increasingly hushed and giggly.

"Ow!" Gabriella yelped.

Martha winced, realising immediately that she'd channelled her annoyance into Gabriella's hair. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Gabriella said, reaching behind her and squeezing Martha's leg comfortingly. "Just… careful with the hair."

"We're just listening to some music and reading magazines," Kelsi said.

She listened for a moment and then laughed. "Gabriella, you should have heard Troy just then when Jason repeated what I just said. He was like, 'oh really' in the background."

Gabriella blushed. "One track mind," she muttered. "I hope he realises that we don't just sit here and read the articles about sex."

"When do you read the articles about beauty or the celebrity gossip?" Taylor asked, eyebrows raised.

Gabriella opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it again. Taylor was right. She really did only read the articles about sex.

Kelsi chirped into her phone. "Hi Zeke!" She listened for a moment, and then laughed. "You feeling lonely with all the girlfriend talk? That's okay, just tell Jason to call me tomorrow, please."

She hung up a few moments later, still smiling from the conversation.

"Where are they?" Gabriella asked casually.

"Hanging out in the parking lot of the Coronado Center," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes. "What fun."

"Well we're going to have way more fun, just us girls," Taylor said, a little over enthusiastically. "No boys allowed."

* * *

With Taylor and Martha's cars both parked out the front of the Montez residence, the boys had been forced to park across the street. Troy had protested the whole way – to the utmost surprise of the guys. Suddenly, he was suggesting that maybe they should be going to his house to play Wii. It was a little late for Troy to be on board with Zeke, because Chad was in charge of the vehicle and he'd charged full steam ahead to Gabriella's house.

"Look, Bolton, suck it up. We're here. You can hang around out here in the street, if you like. And we'll go in and Gabriella will ask where you are and we'll tell her that you didn't want to see her," Chad said, turning behind him with his keys and pressing the alarm button.

"I just think it's rude, that's all!" Troy exclaimed, standing still on the side of the street, looking up at the house. "Arriving unannounced."

"I woulda thought you'd be the first person to have stormed the house," Jason said.

"It's not like I can't go a night without hanging with my girlfriend," Troy said defensively. "We shoulda called them and asked if they wanted to meet us out somewhere."

"They're broke and we're broke, all we would have been able to do is loiter around," Chad pointed out, rolling his eyes. "You're being so fucking weird about this, I really don't get you sometimes, Hoops."

Chad went to move toward the house, and Jason followed.

"Why do you care about being rude, anyway?" Zeke asked.

"Because! I kinda rely on Ms. Montez not hating me," Troy pointed out. "You know, so that when she is working late and stuff, she isn't letting my parents know that they are to make me stay home, or whatever. A part of that is her thinking I'm a good guy. Not one who brings his friends to her house at night without being invited and just assumes they can go in."

Suddenly, it all became clear. Chad turned around, a smug smile on his face. He nudged Jason. "Because he needs to get laid," Chad translated, his loud voice permeating through the evening air.

"Dude!" Troy hissed, glancing toward the house. He took a step forward to punch Chad on the arm. All four of the guys were now standing in the middle of the road. "I think the people down the street didn't hear you!"

"Oh, would you like me to repeat it louder, then?" Chad asked cheekily. Troy glared at him witheringly.

"Troy, why don't you just pull out your cell phone and call Gabriella and ask if we can come over then," Zeke asked impatiently. "Because standing out on the street with you guys isn't my idea of having a fun night."

"Gee, thanks man, and here I thought you liked hanging out with us," Troy said.

"This is fucking ridiculous. I'm not going to just stand here all night," Chad said.

"Let's go then," Troy said. "I said, we can go to my house and play the Wii, and…"

"No. We drove all the way here…."

"We were like, six blocks away."

"… and I refuse to leave without saying hello to the girls."

"Why do I get the feeling that Chad is going to throw rocks at the window and Taylor is gonna shimmy down the drain pipe?" Jason pondered.

"That's in a movie, you dipshit," Zeke said. "And Gabriella's room is over the backyard, so unless we go loiter around there… and then she wouldn't be shimmying down the drain pipe, she'd probably just use the tree like Troy does."

And at that moment, the light out the front of the Montez household switched on, flooding the front area in a pool of light. The boys jumped back, and then noted that the front door had opened – Ms. Montez standing in the doorway.

"Either you come in or you stop loitering around outside in the street," she said impatiently. "If you come in, you'll be keeping your voices down and leaving by 11pm."

Chad was the first to lead the way, pushing past Troy. "See! I said she'd be cool. Ms. Montez is cool like that."

Zeke and Jason quickly followed, and Troy, rolling his eyes, brought up the rear.

"Go on upstairs; the girls are in Gabriella's room," Ms. Montez told the boys. "I take no responsibility if they are wearing pyjamas or doing facials and don't want you boys to see them."

"Hi Ms. Montez, sorry about just dropping by," Troy said apologetically as he passed. "We won't be here long, we just uh… had to uh… ask for some… study advice?"

"On a Friday night when you've been on winter vacation for a few weeks?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows.

Troy merely looked sheepish.

* * *

"Come on! I told you!" Taylor said.

"And I swear that should I ever see Jason's, I'll tell you," Kelsi added.

"I don't think that he would appreciate me talking about this," Gabriella said, her cheeks flaming.

"If you don't talk about it then we're just going to be left to think that there's a lack of something to talk about," Martha pointed out coyly.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "Okay, _that_ is definitely not true. Besides, it's not like I've had a tape measure out. And I don't have a comparative basis. The words 'big' or 'average' have nothing to be relative to."

"Okay… what about… like a carrot?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella scoffed. "No! Unless the carrot was on steroids."

"A cucumber?" Martha asked.

"What type of cucumber? And cucumbers come in different sizes, anyway," Gabriella pointed out.

"Why don't you just hold your hands up like I did?" Taylor said, rolling her eyes.

"She _what?!"_ a male voice asked outside the room.

All four girls froze. Taylor jumped to her feet, going over to the door. She threw it open, to reveal Chad, Zeke and Jason all standing in the doorway.

"What the _hell_ are you three doing here?!" Taylor demanded. "And how long were you standing there?"

"Like, a minute, I swear," Chad said, staring back at her accusingly. "I kinda wish we'd been there longer. And we're here because we were bored, so we came to visit our favourite friends in the world."

"And you thought you'd stand in the doorway and eavesdrop!" Gabriella exclaimed, hands on hips.

Troy had fallen behind the other guys, having talked politely to Ms. Montez for a minute or two, and it was at that point that he came up the stairs – to see a confrontation taking place in Gabriella's doorway.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The girls were talking about salads or something when we arrived," Jason said, glancing backwards and forwards between the people. "And now it seems that Gabriella is embarrassed that we overheard."

"I'm not _embarrassed_ I just think that eavesdropping is rude," Gabriella said, glaring at Chad. She then turned to glare at Troy, and demanded, "_Why_ are you friends with him?" before moving past the guys and flouncing off into the guest bedroom.

"Chad, if you're going to eavesdrop outside of a conversation we're having, maybe it would be wise to keep your mouth shut and not give yourselves away," Martha recommended with a roll of the eyes.

"You were eavesdropping?!" Troy exclaimed.

"We actually weren't!" Chad protested.

"Really!" Jason backed him up.

"I was about to knock on the door and we heard like, one thing that she said," Zeke contributed.

"Something about cucumbers," Jason said. "Big deal, whatever."

Chad rolled his eyes. "She's just being stupid. I'll go talk to her."

Troy nodded, not particularly wanting to get involved in whatever petty issue was going on between Chad and Gabriella, he was happy to allow Chad to sort it out. Chad moved down the corridor and knocked on the spare bedroom door where Gabriella had disappeared into. He heard a quiet, 'come in', and so he eased the door open. Gabriella was sitting on the bed.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "I thought it would've been Troy. Look, Chad I…"

"No, Gab, let me talk. You've known me for like, almost a year now, right? Really, not much longer than you've known Hoops. And if there's one thing that you should have learnt about me it's that sometimes, I just don't have a filter between my brain and my mouth. Before, I know it sounded bad, but I swear we weren't eavesdropping…"

"Chad…"

"No, Gab, let me finish. I only heard that last thing you said about cucumbers and then what Taylor said and really, right now I should be having a word with Taylor if the conversation is what I think it was. But you know like, whatever, it was unintentional, and…"

"Chad…"

"Gab, I'm talking. I know that you think that we were eavesdropping but I swear to God that we weren't. And even if we were – seriously, what's the big deal? So you girls were talking about shit like that. That's normal. We're teenagers, we talk about it, and especially now since you and Troy… yeah. You know. Which is great, I mean, I don't care either way. But I think that you are the best thing that ever happened to Hoops and I know that he and I have kinda been through some fucked up shit lately and…"

"Chad I'm not mad at you!" Gabriella cut in

"I know that sometimes I…" Chad trailed off. "What?"

"I'm not mad," Gabriella repeated, a smile toying on her lips. "I believe you when you say you weren't actually eavesdropping – if you were, it would be more likely that you would have been able to keep your mouth shut. I overreacted in that moment and I was just about to get up and walk back in when you came in here and started your speech. Which, by the way, was great."

Gabriella rose from the bed, a somewhat dumbfounded Chad staring at her.

"You're not mad at me?" Chad clarified incredulously.

"No, I'm not. A bit embarrassed that you have an idea of what we were talking about, because I'm still getting used to this whole thing where everyone knows my business, even though it's been going on for almost a year now."

"That's high school," Chad said simply.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "And yet, like, Jason and Kelsi can remain fairly anonymous." She sighed. "Okay. Let's go back into my room."

"You're really cool?" Chad asked, as the pair opened the guest bedroom door to exit the room.

"I'm really cool!" Gabriella insisted. "I do want to know what the hell you're all doing here though."

"Literally, we were bored and decided to come over," Chad told her, just as they entered back into her bedroom – where Troy, Zeke and Jason had all made themselves comfortable.

"Couldn't you have called first? I'm sure my mom was really impressed when you guys all came and knocked on the door," Gabriella remarked.

"I talked to her, don't worry, she's cool," Troy assured her.

"And we didn't knock on the door, we were hanging out in the street and she came out and invited us in," Jason pointed out.

"And can I just say, in my defense, I was about to call you to check if it was cool when that happened," Troy added. "I was saying it was rude all the way along to just show up."

"Yeah, coz you're a mama's boy. And a suck up," Chad supplied.

"Gabriella?" Elena Montez's voice asked from the doorway.

"I swear I had no idea they were coming over," Gabriella said straight away.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Sure."

"I didn't!"

"I'm going to watch a movie in my room. You can all go downstairs if you like."

"Is that your way of saying you want us to go downstairs?" Gabriella enquired.

"Yes," Elena said, before smiling and disappearing into her bedroom.

Taylor was immediately obedient, standing up from her position at Gabriella's desk and swiftly moving the door. Chad was next – following Taylor more so than following the instructions given by Ms. Montez. The Wildcats filed out of the room, heading down into the lounge area. Troy's arm slipped around Gabriella's waist as they trekked down the stairs after their friends, sneaking a quick kiss midway down.

Taylor and Chad had already squished up one end of the sofa, Jason had seated himself in an armchair and Kelsi on the floor in front of him.

"Hey Gab, mind if I grab a glass of water?" Zeke asked.

"Go for it," Gabriella said.

"Actually, I might grab one too," Martha said, both of them diverting into the kitchen.

Troy sat down in the second arm chair, his arm snaked around Gabriella's waist pulling her down with him to settle herself upon his lap.

"So um… have you heard from Ryan?" Troy asked Gabriella quietly, but loudly enough to be heard by the room.

She shook her head. "I don't know if it's good or bad."

"All we can do is think positively, I guess," Chad said.

"It went well with his mom today, so… that's good. His mom might be able to help with his dad and stuff," Kelsi pointed out, biting her lip. "Hopefully."

Jason's arms slung over his girlfriends shoulder as she sat before him. "All you can do is wait and see."

"I just wish I could do something to help..."

"All you can do is be a good friend, I guess, which you are, just by caring about him."

Kelsi glanced up at her boyfriend, smiling. Jason grinned back and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers softly.

"And _this_ is why I didn't want to come here!" Zeke announced.

He and Martha had re-entered the room both with a glass of water, to be met with the sight of Jason and Kelsi kissing, Troy and Gabriella cuddling and Taylor and Chad holding hands. Martha had quickly averted her eyes, looking down to reach down to put her glass on the coffee table and take the spare seat on the couch beside Taylor and Chad.

"Give it a rest, seriously," Troy said, evidently annoyed with Zeke's remarks. "If all you want is a girlfriend, then next week when we go back to school, I'll hook you up with someone. I could name about ten chicks off the top of my head who would go out with you."

"Besides, whenever you have a girlfriend, you don't censor your behaviour around us," Chad pointed out, backing Troy up. He then leaned in toward Taylor. "Did I use that word right? Censor?" Taylor gave him a small nod.

"Shouldn't you just be happy that your friends are happy," Jason added, joining in with the bandwagon.

Martha pulled out her cell phone, and busied herself typing a pretend text message. Zeke rolled his eyes and sat down on the carpet. "Yeah yeah, whatever."

He too pulled out his cell, quickly typing out a text.

**How's the family dinner going?**

* * *

The majority of the main meal at the Evans' house hold had been consumed in silence. Vance had asked Sharpay about her Mustang and whether he'd be able to have it taken in for a service one day in the following week. Sharpay had glanced at Ryan for a moment, receiving a slight nod from him that she could answer.

And then Sharpay's cell went off, and things went down hill from there.

She glanced at the screen and quickly typed back. _It blows._

"Sharpay, could you put your phone away for _one_ family dinner!" Vance Evans' snapped.

Sharpay's eyes widened – her father never, _ever_ called her by her first name.

"Sorry daddy," she said quietly.

And it was at that precise moment that Ryan couldn't take it any longer. He placed his cutlery onto his plate, and then picked up the napkin that covered his grey slacks and tossed it onto the table.

"This is bull shit," he said evenly.

"Language, sweetheart," Derby reprimanded softly.

"_What_ is bull shit, exactly?" Vance demanded, arms folding across his chest.

"I know… I know what you're trying to do. I know that you want to pretend you didn't hear anything, go back to pretending that this isn't real. But it is real, okay?"

"Ryan…" Vance said warningly.

"Dad, I'm gay," Ryan said bluntly. "I am gay. And I know that you don't approve of that, I know that you're disappointed in me. But we can't take yesterday back. It happened. You found out. And… and sitting here and pretending that this is some Brady Bunch style of situation isn't going to change that."

Vance glanced at Sharpay, who was sitting wide eyed beside her twin. "Princess, please leave the room."

"But daddy…"

"Sharpay! Now!" Vance said loudly, raising his voice.

"Shar, it's okay," Ryan said quietly, reaching over to squeeze Sharpay's hand.

Sharpay bit her lip and rose from her seat, backing out of the room. Vance then turned back to face his son.

"I don't accept that."

"You don't _accept_ that?" Ryan repeated incredulously.

"That's right," Vance said, both stubbornly and naively. "You are too young to know who you are. I don't accept this decision. I don't…"

"It's not a _decision_ that I made, it isn't a _choice,_" Ryan cut in.

"There's always a choice."

"Not with this, there isn't! It's just how I am!"

"Well, not in my house, you aren't."

"Vance!" Derby exclaimed.

"Derby, I know you're on his side here but I feel extremely strongly about this matter."

"This is your son, _our_ son you're talking about. Not some environmental issue, or political matter you have an opinion about!"

"I feel more strongly about this than any damn environmental issue," Vance scoffed.

"It's not like I talk about it, or flaunt it around!" Ryan said.

"Are you, or are you not, involved with that… that… _boy_ that you were texting?" Vance enquired, his voice hollow.

"I don't know. Not yet, not technically. But soon, maybe," Ryan admitted quietly, knowing at that moment that admitting it was going to be detrimental.

"You will not live under my roof and partake in those sorts of _activities,"_ Vance said, disgust in his tone. "I won't allow it."

"How exactly are you going to stop me?" Ryan shot back.

"Who pays for your phone bill? Who provides you with a laptop, and a car?" Vance shot back. "Believe me, I have ways of stopping you."

"Vance, you can't be serious here. I think we need to talk about this, rationally, calmly" Derby said imploring her husband to see the logic.

"I am calm. And I am rational," Vance said. "I am not going to tolerate any of this, and that is final."

"What, so you're gonna… take away my stuff? Cut me off from the world?" Ryan said, in utter disbelief.

"If you can't abide by my rules, then yes, that may very well be what is necessary."

"That's not going to change the fact that I'm gay!" Ryan exclaimed. "It doesn't matter what you do, I'm still gonna be gay!" He stood abruptly from the table, glaring at his father. "So either you get used to that… or…"

Vance rose from the head of the table and took a step toward Ryan, staring down at him. "I cannot and will not accept that any son of mine is…" he swallowed, unable to even say the word.

"A homosexual? A faggot? Queer?" Ryan supplied.

Vance's palm squarely slapped Ryan's cheek, eyes blazing with disgust. Ryan's hand clutched at his stinging face, staring at his father in disbelief.

"Vance!" Derby exclaimed.

Vance was wide eyed, staring at Ryan in semi disbelief at his own action.

"You know what? Ryan said, his voice somewhat hoarse. He cleared his throat, and stared his father straight in the eye. "If you can't accept that any son of yours is gay, then maybe I shouldn't be here."

"Duckie, don't say that, of course you should be here," Derby said desperately.

"No mom. I don't think I should be."

* * *

Elena Montez was enjoying her weekend tremendously. She'd gone out for breakfast with her daughter, went for lunch with some of her work colleagues – which was something new they'd started doing, having sociable lunches. She didn't like to admit it, but she liked when Gabriella was at home and not out with Troy – putting her mind at ease somewhat. Even if there were presently eight teenagers socialising in the living room. Good Will Hunting was on television, one of Elena's favourite movies. So she was enjoying lying back in bed with a small bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine – a classy combination – and relaxing.

Elena heard the doorbell ring, and Gabriella's voice rang upstairs, "I've got it!!!"

Regardless, Elena swung her legs over the bed to rest on the floor. She glanced at the time, wondering who else could possibly be coming over at that time of night. She grabbed her bathrobe, covering up her sweatpants and baggy t-shirt, and then moved swiftly down the staircase.

As she reached the bottom of the staircase she could hear hushed murmurs from the living room. She kept walking until she reached the French doors which were wide open, and looked into the living room.

A ninth person was now in the living room. She could see the back of a short, blonde haired male head, sitting in the arm chair. Gabriella was crouched at his feet, clutching onto his hands. Troy was standing up just beyond them, looking on with a look of concern which mirrored the look of the rest of their friends, who were all sitting forward.

"What's going on?" Elena said questioningly.

The blonde haired boy stood up, turned around, and took a few shaky steps forward to face her.

Ryan Evans looked broken.

"Ms. Montez?" he asked; his voice desolate. "When you said that I could come back and stay again if I needed to… did you mean it?"

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Time Frame Reminder**

Just to clarify – this chapter marks the first week back at school after winter break. There are auditions for East High's Got Talent this week (in Someday land); the championships are next Friday; however the decathlon season is starting later because… it just is. Because I am the author and I say so :-)

* * *

**Chapter 22**

_Should you leave me with just this moment in my mind_

_I shall capture it anew, like some picture taken in my childhood_

_Half a Moment spent with you_

**Sarah Brightman 'Half A Moment'**

* * *

"Ryan?!?! Is my cell phone on the counter?!?!"

Ryan turned around from the fridge in the Montez kitchen to glance at the counter and check. He moved to the foot of the stairs to call back up to Gabriella, "No! It's not!"

"Dammit!" she cursed.

Ryan smiled and rolled his eyes, returning back over to the fridge. Whilst he'd been awake bright and early – evidently old habits die hard – and practising dance in the Montez's basement, Gabriella had been fast asleep. Ryan hadn't realised she was still asleep, had finished his training, gone to take a shower and get dressed – and then it occurred to him that Gabriella had yet to emerge. Upon waking her up it became apparent that she'd forgotten to set her alarm, although she claimed that she wouldn't forget such a thing and it simply _must_ have malfunctioned.

Ryan retrieved the tub of berry yoghurt from the fridge, quickly dishing the requisite amount into two bowls, before slicing half a banana to each. He put some granola into his, and left the container beside Gabriella's bowl, not wanting the granola to become soggy before she was able to eat it. He'd already retrieved both of their water bottles from the freezer where they'd been put the prior evening.

There was a knock at the door, and Ryan swiftly moved from the kitchen into the hallway. "I'll get it!" he called up the stairs, as he headed to the front door. He peeked through the peep hole, and opened the door.

"Morning!" he said brightly.

Troy smiled. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Not bad. You picked a bad morning to be early, Gabriella forgot to set her alarm last night…"

"I did not! It malfunctioned!" Gabriella's voice called from upstairs.

Troy smirked as Ryan rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Gabriella's alarm clock malfunctioned because she is the model of a perfect human being and is incapable of such an error like forgetting to set her alarm."

"Much better," Gabriella's voice wafted down.

Troy followed Ryan into the kitchen, where Ryan took a seat at the breakfast bar and Troy helped himself to a glass of orange juice from the fridge.

"I had a really shitty night's sleep and I woke up a half hour before my alarm, so I went for my morning run early and then I was ready early. I had to get out of the house otherwise dad would have suggested going into school to do some extra training before homeroom."

"He's being that bad, huh?" Ryan said. "I guess it's only for another week, til the championships next Friday." Ryan noticed for the first time that Troy was clutching onto some unidentifiable kitchen utensil. "What's that?"

Troy shrugged and put it down on the counter. "My mom asked me to bring it for Ms. Montez. Is she still here?"

Ryan nodded. "Yup. So that provided you with an excuse to say no to my offer again, right? Because, you know Troy…"

"Yes, I know," Troy interrupted. "On Monday you said, 'I could just drive Gabriella to school instead of you coming all the way here.' On Tuesday, you said it again. Yesterday, you said, 'the offer is still there.' And now it's Thursday. I will be driving my girlfriend to school. It's a part of our ritual. And it's not like this is out of the way for me."

"He just likes making out in the parking lot," Gabriella told Ryan, breezing into the room. She was showered, dressed, with her messenger bag packed and ready.

"I don't see you arguing with me about it, it takes two people to make out," Troy pointed out.

She smiled, moving to stand in front of him and lingering just shy of his face. "That it does," she said coyly, and then captured his lips with hers for a sweet kiss.

"Ugh, I'm trying to eat," Ryan remarked, eyes averting away from the scene.

"Sorry," Gabriella said, her tone obligatory rather than genuine.

"I put yoghurt and banana in a bowl for you. Just add granola and you're good to go," Ryan told her.

"Ooh, awesome! Thank you!" Gabriella scooped in the granola and sat down beside Ryan at the breakfast bar.

Troy didn't even ask, he just turned back to the fridge to pull out the carton of orange juice, and then retrieved a glass for Gabriella, pouring one out for her.

"No tropical juice in your fridge, huh?" Troy remarked, as he set it down in front of Gabriella.

"Change can be good," Gabriella said. "That, and the grocery store may have run out when mom went shopping."

"What ran out?" Elena Montez's voice asked as she rushed into the kitchen, dressed in a navy blue pantsuit.

"Tropical juice," Gabriella answered.

"Morning Ms. Montez," Troy said cheerfully. "I brought… this… from my mom," he said, holding up the utensil. "Whatever it is."

Elena laughed lightly. "It's a mandolin."

Troy blinked. Being told the name of the utensil did not assist in clarifying its purpose at all. "Right."

On Sunday night, Elena Montez had sat Ryan down and asked him to explain to her why he wasn't at home. He'd told her that he had a very serious argument with his father, not about a trivial matter, but something very legitimate. Elena had merely nodded and said okay.

The next morning, while Gabriella was upstairs getting ready for school and Ryan and Elena were both downstairs, he'd told her the complete truth. Elena hadn't even blinked, she'd just nodded and said that he was still welcome to stay.

One extra night of staying at Gabriella's had become two, and then three. Until now, where Ryan had been staying at the Montez house for seven nights.

"Ryan and Gabriella, are you both going to be here for dinner tomorrow night?" Ms. Montez asked.

Gabriella glanced sideways at Troy and then Ryan, before turning back to her mom. "Why?"

"Because I was thinking of inviting Ryan's mother over for dinner," Elena said smoothly.

"Just my mom?" Ryan said warily.

"Well, your father is out of town for a few days."

"How did you know that?" Ryan asked suspiciously. "I knew that because Sharpay told me."

"I knew because your mother told me."

"You've been talking to my mother?!"

"Yes, of course I have. You seriously think I would let someone else's son stay at my house for a week without personally discussing the matter with a parent?" Elena asked, with her eyebrows cocked.

"Um… well… I guess not," Ryan conceded.

"I'll call your mother today to ask if she'd like to come, and of course I'll invite your sister as well."

"Okay," Ryan said simply.

Elena studied him for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay then. I'll let you know tonight what's going on with it, if you don't talk to your mom before that."

* * *

Ryan had departed not long after Ms. Montez left for work, Gabriella taking a few extra minutes to be ready to leave – the process somewhat impeded by a certain boyfriend who was insisting upon following her with his arms around her waist, pressing kisses to her neck and cheek from behind. The golden couple arrived a little later than normal but still with plenty of time remaining before homeroom.

Troy drove into his parking spot – and winced as he cut the engine of his truck, hearing the clunking noise that sounded.

"I don't know much about engines but that didn't sound great," Gabriella remarked.

"Yeah…" Troy said, not sounding very optimistic. "Honestly I don't know a lot either. I know a bit, enough to keep it going. But I just don't have the time to look at it properly, and every spare second dad has, if he's not riding my ass with extra training, he's looking over game tapes and working on plays." He let out a big sigh, and opening his truck door to run around to open Gabriella's, holding his hand out to help her down.

"No make out session?" Gabriella said teasingly.

"Well, half the football team are hanging out just across the parking lot with Joey's new car. So we can if you want to have a big audience."

"Hmm, unless you have some alcohol stashed in your backpack…"

"Sorry, none whatsoever."

"Right, so no make out session."

All week, Troy had been experiencing momentary reflections; predominantly upon the changes within his life over the last year. The rickety yellow school bus he once would arrive in had been replaced with his rickety white truck. That circle of friends he met out the front had expanded. He had a girlfriend, a _serious_ girlfriend, by his side.

It had began on Monday morning – when in homeroom, it occurred to Troy that it was exactly a year ago that his life at East High had changed. Exactly a year ago that he'd been thinking to himself, '_No way! It can't possibly be her… but it is! It so is!' _A year later, he was glancing at her not furtively, but instead with a warm smile. Their eyes met, and at that moment, he knew that she was thinking about it too. As he'd been attending intense training sessions throughout the week, he was drawing contrasts between the intensity of the sessions the year before and just how much Coach Bolton had kicked it up a notch.

And now, as he and his girlfriend of almost a year walked hand in hand from the parking lot toward the fountain, he was hit with another moment of contemplation.

"You know, this time last year, we spent nearly every spare second of the day rehearsing for the call backs," Troy remarked with a smile at Gabriella. "It was Wednesday when I took you up to the science garden horticulture whatever their club name is 'jungle' – as you titled it – and we decided to do the call backs. And then on Thursday we were singing, like all day. And I missed practice for the first time in years."

"And you thought your dad was mad last year. If you missed even five minutes of practice this year…"

"I would be left unable to reproduce," Troy finished wryly, his face contorting just at the thought of the pain he was envisaging.

Chad, Zeke, Jason, Taylor and Martha were hanging around by the fountain. Chad was sitting on the edge, with Taylor directly in front of him between his legs, his arms slung over her shoulders. Martha was leaning back against the fountain to Chad and Taylor's left; while both Zeke and Jason were standing to their right. Paula and Marcus were also standing with the group, talking and laughing – yet another power couple to rival the rest, between Paula's status as head cheerleader and Marcus being generally well liked and a prominent force on the swim team. Gabriella glanced over and observed the usually bubbly Martha clutching onto her folder and avoiding eye contact with the conversation going on between the rest of the group. Gabriella bit her lip at this sight, making a mental note to talk about it with Taylor at some point.

Meanwhile, Kelsi, Ryan and – surprisingly – Sharpay were in their own huddle slightly to the side of the rest of the group.

"Hey guys!" Troy called out in greeting to the group.

"Hey man," Zeke replied.

"Gabriella!" Taylor exclaimed, as the couple approached. "I need to consult you on something."

"Gabriella!" Sharpay called out, her tone demanding. "I need you. Now."

Gabriella's eyes widened, glancing backwards and forwards between Taylor and Sharpay, somewhat bewildered by the defiant stare on the face of both girls that they insisted upon her immediate attention to their needs.

"Um, Tay, I'll just be a second," Gabriella said.

Taylor didn't even try to hide her exasperated sigh and eye roll, Gabriella glancing back at her friend as she let go of Troy's hand to go join the separate huddle.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked, standing between Ryan and Kelsi.

"We have a problem," Sharpay announced.

Given Sharpay's melodramatic overreacting tendencies, those words from her mouth alone weren't exactly enough to strike fear into Gabriella's heart. However but the grim look on the face of both Kelsi and Ryan was enough to confirm that whatever she was about to be told was serious.

"What?" Gabriella said warily.

"You know how when you worked out the drama club budget for the showcase, it was on the basis of doing the show at Lava Springs?" Ryan said, his tone downcast.

Gabriella sighed, having a feeling as to where this was going. "Yes…"

"It appears that may not be an option anymore," Kelsi said tactfully.

"Look. I don't want to fuck this up for everyone. Maybe if I just went and told him that I wasn't going to be involved…" Ryan began to say.

"No! No, no, no that is _not_ an option here. NO," Sharpay said firmly.

"Okay, so that's Sharpay opposed, what about…"

"As President of the drama club, I am telling you that you _must_ be in this show!" Sharpay declared, cutting off her twin. She then softened. "We're prepared our act and everything. Don't you _want_ to be in the show?"

Gabriella had turned to look at Ryan, then back to Sharpay then back at Ryan, like watching a tennis match – and feeling somewhat bewildered, trying to catch up as to what precisely was going on.

"Of course I want to be, but I also know that this year has just been disastrous enough for the drama club and I don't want to let my… personal issues… affect everyone. There's a lot of buzz around school, have you seen the audition sign up sheets? It's insane!" Ryan exclaimed. "We're already going to have to cut all the people from the drama club from auditioning tomorrow, and just go through our acts in a meeting. We're actually gonna have to be picky about who can perform, that's how much interest there is."

"Okay, you're still not explaining what happened," Gabriella said impatiently.

"Sharpay was talking to our father last night," Ryan said. Gabriella couldn't help but observe his utilisation of the term 'our father' as opposed to 'our dad' or even just 'dad'. "And long story short, he said that he's not sure if Lava Springs will be 'available' for our show. She said that we haven't set a date, that any Friday or Saturday in a particular time frame is okay. And she called him on it, asked if it was anything to do with me. He didn't admit it directly, but he didn't deny it."

"And so you're suggesting that if you weren't to be involved in the show, then he may miraculously change his mind?" Gabriella said.

Ryan shrugged. "It's worth trying."

"Ryan! You didn't go through all this to just be backing down to him now!" Sharpay exclaimed. "We can find another location, I'm positive of it."

"Ms. Darbus did say that because it's a showcase for the school and other departments are getting involved, that we're more likely to get more funding and support," Kelsi pointed out.

"Guys?"

Gabriella, Sharpay, Kelsi and Ryan turned around – to see Troy standing behind them.

"I was eavesdropping," he said apologetically. "And you're not exactly being quiet. Anyway. Can I suggest something?"

"Yes, please," Kelsi said eagerly.

"For this kind of thing, you don't need like… a fancy stage and shit, do you? Like… with all the curtains and lights and backdrop and backstage area and other stuff?"

Ryan thought for a moment. "Technically, no. That's just all a part of making it look professional."

"Worst case scenario – Lava Springs is unavailable, whether it be a legitimate reason or a fucked up one. Let's say that the school doesn't want to give you funding. And then you fundraise but you can't get enough to rent like, the Little Theatre or whatever. Or maybe there's just no stage available anywhere."

"How is this a suggestion?" Sharpay demanded, becoming agitated.

Troy shot her a look, and then continued. "You don't need any of that. Why don't you just use the basketball court?"

Sharpay scoffed. "The basketball court? For our show? Get real."

"I am real. You can put down carpeting at either end of the floor, like when we had the classrooms in there, and add extra seating, just like in rows or whatever. Surely there's some way to construct a makeshift stage in the centre, like elevated a bit, I don't do shop but there would so be a way. It'd be like…. You know, all that Shakespeare shit."

"Roundhouse theatre," Gabriella supplied, her tone thoughtful. "You know, he's right. That's all that's needed for this."

"Look. I know that you said that this show has to be _low budget_ but that's just… a whole other level of low budget," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes.

"It's kinda representative of what the showcase is about," Kelsi mused. "I mean, I know that we want the showcase to be demonstrating stuff other than athletics which this school celebrates all the time. But it's still an important part of East High, and so doing it in that kind of environment would work."

"I think it's a great idea," Gabriella said enthusiastically.

"You would," Sharpay said under her breath.

"Look, just think of it as a back up," Troy said, looking at Ryan. "I know it's not ideal, but they're right dude, you _so_ have to be in this show. This is your thing, you know? Plus you're the class president."

Ryan sighed. "I get the feeling that you guys are gonna be really stubborn about this."

"Yes," Kelsi, Gabriella and Troy all said simultaneously.

Sharpay exhaled. "The basketball court will be like…. Plan Z. We will exhaust all other possibilities before resorting to that level. I'll talk to daddy tonight. And today we can confirm with Ms. Darbus the possible dates for the show, and start to compile a list of alternative locations and assign people to call and make enquiries."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Gabriella said cheerfully.

"How many people do you have signed up to audition, anyway?" Troy asked.

"There are seriously heaps," Kelsi said, reaching into her messenger bag. "I put up a fourth sign up list on the bulletin board yesterday afternoon." She located the clipboard where she'd stored the sign ups and pulled it out. "There seems to be variety, too, which is good. Like some of these people whose names are down, I can't even imagine what they could possibly be auditioning with."

"Likely some ridiculous heap of trash," Sharpay scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Show me."

She took the board from Kelsi's hands, scanning her eyes down the lists of applicants. There were the usual suspects – a series of drama club members who had put their names down to audition both as soloists and in various group performances; other students from the dance and music departments; a couple of groups of guys who had formed 'bands'; and other students who would perpetually audition for drama club productions and never be given roles – such as Alan. And then a name jumped out at Sharpay.

"Zeke?!"

"Yes?" he said, turning around from where he was engaged in a conversation with Marcus and Paula.

Sharpay held up the sign up sheet. "Please explain," she demanded. She then shoved the clipboard back toward Kelsi her arms holding over her chest.

"Yes, my name is on your list," Zeke said, nodding.

Chad snorted, his hand flying up to cover his mouth which was contorting as he held back laughter. "For real?"

"For real," Zeke confirmed.

"And what exactly are you going to be auditioning with?" Sharpay asked.

Zeke grinned. "Guess you'll find out tomorrow."

Sharpay was staring at him curiously, her arms folded across her chest, almost appearing as though she were trying to read his mind to know what he was planning to do.

"Oh, and JC is also assisting me now," Zeke added.

"You are?" Kelsi asked, turning to look at Jason, feeling even more surprise than she'd felt at the information of Zeke auditioning.

"Yup," Jason said proudly.

"What are you guys planning to do? Will you require accompaniment of some kind?"

"No, I didn't tick that column did I? And FYI, for all you know, I'm an excellent singer," Zeke said mysteriously. "I mean, we never knew Bolton could sing til last year."

"Shit, look at the time, we should get inside," Ryan said, noting the time on his watch. "The bell is gonna ring any minute."

Gabriella glanced back at the rest of the group – noting that Taylor and Martha had already left.

"When did Taylor and Martha go?" Gabriella asked, slightly aghast.

"A few minutes ago," Chad responded.

Gabriella couldn't help but be slightly annoyed, given that Taylor had wanted to talk to her. "Okay, I have to go inside, see what she wanted to talk to me about."

She rushed off in the direction of the main building, leaving the rest of the group behind. The Wildcats proceeded in the same direction, with Troy winding up at the back of the group with Kelsi.

"Hey Kelsi, can I ask you something about the showcase?" Troy asked thoughtfully.

"Sure."

"Do you think that… hypothetically, of course… if someone auditioned and they were selected and then they couldn't make the show – like, they found out that they had something else on like a… umm…. Dentist appointment. That could not be scheduled at any other time and is important to that person's future. Coz you know, teeth are important. Do you think that should be a reason to not audition?"

Kelsi's eyes widened. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

"Maybe," Troy said elusively, and then sighed. "Okay, truthfully, I do want to audition."

A small shriek emitted from Kelsi's throat, before she clamped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I got really, really excited just then."

"I have that effect on people," Troy said casually, before his eyes widened realising the connotation of what he'd just said. "Okay I didn't mean that."

"You're worried that something might come up for basketball?" Kelsi asked, seeking clarification.

Troy nodded. "I mean you guys don't even have a date for this show yet. I'm doing both official and unofficial visits from the week after the championships, and then there's a chance – a slim chance but a chance nevertheless – that I'll get picked for the McDonalds All American; and I'm pretty sure I will get picked for the state squad."

Chad turned around from where he was walking just ahead with Jason and Zeke, walking backwards up the corridor. "Hoops, it's not a full on show. You'd be able to audition and then if it turns out you're away for the thing, you just back out and your act isn't on. The end."

"Chad's right," Kelsi said. "Just like how in a regular show where we'd have understudies, here we'll have back up acts. I'm sure that Sharpay and Ryan alone have enough songs and dances rehearsed to fill half a shows worth of people pulling out at last minute."

Troy nodded, contemplating this information. "Interesting."

"Do you have something prepared?"

"Um, kinda. Just a cover, a song I really love."

The group rounded into the classroom just as the warning bell went.

"Please, please, please, please, please Troy!" Kelsi begged. "I know you want to do it and seriously, it won't be a problem if something did come up."

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked, moving away from where she was standing at the back of the room with Taylor and Martha. A large sheet of paper was spread out on Gabriella's desk in front of them, where they were examining a potential lay out for one of the yearbook pages.

Troy scratched the back of his neck. "She's trying to talk me into auditioning tomorrow."

"You are the one who brought it up, not me!" Kelsi pointed out. "This whole time, the reason he hadn't signed up was because he didn't want to commit in case he then had to back out because something came up with scouts and college visits and competitions."

"We'll have back up acts for that purpose anyway, in case someone gets sick or whatever," Gabriella pointed out.

"See! I told you so. You have to do it!" Kelsi declared.

"Your excitement is kinda frightening, Kelsi," Troy remarked. "When you wrote _Once Upon A Time_ and practically designed a character for me, I could get that you just wanted the person you'd imagined playing the character playing it. But this is just like, one song. Why is it such a big deal to you?"

"It's a big deal to me because you are my friend, and because I know that you love singing and I know that those three to five minutes that you will spend singing on stage – you will love them. It'll be three to five minutes where you're doing something that you love, no pressure, no expectations. Just you, having fun. You're the one making this more complicated than it needs to be."

Troy sighed and sat down at his desk. "All right. Give me the clip board."

Kelsi immediately set her clip board in front of him. Troy glanced through the sign up sheets, there was a empty space at the bottom of the third sheet where he could have put his name, but instead he chose to create his own space in the margin. He fished around in his bag, until he grasped onto a permanent marker. In large, block letters he scrawled out TROY BOLTON, and then underlined his name with a flourish.

"Done."

Kelsi clapped her hands excitedly. "Okay, we'll have to talk about your song and accompaniment. It's short notice but it's totally doable. Now, I'm doing the piano accompaniments and Ryan is doing the guitar accompaniments and…"

Kelsi was cut off by the final bell ringing and Ms. Darbus rushing into the room, technically a few seconds tardy.

"Students, take your seats immediately! We have a lot of material to get through this morning, so efficiency is instrumental; and interruptions of any kind will not be looked lightly upon."

* * *

That evening, Troy was nestled back on his bed – laptop in front of him, open to a lyrics website; cell phone being held up to his ear with his left hand; his orange pillow basketball twirling around on his right hand.

"So I called Ryan just before and told him what song I'd picked," Troy said. "Since he's doing the guitar stuff and I need a guitar accompaniment. Luckily he already knows it, which works out well."

"_Yes, he told me you'd told him."_

Troy's eyes widened – when he'd been talking to Ryan, he'd actually forgotten that he was in the same house as Gabriella. "He didn't tell you what it is, did he?"

"_No just that you'd told him. So tell me, did you really have to think about it, or had you already practiced it?"_

Troy sighed. "I'd gone through it a few times, as a just in case. And just so you know… I really would have liked to have auditioned with you. But since I really don't know if I'll even be available for it, I wouldn't want you to like, put all the effort of rehearsing something with me in and then I pull out. And then you said you'd found the perfect solo song anyway so I didn't feel as bad about it."

"_That's fair enough."_

"How many singers do they need, anyway? Like… if you're auditioning, and I'm auditioning, and Sharpay and Ryan and other drama club people and other random people and…"

"_Yeah. We're… we're not sure how we're going to cull it. But you'll make it, for sure."_

"Hmm. We'll see."

"_Did you tell your dad you're going to audition?"_

"Yeah, after practice today. He just sorta rolled his eyes and said okay. Oh hey, speaking of my dad, guess what?"

"_You know it annoys me when people say that. Do you literally want me to guess?"_

Troy smirked. "My dad booked my official visit to UConn. It's two weeks after the Butler trip."

"_So, it's the championships next week, you go to Butler the weekend after, Jason's birthday party slash actual after party the weekend after that, UConn the weekend after…"_

"Right. "You know um… UConn is in Storrs," Troy said casually.

"_Yeah, I know…"_

"Which is less than an hour and a half from New Haven."

"_Where Yale is?"_ Gabriella said pointedly.

"Yup. Which is one of the colleges that you applied to."

"_Um, yeah. Yale is my… I guess, if I decided that I wanted to study a Bachelor of Arts, like maybe Economics or Politics or Linguistics or Psychology… then Yale would be up there in my choices."_

"And at the moment you are thinking you want to do a Bachelor of Science and work toward being admitted to Medical School?" Troy said slowly.

"_Yes."_

"Gabriella Montez, I think quite possibly that was the first time that you've provided me with a snippet of knowledge of where you're currently thinking with all those crazy applications of yours."

Gabriella giggled slightly, but it was an uneasy giggle. _"I was looking into UConn, Troy, it looks like an awesome school. They have majors like physical therapy, and nutrition and sport, and also theatre studies. And given that they're pretty great with whole college ball thing, I guess I figured that you might be looking at them pretty seriously."_

"I really haven't decided yet," Troy said honestly. "I'm also thinking I'm going to have an unofficial visit to USC – one of my aunt's, my mom's sister, she lives on the outskirts of LA so I could stay with her. And I'm still hoping to hear back from some other colleges, and plus dad says I should wait and see what happens after the championships and announcements for the McDonalds All American and the state team and everything."

"_True."_

Troy cleared his throat. "So uh… tell me about your audition piece."

* * *

After hanging up with Troy, Gabriella had flopped down on her bed with a pile of books before her. She was lying on her tummy with a book open. She'd just cast aside a math textbook in exchange for a novel when a soft knock came at her bedroom door.

"Come in," Gabriella called, and glanced up to see her bathrobe and slippers clad mother in the door way.

"Mind if I come in?" Elena asked with a smile.

Gabriella smiled warmly, and gestured for her mom to come in. "Sure, that's fine."

Elena closed the door behind her – something she wasn't accustomed to worrying about when wanting to have a private conversation with her daughter – and slowly walked across the room to Gabriella's bed, sitting down. Gabriella shifted, moving to sit upright with her legs crossed.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh… okay," Gabriella said, feeling somewhat wary.

"It's nothing bad, don't worry," Elena assured her daughter, sensing the uneasiness in her tone. I wanted to run something by you, before I ran it by anyone else."

"Umm, okay, go on," Gabriella said slowly, her wariness now more so in the realm of curiosity.

"Today when I called Derby Evans to invite her and Sharpay over for dinner tomorrow night, we wound up talking for quite a while. We've been speaking regularly all week, just brief conversations. But today the conversation was a lot longer."

"Okay…" Gabriella said, still waiting for the point.

"It seems that Vance Evans is still not dealing with… this situation, very well," Elena said tactfully. "Derby has been trying to reason with him somewhat, but he seems fairly stubborn about it all at the moment. Short of some miracle, I don't think any sort of resolution where both Ryan and his dad are going to be happy will be occurring any time soon."

Gabriella bit her lip, and nodded. "I think Ryan wants time away from his dad while he's getting used to this whole idea of being... well… out. Knowing how his dad feels about it will just make him want to suppress it."

"So even if his father said that he could come home?"

"I don't know if he'd really want to. I think he'd only do it out of obligation to Sharpay and his mom."

"Then what is he planning to do, exactly?"

Gabriella sighed and shrugged. "Today was the first day that I think he started to really realise the implications of all of it. He got permission from his dance school, where he teaches a couple of classes, to approach other schools to see if they have any teaching spots available. His mom is supporting him – I mean it's her who has made sure that he's still got his car and laptop and phone. But I don't know if he's seriously thinking about looking for apartments and asking her for support or…. I really don't know. I don't think he knows yet."

"Which is where the thing that I wanted to run by you comes in," Elena said. "I would like to know what you would think if I suggested to Derby that Ryan continue to stay here."

Gabriella blinked. "Oh…"

"Truthfully, I have no reason other than that I think Ryan's a lovely boy and that the whole situation is very unfortunate and unfair. In many ways, I can somewhat understand just why Vance is having such difficulty with it – it's a product of his own upbringing, as much as anything. Which is why I know that Derby isn't willing to put her foot down on the matter, and why, although she is more understanding, she isn't going to abandon Vance for the decision. We have this big house here, and although Ryan is not aware of this fact, Derby has already insisted upon working out that she will give me some money for expenses, just groceries and what not for the last week. I suspect if I let her know that I'm okay with the temporary becoming permanent, then she will extend that offer further."

"Right…"

"But... this is only if _you_ are okay with it," Elena said firmly.

"Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

"I know that right now, it seems like it's just a friend of yours staying here in the long term… but it's more than that, Gabi. It's little things, it'll almost be like you've suddenly got a sibling. Things like having to wait for the bathroom, or fight over the television, that you've never had to worry about before. It's those trivial things that could affect your friendship with Ryan. Bad habits become amplified."

"I am completely fine with it. I don't care about those things. Truthfully, Ryan and I have such busy lives that I doubt it would change. I just… he's been one of the most amazing friends to me and him going through all this crap is terrible. I actually wanted to ask you if he could maybe stay more permanently but I didn't want to… I don't know…. I just thought you wouldn't go for it."

"I could only hope that if, God forbid, something were to have happened to me and you needed somewhere to turn, that there would be someone out there in the position with the generosity and kindness to offer you somewhere to turn," Elena explained. "It just feels like the right thing. But as I said… it has to be like that for everyone."

"Well I completely agree. Completely, totally agree," Gabriella said, nodding vigorously.

"Okay. We'll wait and see what happens tomorrow night at dinner, if any new developments happen with Ryan's father."

"I doubt it," Gabriella said sadly.

Elena returned the tight, sad smile; and then glanced over at the math textbook which lay beside her daughter, wincing slightly. "I can't even look at that without getting a bit of a headache. I find it hard to believe that they even attempt to teach that to high school students," she remarked.

Gabriella smiled. "They don't, this is a college book that Mr. Davis got for me."

"I suppose that makes it slightly better then," Elena said with a light laugh, before her expression turned serious. "Have you started practice for this decathlon season yet?"

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Um, Taylor's practices aren't starting until after the championships. It starts later this year, the schedule is different. Rather than the season being spread out, all of the regional rounds are being held within about a two month period, in March and April. So Taylor isn't finalising the team until the week after next, she's leaving sign ups open til next Friday and then she'll pick the team over the few days after that."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "Is there a reason why in that sentence, everything involved Taylor and not you?"

"Well, Taylor is the captain of the team."

"Gabi…"

"I don't know if I'm going to do the decathlon this year," Gabriella admitted. "I've done it for three years, been in teams that have won the state championships three times, been runner up at a national level and also won at a national level. I'm doing some other really interesting stuff at the moment, with student council and the drama club. And with everything with Ryan… I think I'm going to have to step up and do more stuff for student council. And also I'm thinking about auditing one of the classes at U of A this semester."

"That's all I needed to hear. If you'd said it was so that you could spend more time with Troy…"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Troy is hardly going to be around for the next month or so. He's going to Indianapolis the weekend after the championships, and to Connecticut two weeks after that."

"Yes, Lucille told me that he was starting to plan some more visits. That's good, isn't it?"

Gabriella nodded. "Definitely."

One of Gabriella's habits was fidgeting when she was feeling nervous, upset or agitated about a particular topic that was being discussed. Elena knew this about her daughter, and her gaze drifted down to where Gabriella's left hand was toying with the white gold band on her right ring finger, twisting the object back and forth. Before Elena could call her on it, pry for her to keep talking and voice whatever was bothering her, Gabriella observed her mothers gaze.

"I still can't believe Troy got me this. They are actual diamonds. I mean, they're tiny but… they're real diamonds. Doesn't he know there's a cubic zirconia section in jewellery stores, and also a sterling silver section?"

"Not to mention that there are sections with bracelets and earrings and necklaces," Elena remarked, unable to keep the comment from escaping from her mouth, or to hide the slightly perturbed element of her tone.

"Does it scare you?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"What?"

"This," Gabriella said, gesturing to the ring. "I mean, when I showed it to you on New Years Day, you just said that it was quote, very pretty, unquote, and gave me and Troy a tight smile. And then with everything that's been going on, you going back to work and being busy, and then with Ryan… I haven't had the chance to ask you."

Elena didn't respond for a moment, simply sighing and contemplating how to answer the question.

"I still think it's very pretty," she began.

"And?" Gabriella prompted, immediately knowing from her mother's tone that there was more she wanted to say.

"I can't help but wonder… what it means," Elena said carefully.

Gabriella sighed. "You sound like Ryan."

"Ryan is a smart boy."

"He gave me a ring because he loves me, because…"

"Gabriella, your seventeen year old boyfriend gave you a diamond ring."

"What, you think it was a veiled proposal?"

"Well that's what a promise ring traditionally is. And you both are…"

"Yes, we're young, I get it," Gabriella said, letting out a slightly annoyed sigh.

"Gabi… you could go anywhere and do anything. You know that, right? I mean… all mothers like to be able to say that about their kids but with you, it's true. Those doors are going to open. I know there's a folder in your desk over there with offers for doors already there, and that more are only going to come once regular acceptances start to flow in March."

"I know that I'm lucky, that I have lots of options. You don't have to worry about me, mom, I'm not going to throw any of those opportunities away. I've applied for every scholarship that exists, I've applied for state scholarships and federal scholarships and grants. I've applied for corporate scholarships for women, and for people with Hispanic heritage, and for women with Hispanic heritage," Gabriella was speaking quickly but firmly – her tone bordering upon defensive. "I've applied for scholarships for women wanting to study math and science, for people with versatile academic and extra curricular backgrounds. All I can do now is sit and wait to see what offers I get, and then make a decision." She finished with her miniature speech, and exhaled noisily.

"You sound almost like you're trying to convince yourself of something," Elena remarked. "Something on your mind?"

"No."

"Mija… spill. Obviously I've said something that's upset you."

Gabriella hesitated, but then sighed. "You haven't upset me. I just… am thinking."

"Go on," Elena encouraged.

"I think… I think I've narrowed down to my top two schools."

"That's good," Elena said brightly.

Gabriella bit her lip. "Should I tell Troy?"

"You've told him about the places you've applied, haven't you?"

"Well, yes."

"Did you tell him about your early action acceptances?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No…"

"Can I assume that one of your early acceptances is one of the top two?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes."

"One that we visited earlier in the year?"

"Yes."

"And the other…"

"Is on the other side of the country."

Elena nodded. "Okay… so… why haven't you told Troy?"

"I don't want to pigeon hole him. I…" Gabriella swallowed. "If I told Troy, for example, that I really wanted to go to Columbia – I have no doubt that he'd be on the phone to NYU the next day, trying to learn more about their team, trying to get a visit out that way. When he got the offer from Connecticut to go look at their campus, he was already asking me about Yale. UConn is a great option for him – it shouldn't take him thinking that it's near somewhere I could be attending to take it seriously."

"No, it shouldn't," Elena agreed.

"His dream is huge, you know? If he really decides that he wants to try to take his basketball seriously, to hone his skills, to become NBA potential… it's not like someone just deciding what college to go to where they're going to party and take like, business classes or something. It's a complicated decision as it is, without further complicating it by making him think he needs to be narrowing his preferred schools. As it is, I know he started looking more closely at Berkeley since it's near Stanford, and he was looking at Boston and NYU," Gabriella let out a sigh, and then summarised her remarks very succinctly. "I don't want to hold him back from making the best decision for him."

"I agree with you completely that it's a complicated decision and that for Troy, it is quite critical. I'm also really proud and I'm relieved at how you're looking at the situation. But for some reason, I don't think that the way to go about it is to keep your heads in the sand. You and Troy may be separated for college, mija, and rather than ignoring that, I think it'll make it easier for both of you if you face that fact now. And I think you should have a little more faith in Troy that he'll be able to make the right decision for him. Didn't Lucille tell me that Troy was sent an offer from Boston College to come for a visit?"

"Yes."

"Which he has said blatantly he doesn't want to do."

"Well… yes."

"Doesn't that alone tell you that Troy isn't going to completely compromise himself for you completely? That he knows that both MIT and Harvard are on your list of considerations, and yet he didn't even take a moment to contemplate this school?"

Gabriella exhaled. "That's… a good point."

"It's up to you, mija, but if I were you… I think that you'll be in a better position to help Troy with his decision, to help him to sort through it and rationalise and weigh up the pros and cons on the basis of the appropriate criteria, if you're being open about your own situation."

* * *

As the Montez women conversed quietly in Gabriella's bedroom, Ryan was in his temporary bedroom in the next room along, with his iPod in and turned up, blissfully unaware that he had formed a part of the conversation that was going on.

Sharpay had been bringing him small duffel bags of belongings each day. He hadn't asked her to – at present, the arrangement at the Montez's was temporary and he hadn't yet gathered the courage or energy to contemplate what exactly he was supposed to do if he couldn't ever go home. However he was grateful for the bits and pieces that his sister had been selecting to bring for him; various articles of clothing, dance gear, music books.

Sitting cross legged on his makeshift bed, Ryan began to remove things from Thursday's collection of items. He pulled out a white and red baker boy hat, his Levi's red jeans, a white long sleeved dress shirt with red diamond patterned detailing and his white converse. He smiled, pleased that Sharpay had provided him with an East High themed outfit, since there were a range of school spirit related activities throughout the following week in the lead up to the championships on Friday. She'd also packed one of his colognes – Calvin Klein Man – and a bottle of one of his multiple hair wax products. The final item that Ryan grasped within the bag was fairly flat, rectangular and wooden.

Slowly, he pulled out a photo frame – which at home took place upon one of his bedside tables. It wasn't the frame that was notable, rather it was the photo that was contained within.

The photo was about five years old. It was a glamour photo, the kind where normally the people look unnaturally perfect, all stiff and posed. Vance and Derby were sitting on a bench in front, with their twins standing behind them. Ryan remembered that Sharpay was in a bad mood the day that they'd gone to have the photos done, she didn't tell him exactly why but he knew she wasn't in a great place. Moments before the blinding flash had gone off, he'd reached behind his sister and lightly ran his fingers down her spine – which he knew was ticklish, causing her to laugh.

There were over a dozen photos taken that day of the family in various poses. But it was that one which Ryan loved most. Both he and his sister, smiling naturally, genuinely.

Ryan smiled slightly, trailed his index finger over the glass covering, and then carefully set the photo upon his new bedside table.

Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, biting onto his lower lip. For the past week, he'd had one key focus – remaining optimistic. Looking at the positives. Focusing on the things that he could handle. As it was, he hadn't told anyone, not even his sister or Gabriella, the specifics of the original confrontation with his father; he hadn't embellished upon the conversation he'd had upon meeting Chase after his spontaneous trip down to Las Cruces. It was all too complicated for him right now. Instead, he was focusing on the simple things.

The happier times. Like in that photo.

It felt like a million years ago.

Somewhere deep down, Ryan wondered if it could ever exist again.

In a sudden whim, Ryan stood from the bed, picked up the items that Sharpay had bought for him and sat them all down onto the floor. He would put them away tomorrow. He was already dressed in his pyjamas, and so he pulled back the bed covers and nestled beneath them. He picked up his cell phone, wanting to call the one person who he knew could make him feel better. He dialled the number, awaiting for the other end to pick up.

"_Hey,"_ the phone was answered warmly, having seen Ryan's name appear on the caller ID.

"Hi," Ryan said simply. "I uh… was just chilling. Thought I'd call. You know, say hi."

"_It feels like ages since I've talked to you."_

"I talked to you this afternoon."

"_Like I said, feels like ages."_

Ryan laughed. "Hey Shar?"

"_What?"_ she said softly.

"Do you remember when we were kids and I was afraid of thunderstorms? And you would come into my room and tell me a story, to distract me from being so scared?"

She laughed lightly at the memory. "_Yeah, I remember."_

Ryan's voice became quiet as he asked, "Do you think… do you think you could tell me a story now?"

For a moment, all he could hear was her breathing, but then she cleared her throat. _"Umm… okay. What about?"_

"Whatever. You pick. Something… something with a happy ending."

The phone went quiet again as Sharpay thought for a moment, and then began her tale. _"Once upon a time – because, you know, that's how all the fairytales begin – there was a little girl and a little boy. The little girl and the little boy were the bestest of friends…"_

* * *

**AN – **Just a quick thank you to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, commenting; and hello to the people who have recently put this into their alerts. :-) I'm kinda in a mood where I would really really love to hear any con crit anyone has, anything at all. I think it's because university goes back this week, maybe, I want to get into learning mode or something haha. Anyway so just a reminder that you should never feel wary about providing any commentary about anything that you've been thinking is lacking/not quite right/that you'd like to see.

–Dani xo


	23. Chapter 23

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**NOTE: **

The room that I have depicted as the 'drama club' room now that the auditorium burnt down (see Someday Part 1…) is pretty much like that room that the Scholastic Decathlon is in during HSM1 – except that without the whiteboards and decathlon 'stuff' there's enough room for performance stuff at the front. It's probably a bit bigger, more rows going back, and more 'stage' room at the front. But like, it's not a classroom – it sorta has the 'levels' for the seating, and there aren't desks, it's just chairs.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

_Kiss me  
Hold me  
Touch me  
Don't let this moment end  
Please, I'm begging you to stay  
Just throw the world away  
Pretend there's no tomorrow  
And I will never leave your side  
Never leave your side  
Never let this feeling die_

**Gloria Estefan 'Don't Let This Moment End'**

* * *

As painful as sitting through inferior amateur performance after inferior amateur performance could be, Sharpay loved audition days at East High. A part of her revelled in observing the lack of talent that so many people possessed; it never failed to further inflate the confidence she possessed within her own talents and abilities. As a group, it had been determined on Thursday that auditions from members of the drama club would take place on Monday after school, as there were simply too many auditions to get through.

Nevertheless, Friday was an important day. Friday was the day when Sharpay would be able to gage whether there was any serious competition to the performance she and Ryan had prepared. Technically the talent showcase wasn't a contest – there were no judges, there wouldn't be an official declaration of which act was the best. However as far as Sharpay was concerned, when everyone left with one performance in their mind – it would be Sharpay and Ryan's, and that was enough of an indicator that they were the best.

Sharpay pulled into her parking spot a little earlier than usual – in fact, she'd been arriving early all week long, mostly in an effort to avoid conversing with her father at home. Glancing over toward the fountain where she knew Ryan typically met his friends, she could see that a scattering of pupils were around, including Jason Cross and Taylor McKessie, but no Ryan. So Sharpay kept walking straight up the pathway to the main building. Her locker was her first stop of the morning, where she shed her grey double breasted wool coat, revealing her long sleeved, hot pink trench dress which was clinched at the waist with a wide silver belt. Sharpay reapplied her lip gloss and then retrieved her books for first and second period. She glanced at the time on her cell phone, confirming that there was the perfect amount of time to stop by the ladies room where there was better light so she could check her hair, and then swing by the bulletin boards.

The bulletin boards were situated in the cross section of the two main corridors on the ground level of the main building. The drama club had advertised that sign ups for auditions could be made right up until a few minutes before homeroom on Friday morning – allowing Sharpay to grab the sign up sheet and scan down the list. Her black suede Christian Louboutin stiletto shoe boots were click clacking as she then strode toward homeroom.

She rounded the corner into the hallway their class was in – and found students from their class gathering outside, as opposed to the usual inside.

"What's going on?" Sharpay asked, striding up to where Ryan, Kelsi and Troy were talking.

"Ms. D is in there, she's just sitting at her chair with a folder in front of her. There's a note on the door saying to wait," Ryan told her, gesturing.

"This is ridiculous," Sharpay said, rolled eyes, and pushed past Troy to the door, reaching for the handle – to find that it was locked. She pouted and then turned back around to face Ryan and Kelsi. "By the way, I've decided that we need to organise the auditions better today. We're going to have the dance based auditions in free period, music based at lunch, and anything else after school. Okay?"

It wasn't an okay which opened opportunity for disagreement or discussion. Ryan nodded, actually agreeing. "I was thinking we needed to do that too, good decision Shar."

The warning bell rang and the door into their homeroom opened, Ms. Darbus smiling.

"Students, you may come inside now. Please take seat down at the desk has a place card with your name."

Troy was the first to peek his head around the corner – immediately spying the large place card on the second desk along in the front row.

"Oh, man," Troy complained.

"Please refrain from making commentary, Mr. Bolton," Ms. Darbus directed.

One by one, the members of Ms. Darbus' home room stepped inside, finding their way to their desks in a time warp-ish fashion. When they'd come back to school after summer break, it had been the surprise of the students that Ms. Darbus had actually not designed a seating chart. They'd quickly nabbed the back two rows of seats, Troy in position in the far back right corner for the first time in a lesson with Ms. Darbus.

But in a sudden whim to reinstate the order she'd once had in her classroom, it all came crashing down.

Troy cast a puppy dog pout back at Gabriella, who gave him a small smile. Of all of their friends she was the one who was left most abandoned. She had Jason to her left, but the year before he'd tended to spend most of his class time staring at the back of Taylor's head with a glassy, hazed, expression. Taylor was in front of Jason, but since Chad was in front of her, Gabriella knew that Taylor's attention would be forward. Liana was to Gabriella's right, and although the girls didn't exactly _not _get along – they weren't exactly friends either. And Andy Marver was right in front of her – one of the masses of kids who didn't really belong to any particular stereotype. He wasn't an athlete, a musician, an academic. She had a couple of classes with him, and they were on amicable terms, but that was the extent of their friendship.

Ms. Darbus allowed the hushed murmurs and whispers from students in relation to the new arrangements, right up until the official bell rang at which point she promptly walked over the closed the classroom door.

"If no one has any questions pertaining to the new arrangements, we shall move on with this morning's announcements. I believe that Miss McKessie has a series of messages to deliver."

Taylor promptly rose from her seat and moved to the front of the classroom, proceeding to outline details of the upcoming chemistry club sponsored science fair; the yearbook biography submissions which were due in two weeks time; and the applications for the scholastic decathlon which were due in a weeks time. Next up was Ryan Evans, with a quick reminder about the upcoming spirit week with a series of associated fundraisers and activities in the lead up to Friday's basketball championships. Ms. Darbus then read out a few announcements from her sheet of paper – information about sign ups for a chess tournament, the status on the rebuilding of the auditorium and adjacent classrooms, reminders about school policies on cell phone usage – Ms. Darbus' eyes lighting up as she read the notice in a firm voice – and the inappropriateness of public displays of affection – causing Chad to have a 'coughing fit' hacking out 'Hoops' in the midst of the coughs.

"And finally, I call upon drama club president Sharpay Evans to provide information about today's auditions for our East High's Got Talent Winter Showcase Extravaganza."

From his place behind his sister, Ryan's stare drifted over to Kelsi, their gaze meeting and rolling eyes. 'Extravaganza' was a new element to the title of the event, one which screamed the flamboyant flair of Ms. Darbus.

"As you all know the auditions for my... _our…_ showcase are being held today," Sharpay announced. "I've made an executive decision on the behalf of the drama club in relation to the organisation of the auditions today. All singing auditions will be taking place during lunch period, dance auditions during free period and other acts after school. If this poses as an _issue_ for anyone, you may ask me personally if an exception can be made to this rule for you. However it is ultimately my discretion."

Ms. Darbus nodded. "Excellent idea Sharpay, much more organised."

Before sitting down, Sharpay had one final piece of information. "Oh! And I must clarify that our proceedings are closed, meaning that unless you are auditioning, you can't just lurk around."

Ms. Darbus quickly ran through the attendance list and then in perfect timing, just as she called the last name, the bell signalling it was time to move to first period rang. The Wildcats broke off into the direction of their requisite classrooms.

"Hey Sharpay?" Zeke said, falling into step with her. He knew that his next class was just up the corridor from hers. "Were you serious about the whole, musicians at lunch, dancers in free period and so on thing?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yes."

"And uh… why did you decide to do that?"

"Because we have like, a billion people auditioning and it's going to be super confusing if there isn't some organisation."

"Uh… so any chance you'll provide one of your special exceptions for my act?" Zeke asked hopefully. "I have training after school."

Sharpay paused, her hands on her hips. "Is your act for real?"

Zeke nodded. "It's not performing arts, but that's not what this showcase is only about, is it?"

"You're not involved in some dare bet challenge thing like when Troy did that stupid song at the school trip?"

Zeke took his index finger and drew a cross over his heart. "No. My friends don't even know what I'm doing, only Jason knows coz I asked him to assist me."

Sharpay studied him carefully, as though trying to read his face for insincerity. "Okay. You can audition at lunch."

A grin broke onto Zeke's face. "Thank you, thank you. You won't regret it."

Meanwhile in the other direction, Taylor, Martha, Gabriella, Troy, Ryan and Chad were all moving in the same direction toward the science wing; the first four in a physics class and the latter two in a chemistry class.

"I want to come watch the auditions," Taylor said, pouting slightly. "No observers, please. Half the school was there to watch the call backs last year!"

"Yeah, since my audition will be during the dance auditions at free period, I don't get to see any of the music auditions," Martha said with a slight pout.

"Why don't you both just come along and… 'work on the drama club column for the yearbook'," Ryan suggested, with a wink. "You're researching."

"Perfect!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Genius," Martha grinned.

"Are you sure that's such a great idea?" Chad asked, his tone slightly panicked. "Sharpay might not agree."

"Sharpay will agree to anything that involves more of her in the yearbook," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll still have Zeke and Jason to hang out with at lunch," Taylor said to Chad.

"Well, no, because Zeke is doing whatever the hell he's auditioning with and since we have practice in free period and after school, I'm guessing he's gonna ask Sharpay for an exception to her rule. And he's roped JC into helping him out," Chad pointed out, but then cleared his throat. "Doesn't matter anyways, I have something on at lunch."

"You do? What?" Troy asked innocently – knowing exactly what Chad had on.

Chad shot Troy a 'shut the hell up' look. "A thing."

"What thing?"

"None of your business," Chad shot back. "Anyway, me and Ryan have class down here. You smart people can go that way."

Troy rolled eyes as they parted ways. "See you free period for training."

"Word."

"What was that about?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"Nothing," Troy assured her, but the smirk on his face suggested otherwise. "Let's get into class. I already don't understand enough as it is, without missing the beginning."

"You're doing fine!" Gabriella exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

Troy hesitated. He wasn't really doing 'fine' although he allowed her to believe that. Fortunately, he was saved by the bell and he simply gestured toward their classroom. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

The dance auditions in free period had been a little painful. There had been three stand out acts - a soloist ballet routine from junior Nathaniel, a male ballet dancer who had auditioned for Twinkle Towne; a group of sophomore boys with a coordinated group break dancing effort; and an energetic jazz dance routine with a group of girls from the cheerleading squad. Martha's hip hop dance audition had also been pretty good, but the expression on her face afterwards indicated that she didn't feel as though she'd performed her best. Other than that, just about every routine was border lining upon dreadful. A sultry dance from a freshman which was downright distasteful; three soloist break dancers who couldn't even perform a top rock or a six step without looking awkward; a cheerleading style dance to _Mickey_ from a group of freshman and sophomore girls who didn't make the cheer squad; an awkward ballroom routine which involved a lift which had resulted in the female being dropped – fortunately she wasn't injured; and a series of other not so fortunate auditions.

Ryan, Sharpay, Gabriella, Theodore and Katie were the unofficial 'judging panel' – although Ms. Darbus was facilitating the proceedings, and technically the drama club would decide as a group who would be in the showcase. Kelsi was at the front at the piano, some of the singers had chosen to perform a Capella, some with backing tapes – but a few had given her sheet music and there were also some who had asked her if she knew how to play a particular song. The rest of the Wildcats were all seated together in the second to back row – Chad had slipped in with Troy at the last minute, telling his friends that he'd told Sharpay that he was writing the article with Taylor and Martha and she'd just rolled her eyes and told him to shut up and not make any noise.

The first three auditions were cut off after fifteen seconds by Ms. Darbus, and were a bad omen for the rest of the lunch break. Gabriella was extremely glad that Troy was auditioning, and that Sharpay had approved Zeke's request for a lunch time audition – at least the entire hour wouldn't be wasted. At least with the dancing auditions, if a performer wasn't very skilled, she could just glaze her eyes over or pretend to be taking notes when in reality she was doodling. If the auditions for _Twinkle Towne_ and _Once Upon A Time_ were any sort of indicator, there were simply too many people out there who had the misguided belief that they could sing well.

Ms. Darbus was simply going through the audition list in order of who had signed up first. They'd sat through the notorious musical auditionee Alan's flat, monotone performance - even with words written on his palm, he still couldn't get through a few lines of a song without needing to correct his lyrics. _'I hear Jerusalem bells a sing- ringing; Roman Cavalary choirs are ringi-singing; Be the-my mirror, my blade-sword and yie-shield; my missionaries in a foreign yield.'_

After Alan there were two different renditions of _Listen_ from DreamGirls; an original rap compositions; a group of scantily seven freshman girls who, although pleasing on the eyes of a horny teenage male, warbled their way through _Buttons_ by the Pussycat Dolls.

Gabriella was getting a headache. She glanced back at Troy – he had his iPod in, and in that moment she felt insanely jealous of him. For a short period of time, things took a turn for the better. Their was the pleasant surprise of classically trained Cindra who, when performing an opera piece suited to her extreme soprano voice was actually half decent; as well as an audition via video tape – a group of sophomore boys who were in a heavy metal band and for logistical reasons weren't able to bring all of their instruments, but vouched that the video was authentic and said that if necessary, a drama club representative could come to one of their rehearsals in DJ's basement. Four members of the East High Orchestra had formed their own jazz quartet, performing a short medley of songs.

After another rendition of _Listen _and two more original rap compositions later – and finally, Ms. Darbus called out, "And now we have a Mr. Troy Bolton to audition."

Troy confidently rose from his seat. He didn't feel nervous – which was a change, as much as he'd come to arrive at a place where he actually enjoyed singing, public performances were nerve wracking. But in that moment he wasn't nervous at all. He strode from his place in the back row, and also standing from his place was Ryan. He grabbed an acoustic guitar he'd stashed in the corner, the two boys grabbing onto stools and placing them at the front of the room.

Ryan settled down, plucking a few strings just to make sure it was still tuned accordingly. Troy stood in front of his stool for a moment, and looked out into the room of people. A lot of the people who'd already auditioned had stuck around to watch the rest of the auditions.

The half butterflies half killer moths chose that moment to began to madly flap their wings within Troy's tummy, and he swallowed and cleared his throat.

"Uh so… I've like, cut down a six minute song into a two minute audition piece, so I come in like, half way through and the song loses a bit of its build and then in the climax it isn't quite as… climatic. I know that you have the right to kick me off after like, ten seconds. But yeah… anyway. Um also, if you decide that you want me in the show but you don't want me to do this song, I'm willing to negotiate on that. And…"

"Mr. Bolton? Just perform for us," Ms. Darbus said patiently, interrupting the boys nervous ramble.

Troy cleared his throat again. "Right. Sorry."

He took a step back and perched upon the stool. He looked up, Gabriella's small, encouraging, loving smile beaming at him. Troy glanced at Ryan and nodded slightly, the blonde beginning to play the introductory chords, Troy's hand patting his leg in time to the music as he took a breath and then began to not only sing the notes but to feel the lyric of the song.

_You calm the storms, and you give me rest  
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall  
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away  
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?_

_How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?_

_Cause you're all I want, you're all I need  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want your all I need  
You're everything, everything._

_And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?_

Troy's gaze had been focussed toward the back wall of the room as his velvet tones resonated throughout the room – however every so often, he would sneak the tiniest glance at one person and one person only, the azure orbs meeting her glistening chocolate gaze. The final chord of the guitar sounded, and for a moment in time, you could hear a pin drop.

The room broke into applause – a standing ovation and it was only a casual audition for a simple talent showcase. Troy was used to attention, walking through the corridors was enough to command interest from his peers. At basketball games, he could feed off the energy of the crowd – he and his team's game serving as entertainment means for the spectactors. But this kind of applause was something he wasn't quite accustomed to. Troy just looked down as he took his stool and moved it aside to clear the front of the room for the next act to audition; and then weaved his way back to his seat beside Chad.

Not caring who was observing, Gabriella abandoned her seat between Ryan and Katie, and squeezed her way out of the row, up the aisle, and barrelled up to where Troy was seated – conveniently at the end of his row sitting with Chad, Taylor, Martha, Zeke and Jason, in that order. As she slid into the seat, she threw her arms around Troy's neck; his own warm embrace encircling around her slim frame.

"In case you didn't work it out, I was kinda singing that to you," Troy murmured into her ear.

Gabriella's head nodded into his shoulder, hugging him tighter. "I love you," her muffled reply came.

"Love you too." The couple exchanged a short but tender kiss.

"I don't envy whoever has to go next," Martha remarked.

Ms. Darbus stood in front of the group. "Mr. Baylor, do you and Mr. Cross need time to set up your performance?" she asked.

"I have it ready to go next door, I just have to bring it in here. So you can call someone else and then by the time they're done, I'll be ready," Zeke answered.

"Very well then."

Zeke and Jason scurried out the door, and while they were preparing for their secretive act, Ethan was called for his audition – Ethan was a junior at East High once known predominantly for his advanced skateboarding skills but had revealed just over a year earlier that he also studies the cello in private tutorials outside of school. He performed a short medley of some bits of Beatles songs – Yellow Submarine, Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude.

Once Ethan finished performing, Zeke and Jason returned, rolling in a table which had a cardboard sign on the front reading "Zeke and Jason's Cooking Show." Zeke was dressed in his professional chef's uniform for hospitality class; Jason was wearing an apron embroidered with the text 'Kiss The Chef.' On top of the table there was a microwave, a blender, a series of mixing bowls, various utensils and baking ingredients.

"Hi everyone, I'm Zeke."

"And I'm Jason."

"And welcome to Zeke and Jason's Cooking Show," they spoke simultaneously.

"Today we're going to be teaching you how to bake chocolate chip sugar cookies," Zeke said. "However before we get started, I'm just going to take a moment to establish some basic safety practices and procedures which should be in place…" Zeke trailed off glancing over at Jason – who had pulled out a red apple and was holding onto a very large, very sharp knife, reaching around with the tip of the blade facing him. "Jason, what _are _you doing?!" Zeke exclaimed.

The audience laughed.

"I'm hungry," Jason said simply.

"Fine, but don't use _that_ knife, and especially not like that. Anyway, so as I was saying. Safety aspects in the kitchen. It's important to have equipment in place…"

As Zeke was speaking, Jason had picked up a small axe and used it to finish cutting the apple, people laughing at Jason's behaviour. Zeke glanced over and Jason quickly hid the axe, causing another laugh. Zeke merely shook his head and kept talking.

"…so that if you do have a problem, you can deal with it."

"Hey Zeke, I have a good safety tip."

"Oh really? Let's hear it, JC."

"Well, you should always have bandages on hand in case you cut yourself. And if you do happen to have a cut that requires a bandage like this…" Jason picked up a thick bandage, a few inches wide, the type you'd wrap a sprained ankle or wrist with. "… then you should probably go to the doctor."

The routine continued – basically it was a very short form of Zeke showing how to make a very basic cookie mixture, but the only ingredients were a premix and water. Meanwhile Jason was stuffing around making errors and being stupid. And then in the end, the mixture was put into an Easy Bake Oven.

After the boys had received a big round of applause and bowed, Zeke quickly began to speak again. "There are a few ways this could work or be modified that I've thought of. You guys could expand upon it, play with it, whatever. You can use this segment as subliminal advertising for the refreshments that I know the hospitality classes are going to be preparing and selling. The comedy of the easy bake oven can also be played with – you could break this segment in two – like we come back later, twelve minutes later after the cookies have finished baking. You could even do like, a Ready Steady Cook style contest with me and Jason doing it on opposite teams and then he's voted for and he reveals his secret is that he used an Easy Bake Oven."

"There is definitely room for tweaking but the basic premise is awesome," Ryan said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Thank you, gentlemen," Ms. Darbus said.

After yet another rap solo and a cover of _The Voice Within _that were both cut short, Ms. Darbus stood up to announce the next auditionee.

"And next we have Mr. Chad Danforth."

There was silence for a moment, which was followed by an outburst of chaotic whispers as Chad stood from his seat and strode toward the front of the classroom – avoiding eye contact with everyone. Only Troy remained with a neutral expression.

"I'm sorry, is this for real?" Sharpay demanded, rising from her seat with her arms folded across her chest. "We don't have spare time available to be wasted if this is some joke."

Chad exhaled. "This is… for real. I am auditioning for East High's Got Talent," he said, his own tone one of complete disbelief that he was actually doing it. He was staring at the floor as he spoke, still avoiding looking at any of this friends who he knew were looking at him in utter disbelief.

"Don't you people understand that this showcase is _serious_?" Sharpay demanded. "I don't particularly feel like you taking up three minutes of my life watching to whatever heap of crap it is that you consider to be talent!"

"How about you let the guy perform before you judge him," Troy spoke up from behind Sharpay.

Sharpay spun around, glaring at Troy momentarily before huffily sitting back down in her seat – her arms remaining folded. Chad was clutching onto a CD which he handed to Kelsi for her to put into the player, playing a backing track he'd downloaded. His heart was thumping, his hands were shaking, and his legs actually were feeling as though they resembled a jelly substance. He retrieved the stool that Troy had used earlier, placing it centre stage and hoisting himself up to sit.

In that moment, Chad wanted to turn the clock back and take back anything he'd ever said to Troy Bolton on that fateful day.

* * *

_**Senior Class Trip December, 2007**_

_**Setting: Boys Cabin.**_

"_You know, I saw this umbrella the other day in a store. It was like, pink with white dots. Who would actually buy that?" Jason randomly remarked._

"_My sister," Ryan answered._

"_Okay, fair enough."_

"_Hey, I could get Bolton that for Christmas," Chad said jokingly._

_Troy scoffed. "Are you suggesting that I'd use a pink polka dotted umbrella? Dude, I don't think I even own an umbrella."_

"_Actually, I think Sharpay actually has a pink polka dotted umbrella," Ryan mused. "At my dance school, the girls once did this dance wearing like, rain coats and carrying umbrellas."_

"_What, was the song that 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' or something?" Zeke asked._

"_No, it was 'It's Raining Men' actually," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "Sharpay was like ten. It was so inappropriate."_

_Troy started laughing. "Do you have a video of it? That would be so funny."_

"_There you go Hoops, that's your talent for this talent show thing," Chad said jokingly. "Put on a dress and prance around with an umbrella."_

"_Ha ha, that's hilarious," Troy said, tossing his pillow across and hitting Chad squarely in the face._

"_I think that would be hysterical," Marcus spoke up from across the room. "Seriously. You could pull it off."_

"_Um, no, I think you've got the wrong guy. I think Chad should do it, he's got the girly hair and all," Troy pointed out. _

"_Ooohhh!" Jason, Zeke and Ryan all said._

_Chad threw the pillow back hard at Troy. "Shut the fuck up, Hoops. Who the fuck are you calling a girl? I'm not the one who has pranced around singing and dancing on stage in _two_ musicals plus the Lava Springs Talent Show."_

"_Hey!" Ryan exclaimed. "Are you suggesting that performing is a girly thing to do?"_

"_Yeah," Troy chimed in, feeling very glad in that moment that Ryan was around to have additional back up in the matter. "Our dance rehearsals are majorly hard core, I bet you'd collapse into a pile on the floor if you tried to do it. And singing in public isn't easy. It takes a real man to be comfortable singing on stage, to have the balls to sing in public."_

"_Oh hey, we have to be at the dining hall in like, two minutes," Ryan said, quickly jumping up. _

_The guys all began to gather their stuff to head up. _

"_So, what do you say?" Chad asked Troy, the two boys lagging behind the rest._

"_What do I say about what?" Troy asked._

"_A dress. It's Raining Men. The Non Talent Show. I bet you wouldn't do it."_

"_I don't want to do it because I think it's stupid, not because I'm scared or some shit."_

"_Yeah right, you're embarrassed."_

"_Am not!"_

"_Prove it."_

"_Fine then. I will. Like I said, you'd never do it, you're too scared."_

"_I don't care what people think of me," Chad said defiantly._

"_Then why don't you sing a song?"_

"_Because…"_

"_Because why?"_

"_Because… because…"_

"_See. You're scared," Troy said triumphantly. "Okay. I'll do this It's Raining Men thing. Only if after winter break, you audition for East High's Got Talent with a song. A _real_ song, not some comedy act – you're not hiding behind a comedy act."_

"_Fine then, I'll do it!"_

"_So that's a deal?"_

"_Deal."_

* * *

Leading to the present day – where Chad was sitting on a stool in front of his friends and peers, about to start singing.

He allowed himself to look up for a brief moment. It wasn't the half snickering Zeke or Jason that he saw, or the stunned Gabriella, or the curious, sitting on the edge of his seat Ryan.

Taylor smiled.

And in that moment, Chad knew that no matter how scared he was, no matter how embarrassed – he knew that he could do it.

He knew that he could prove Troy Bolton wrong.

_I won't talk  
I won't breathe  
I won't move til you finally see  
That you belong with me You might think I don't look  
But deep inside  
In the corner of my mind  
I'm attached to you_

_I'm weak  
It's true_

_I'm afraid to know the answer  
Do you want me too?  
Coz my heart keeps falling faster_

_I've waited all my life  
To cross this line  
To the only thing that's true  
So I will not hide  
It's time to try  
Anything to be with you  
All my life I've waited  
This is true_

People had expected Troy to be good. They'd all heard him sing, and sing properly. So it had been no surprise that he'd been fantastic. When the soft chords of the backing track came over the CD player of a ballad – that had been the first surprise of the audition. And then when Chad's mouth had opened and he was not only good, but he was great – that was the second surprise.

Ryan had flicked to a fresh sheet of paper on the clip board on his lap, and then written in huge, bold letters that covered the whole page – 'OMG' – and flashed it up at Gabriella where she'd remained with Troy behind him, turning around for a brief moment to see the expression of astonishment on their friends faces. He put it back down in his lap. Katie reached over, writing '_I know we're not making official decisions today, but my vote is **hell yeah**!'_ on the page.

Ryan made eye contact with Kelsi from her position by the CD player at the front of the room, sharing that shining look of excited amazement at the fresh talent they'd found.

And the moment that Chad finished singing – the room exploded into applause which was on par with the reception Troy had received. And the loudest cheering came from Troy himself. Chad stood on stage in astonishment for a moment – before bee lining straight for the door.

"Oh my God, he was amazing!" Ryan exclaimed, turning to Sharpay.

Sharpay shrugged. "He was okay."

"I mean he's not perfect, but this isn't about perfection. Who would actually expect that _Chad _can sing like that?"

All Chad wanted to do was get the hell out and avoid any sort of conversation. However the moment Taylor had realised he was heading straight for the door, she was on her feet and moving after him – finding that he hadn't gone far, he'd stopped just outside the classroom, leaning forward with his forearms resting against the wall, his forehead against his arms.

"Hey," Taylor said softly, her hand clamping onto his shoulder.

"I really just did that, didn't I?" Chad breathed.

He turned around, his back pressing against the wall, and he slid down until he was sitting on the floor. Taylor carefully knelt down beside him, her hands folded neatly on her lap.

Taylor smiled. "You did. I… I haven't the faintest clue why, though."

"Troy dared me," Chad said darkly.

Taylor's face wrinkled up in confusion. "Huh?"

"When he did the Treasure Bolton thing at the school trip? It all sorta happened then. It's… complicated. But whatever. I did it. I was thinking it would just be all those drama types seeing it, but of course _everyone _was there, of course Zeke and JC had to do their act and of course you and Martha had to be there. And I've no doubt that Hoops had his cell out and made a video recording. And now everyone will go on and on about it."

"I'm glad I was there."

"What, so you can diss me and make fun of me? You know, I don't care what people think of me, I don't care if Troy puts the fucking thing on YouTube. But you… I care what you think And you just had to come here and 'research for the yearbook' and so now you can laugh away."

"Do I look like I'm laughing? Chad, you were awesome! Didn't you hear the applause?"

He rolled his eyes. "You have to say that I was awesome. And I bet they were just applauding out of politeness."

"No really! I'm not just saying it, do you think I'd just say it? That was… it was really beautiful. Seriously. I mean, I knew that you didn't sound like a set of bagpipes or some other terrible noise when you sang but… you're really good!"

Chad shook his head, still not believing her. "I'm glad you were there," he admitted. "Before it, I was thinking, 'please let Taylor go to the bathroom right when Ms. Darbus calls my name.' But when she called me and I felt like vomiting. And when I was standing there it was like… Everyone else just looked so shocked, Zeke and JC and Troy were almost laughing. And you just… smiled at me. You looked confused but you smiled at me, like whatever it was I was doing, you were there to encourage me. I knew then that I could do it."

"Well, you'd better get used to that feeling of performing because from I was seeing of their reaction, they think you were awesome and I'll be betting they want you for the actual show."

Chad's eyes boggled. "Say what?" he repeated. "Uh, hell no! That was bad enough just then in that small room of people. No way in hell will I agree to do that again."

* * *

Chad had disappeared before the rest of their friends had come out of the auditions, it was Ryan and only Ryan who he had his second last period of the day with, and they had seating allocations so Chad was able to avoid talking to him at the beginning of class. However as they were let out of class to head toward the final period of the day – being drama with Darbus for both boys – there was no legitimate method that would allow Chad to avoid Ryan.

"Oh my God Chad, you were absolutely amazing!" Ryan exclaimed. "Do you realise that? I don't know what possessed you to audition, but I'm so glad you did. Are you aware of just how great you were?"

"Let's just get to drama, okay?" Chad said, closing his eyes.

"Seriously Chad, what… I don't get it? Why didn't you tell me you wanted to audition? I could have helped you get ready. Not that you _needed_ it, coz you were awesome!"

"It's really not a big deal."

"But it _is_ a big deal!"

"You had some other great people audition, hey?" Chad remarked. "Zeke and JC were funny, it'll be interesting to see if you get any other comedy in that bit after school for all the random shit. I heard Eddy Wheeler - do you know him? He's a junior – is gonna do a stand up act. And the cello playing kid was good too, and the tape from the band. And Bolton, of course, but we all know that he has the Midas touch."

"And you Chad, and you," Ryan said pointedly.

They rounded the corner and their drama classroom was within sight. Chad so wanted to about face and avoid his friends altogether – except in reality, they had training immediately after school so he'd have to see them then anyway, and he'd prefer to get the fuss over with now rather than have it lingering throughout training. He took a breath and walked ahead of Ryan into the room.

"Look, there he is!" Kelsi exclaimed. "Chad! Oh my God, you were incredible!"

"Uh… thanks Kelsi."

"Chad! You _have_ to be in the showcase, absolutely have to!" Ryan said.

"Ryan! We have to decide that as a drama club," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes.

"Your sister is right," Chad said quickly.

"Oh please, we are so going to vote for you, I would bet you a very large amount of money on that fact," Ryan declared.

"You are sorta exactly what we want the showcase to be about. Demonstrating that a diverse range of people at East High have talent," Gabriella pointed out.

"But I don't actually want to be in the showcase. I was just proving a point!" Chad exclaimed. Troy was folding his arms, smirking. "You knew! I don't know how, but you knew this would happen!" Chad said accusingly.

"You mean, that we've known each other for twelve years and I know that you can sing? Yeah. I know that. You're like me, well, before all… this. When the tunes are blasting in the car or whatever, you put on that pretend exaggerated rock star voice that covers up that you can actually sing really well."

"I don't wanna do it," Chad said stubbornly. "Don't pick me guys. You don't want me! Bolton is way better than me. How many male jock singers do you need, really?"

"So what, this was a bet between you guys?_" _Martha asked, trying to understand what was going on.

"He's doing it because I threatened his masculinity," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "At the school trip. When he dared me to do the cross dressing thing and said that I'd be chicken."

"And Troy actually had the _nerve_ to suggest that I would be too afraid to sing in public. That he's more of a man than I am because he does have the balls to do it and he'll prove it and if he does then it'll be proof that I'm the one without balls. What fucking bull shit."

"So… Chad, you just auditioned for East High's Got Talent because Troy made you feel inadequate?" Ryan clarified, smirking.

"Pretty much, that's the sum of it," Chad said.

"And you know, if they pick you and you back out – that's kinda proof that you really are too scared," Troy pointed out with a triumphant smirk.

"I hate you, Bolton, with a fiery…"

"All right students, time to begin today's lesson!" Ms. Darbus announced, coming into the room. "Take your seats."

* * *

The East High Varsity basketball team was standing in the gymnasium in two lines, facing one another. Jack Bolton had a clipboard under his arm, and was clutching onto a was pacing backwards and forwards through the two sets of boys who were watching him closely.

"This time next week – this'll all be over. No more training. No more practice. You've got one week. One week remaining to prepare for what could be the most important game of your high school careers. One week to put in every single ounce of energy that you have. One week which could change your whole future."

Coach Bolton sharply tossed the ball to Chad who was at the head of one of the lines.

"What team?!"

"WILDCATS!"

The cheer continued, and then Coach Bolton blew his whistle, the chest passing exercise commencing – practice was officially underway. The first of a week of absolutely gruelling, intense training sessions beyond anything that any of the boys had experienced before.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay and Kelsi were all approaching the parking lot from one direction; while Zeke, Troy, Jason and Chad were approaching from the other.

"Hey guys," Ryan called, waving to them.

Zeke rose his hand in a wave, the two groups meeting at the entrance to the parking lot.

"So, any decent comedic competition?" Jason asked.

"No. People think they're funny when they aren't," Sharpay said.

"Oh it wasn't that bad," Kelsi said optimistically.

Sharpay coughed. "Um, were you paying attention while those boys were throwing marshmallows at each other?"

"There was some interesting stuff though – a lot of potential, things we can work on and tweak. We stayed back and tried to workout how many acts we'll be able to fit into a show and an approximate quota of the different genres," Gabriella said.

"Some decent talent will be rejected," Ryan said. "Unfortunately."

"Feel free to reject me," Chad said casually.

Troy made a 'bawk bawk' noise, imitating a chicken – causing Chad to retaliate by half playfully half seriously thwacking the basketball captain in the arm.

"Anyway I have to go, me and Taylor are going out tonight," Chad said. "Am I giving anyone a ride?"

"We're good," Jason said on behalf of himself and Kelsi. "We're going up the road to grab an early dinner."

The Wildcats dispersed their separate ways; Chad and Zeke both heading home, Kelsi and Jason to dinner. Gabriella, Troy, Ryan and Sharpay were remaining; and Troy pulled his girlfriend away from the twins slightly.

"Hey, so what are you doing tonight?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"I have that dinner with Ryan's mom and Sharpay, remember?" she reminded him.

Troy's face fell. "Oh that's right. I totally forgot." He pouted. "Will I even see you this weekend?"

"Well I know you've got training both days over the weekend, but what about tomorrow night?" she suggested.

"We're doing team bonding," Troy answered regretfully.

"Oh. Isn't training together twenty four seven like bonding?"

"Apparently not enough, according to my dad. We're having a team dinner and then playing mini golf."

"Oh."

"We're not doing hard core training on Saturday, like we're doing some distance training at the park – the one across from the Winrock Center? You could come by, maybe. Say hello."

"Yeah, maybe," Gabriella mused, still not satisfied with the compromise.

"Or what about Sunday night? I kinda… I should probably allow some time to do homework and stuff, but you know, whatever."

"No, not whatever," Gabriella said firmly. "Homework is not whatever. We could study together, maybe? We could just… for now let's not plan anything. We'll talk to each other, we can just see what happens. Okay?"

"It's back to being insane again, I know," Troy said with a sigh. "But this week is just…"

"I know Troy. It's important. For the team and for yourself, I do understand," Gabriella said genuinely. "I just miss you is all. We spent a week together and so now not seeing you just… it feels weird."

"I know, baby, I know."

Meanwhile over with the other pair, Sharpay and Ryan had talked for a moment before Sharpay said she needed to get home before coming back to Gabriella's for dinner. She and Ryan had hugged and kissed on the cheek.

"Umm… bye Gabriella, bye Troy," Sharpay said, a little awkwardly. "See you later on, Gabriella."

Gabriella rose her hand, waving to the blonde. "See you soon."

"Bye Sharpay," Troy echoed.

Ryan turned to Troy and Gabriella.

"So missy, which of us fine young gentlemen get the pleasure of escorting you home?" Ryan asked with a smile.

Troy looked at Gabriella with pleading eyes. "I might go with Troy," she said, shooting a small smile at Ryan.

"I suspected that much," Ryan said. "Umm… should I tell your mom that you were just going to the library and then coming or…"

Gabriella shrugged. "Just say Troy was driving me and we won't be long. She won't mind."

Ryan nodded and moved toward his Audi, and Troy and Gabriella headed to his white pick up. She allowed Troy to open the passenger side door and took his hand as he provided unnecessary assistance for her to step up into the cab. He darted around to the drivers side, hoisting himself up onto the left side of the bench seat.

Without a word being spoken, lips fused together, warm hands lovingly weaved through strands of hair and clutched at skin, tongues lightly stroked and danced. The world outside the rusty white truck was cast aside in favour of savouring the presence of one another.

Savouring every precious moment.

* * *

**Disclaimer – **Lyrics in this chapter are _Everything_ by Lifehouse; and _True_ by Ryan Cabrera. FYI there's a really hot live acoustic version of _True_ you can download; and there are also some AMAZING covers of both songs on YouTube by this guy with the username chriscole6 which just totally blew me away. :-) Oh, and Alan was singing a botched up version of _Viva La Vida_ by Coldplay.

Credit to the following YouTube video for providing inspiration – Jimeoin & Bob's Cooking Show posted by Niven666


	24. Chapter 24

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Notes – **

Sorry for the wait on this. I've been a bit busy – uni has gone back, I've started a new casual job _**and I went to Sydney this week and saw Zachary**_. :-) If anyone is interested in reading my detailed re-cap of my time at the red carpet of the _17 Again_ premiere in Sydney, head to the ZacE section of ZA Angels – zace dot zaangels dot com.

I'd like to thank _heebeejeebees_ and _Persephone Lemonade_ for pointing something out that I accidentally left out last chapter– I originally had this referenced in the exchange with Kelsi and Troy the day before and I rewrote that conversation and it must have gotten cut out accidentally. It was enquired 'what about Gabriella's audition?'

The answer is that there are sooo many auditions that they weren't gonna get through them all and people from the drama club who are auditioning will audition on Monday afternoon. Hence why Gabriella is doing a final rehearsal in this chapter over her weekend. :-)

Also thanks to Audrey for the fab beta-ing, mwah!

**Chapter Disclaimer – **

_Whatever Will Be_ by Tammin Sursok (covered by Vanessa Hudgens) is not mine.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

_Rise up and heal them  
Rise up and care for them  
Rise up to the love in our hearts  
Rise up for the creatures  
Make this moment last..._

**Maria Daines – 'Rise Up (Make This Moment Last)'**

* * *

Derby Evans had been to a lot of dinner parties in her time. The people within her social circle typically had a live in house keeper who would also look after meal preparation; the few that didn't have an outside party prepare meals for the family would never think of self catering a dinner party. Derby had attended elegant balls, glamorous seven course sit down dinners.

She couldn't remember a time since marrying Vance two years out of high school when she'd been to someone's home and consumed a simple, home cooked, family dinner.

"Oh my goodness! This is amazing!" Derby gushed – not a drip of insincerity to her tone.

Elena was more than a little surprised at Derby's reaction of the first mouthful she'd tasted. She'd actually been a little nervous whilst preparing the meal, she wasn't one to worry about trying to impress anyone but she wanted the evening to go well, Gabriella's stories of the Evans' lifestyle were enough to make her feel a little intimidated by Derby's presence. She'd sent Gabriella down to the basement to find the fancy china, she'd scrubbed and polished the silverware, she'd brought out her best tablecloth – all in preparation for Derby and Sharpay Evans.

"It's just roast lamb," Elena said bashfully.

"Well firstly, I absolutely love roast lamb; and secondly, I don't know whether it's your oven or some magic secret you have or if you just picked an excellent cut of meat – but this is the most tender, delicious lamb I've ever tasted. And thirdly, this sauce is amazing! If I could cook, I'd ask you for the recipe!"

Elena laughed lightly, telepathically thanking Ryan for the suggestion of cooking lamb as he knew his mother liked it. "I could write it out for… is it Marci who does your cooking?"

"Yes, it's Marci. Vance doesn't really like lamb, we hardly ever have it," Derby said, and then bit her lip and glanced across the table at her son with a slightly guilty expression.

"It's okay mom, you can refer to him," Ryan said. "He still exists."

"I know that I just…"

"Was pretending that everything is okay?" Ryan supplied.

Derby smiled tightly. That was the way she operated – looking on the bright side, focusing on the positives, remaining complacent to the negatives. And it was that very carefree, optimistic attitude that Ryan had inherited from his mother. However in this situation – it wasn't a method that worked. They needed to face the reality of the scenario.

"That's what I do, you know that," Derby admitted.

"So, Vance is just away tonight?" Elena asked carefully.

When the women had talked on the phone the day before, Derby had indicated to Elena that she wanted Ryan to continue seeing his father, to keep trying. Ryan shutting down and ignoring his father was being interpreted by Vance as bratty and immature behaviour.

Derby nodded. "He had a meeting in Denver late this afternoon."

"Does he work over the weekends usually?"

Derby shook her head. "Oh no. Vance is very big on having his own time. I mean, he won't shy away from organising social lunches or events with people related to business. But he very rarely will be at his office or even bring paperwork home with him. We spend a lot of time at Lava Springs over the weekends, we have for years, since Sharpay and Ryan were in diapers."

"How long have you owned the club?" Elena asked.

"About ten years ago it was put on the market and we bought 50% of it. And it was about five years ago when our partners wanted to divest so we bought out their half."

"Do you manage it or are you mostly silent?" Elena enquired.

"Vance is mostly silent, he's around at the club using the amenities frequently and if he has input he'll make sure the right people get the feedback. We're both on the board but he is scarcely at any of the board meetings. I co-manage the spa and fitness centre, and I'm actually actively on the board. But most of the day to day running of the club itself is left to the management team. Thomas Fulton – who is our general manager but essentially he is in charge of human resources, he looks after staffing matters and also member relations. Benjamin Winter is our VP of operations." Derby paused and looked at Elena contemplatively. "Actually… you might like Benjamin."

Gabriella had been fairly quiet throughout the meal thus far, content to sit back and observe at the interactions unfolded before her. However at that remark from Derby, Gabriella started coughing, the mouthful of mashed potato she'd just swallowed tickling at her throat.

"You okay?" Ryan asked Gabriella. "Drink some water."

Gabriella nodded and picked up her water glass, taking small sips to soothe her throat. "Fine thanks."

Gabriella's coughing fit was seemingly enough to divert Derby away from the track she'd changed to, and back to her original track.

"Speaking of Lava Springs… Pumpkin, Duckie, I was thinking we could play tennis on Sunday afternoon," Derby suggested.

"We?" Sharpay said, raising her eyebrows. "Who is we?"

It wasn't only Gabriella who had been fairly quiet, Sharpay had also been keeping to herself, speaking only when spoken to.

"You know very well who we is," Derby said quietly. "We can have a family afternoon. We are still a family, regardless of the present living arrangements. You like tennis, don't you Duckie? We haven't played for a while."

"I do like tennis," Ryan conceded, and then sighed and said simply, "So maybe." He was thinking to himself 'hell no' but he didn't want to blatantly say no to his mothers suggestion.

Derby bit her lip, wanting to push further but also not wanting to alienate Ryan.

"Ms. Montez, do you whip your mashed potato?" Ryan asked.

Elena nodded. "Yes. Yes I do."

"It's great, I really like it. It's amazing how something as simple as whipping rather than mashing can make me like it so much."

For Sharpay, it was too much like that awful dinner with her parents and Ryan – the last dinner they'd had together as a family, over a week earlier. Dancing around the inevitable issue that everyone in the room knew was at the crux of why the Evans' and Montez families were dining together. Hearing her father go on about the dressing had been painful enough – having to listen to her brother drone on about whipped potato was not on her list of preferred activities for the evening.

"So, Ryan, when are you coming home?" Sharpay asked brightly.

"Sharpay!" Derby admonished. It was exactly what she wanted to ask but the issue was too sensitive to be asked so bluntly.

"It's okay, mom," Ryan said quietly – he too knowing very well that it was a matter that was undoubtedly on the table to be discussed.

"You could have at least waited until we finished eating," Derby said under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe the food will soften the awkwardness of the topic," Ryan remarked.

"I don't see why the topic needs to be awkward," Sharpay said. "You're the one who is making it more complicated than necessary. It's not like you _have_ to be here, you do have the option to come home. I don't really think that daddy will take away your computer and stuff, and even if he did, what's stopping you from using mine?"

Ryan shook his head. "Shar, I thought you got this. It's about more than some stupid computer."

Sharpay set her cutlery down onto her plate, and folded her arms. "Well? What's it about then?"

Ryan closed his eyes and sighed. "Right now it's like… everyone who is important knows. I've said it out loud, and not just in some private conversation that I'm paranoid about being overheard. Let's say that dad decided that he could tolerate it – it wouldn't be him accepting me. It would be him turning a blind eye. Saying that as long as he doesn't have to see or hear about it, then he can't do anything about it. And then I'll just be back at feeling like I have to censor who I am. Which I don't think I can do again, not now."

"So what then?" Sharpay asked quietly – again, asking the question that was at the forefront of everyone's minds.

Ryan took a breath. "Okay well… I've worked out a schedule with a bunch of dance schools that will allow me to teach about eight different classes each week. Some of that is at our school, and they said that if I can exchange teaching a class for taking two lessons. So…"

"Duckie, stop," Derby said. "If you're suggesting that you're trying to work out a way to teach enough dance classes to support yourself, you're being ridiculous. Money will never be an issue within this scenario. Never, _ever_. I very much so doubt that your father would disagree with that, and even if he did – I don't particularly care. You have a sizeable college fund and I make money entirely independently from your father. Are you implying that you want to rent an apartment or something?"

"Well, yeah," Ryan admitted.

"No, I… I don't like the idea of that," Derby said, shaking her head. "Not at all."

"We turn eighteen in less than two months," Ryan pointed out, referring to both himself and his twin. "And I'll be going away for college in like seven months."

"Exactly, you should be enjoying your last six months as a high school student, without worrying about trying to live alone. Besides, college has the dorm environment and… no. It's just completely different." Derby's tone was firm.

She glanced sideways at Elena, biting her lip. When Elena had called Derby that morning to suggest the dinner, she'd also brought up the possibility of Ryan's temporary stay being made permanent. Derby's main concern had been Ryan's motivation, if he was being driven by a need to make a point that he was angry with Vance, or whether it was a bigger issue. Ryan's explanation had made it clear that his reasons were well thought out, that he wasn't acting from a place of immaturity. She nodded slightly at Elena – in that moment, giving her fellow mother an indication that she was okay with the proposal.

Elena cleared her throat, and set down her fork. "I was going to wait until after we'd eaten but uh… this seems like the right time to bring this up."

Ryan looked back and forth from his mother to Ms. Montez, having seen the look between them. "What's going on?"

Derby once again nodded slightly at Elena, as though telling her to go ahead and be the one to bring up the offer. "Your mom and I talked today, Ryan, and… well…" she paused. "I guess I'll just say it. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

Ryan blinked. "Wha-…really?" he asked incredulously.

"Really," Elena said with a firm nod. "We'll have to discuss details, which we can do later. There will be conditions, and quite a few things I'll want you to think about. This isn't just like going to stay at a friends house for a permanent sleep over, it's more complicated than that. But for now, just know that the option will be there."

It was at that precise moment when Ryan knew that everything was going to be okay. The past few days of trying to sit down and budget – something he'd never had to worry about in his life – had been beyond frightening. He knew that there was no way that he could live with his father under the present circumstances. It didn't matter that the house was so big that he could feasibly live there and avoid any communication with him. There was just a deeper feeling inside which told Ryan that going home wasn't an option. But even his elementary budgeting skills were enough to tell him that trying to find an apartment in his senior year of high school wasn't going to be an option – at least not with his current level of extra curricular commitment.

Hearing those words from Ms. Montez, being told that he was welcome to stay – the conditions were merely details. He didn't care about details. What mattered was that he was welcome – Ryan Evans, in his entirety, knowing exactly who he was, had been welcomed.

Ryan turned to his mother – who if he wasn't mistaken, had a slight tear in her eye. "Mom? Are you… are you okay with this?" Ryan asked, biting his lip.

Derby took a breath, smiling at Ryan. She nodded slightly. "At first I was hesitant. I was worried… I was worried that your reasons for not wanting to come home were… that they weren't the right ones. But I think I understand now. It's not my ideal situation. It's not that I don't want you to come home. But I understand that you can't. And… Elena Montez is a good person, something that I knew the very first time that I met her because there are some people who you can sense that about immediately. I don't think I'll ever be totally prepared for you to leave home Duckie, but if it has to be now, then I'd rather it be here than anywhere else."

"Do you think dad will agree?"

Derby sighed. "I think he will be agreeable to this. He'll probably be concerned about the public perception of this incident, and ask that you don't tell everyone that you're living here for the reasons that you are."

Ryan coughed. "You think I'm going to broadcast the information?"

Derby shook her head. "No, I don't think you could. But… this is your father. It's in his blood, caring about business and public perception. You have to understand… Your father grew up in a very different background, his parents – your Nannie and Pop – are extremely traditional. Aunt Janie…" Derby paused, and glanced toward Elena and Gabriella, clarifying for their benefit. "Who is Vance's sister… I remember when Vance and I were first dating, she was in her junior year of high school and was interested in this lovely boy in her class. He was a straight A student, he was on the track team. He was also African American, and Nannie and Pop did not approve of this in the slightest."

"Really?" Ryan asked, his interest piqued.

Derby nodded. "The point…. The point of this… is to tell you that I'm not justifying your father's judgement Duckie but at the same time… I understand that this is simply the way that he was brought up; these are the values that were instilled within him. I know that this must seem archaic to you, this is the 21st century in the United States of America after all. But things have changed radically in the last thirty, twenty, even in the last ten years, the perceptions of society have changed drastically. And… I'm not going to turn away from him because…"

"Mom! I wouldn't expect you to… to turn away from him!" Ryan exclaimed. "I'm not asking that, not at all. And I'm not… I'm not turning away from him. Believe it or not, this isn't about dad, it's about me."

Derby nodded. "I know that it's about you, but just… don't give up on him, Duckie. Your father is a good man at heart. Yes he has flaws, and just because I love him, just because we're married - it doesn't mean that I agree with everything that he believes. But he is a good man. I'm not naïve, I don't think that things are going to change over night. It may take months or even years for him to truly… to change his perspective. But you're going to have to keep trying, to keep making an effort if you want to try to make that change happen."

"I'm sorry, but am I hearing this right? You're actually agreeing to this?" Sharpay asked incredulously, looking straight at her mother. "You're agreeing that Ryan shouldn't be coming home, with his family, where he belongs?"

"Pumpkin, don't make a scene," Derby murmured.

"Shar, it's gonna be okay," Ryan said.

"And you… you're actually going to just give up?" Sharpay demanded, ignoring her mother's plea and looking directly at Ryan. "You're thinking that you're not going to come home again?" Sharpay asked, eyes penetrating into her brother.

Her tone was demanding, her body language severe – but her facial expressions gave her away. Teeth clamped onto her lower lip, slightly glassy eyes.

"Sharpay, let's talk about it later, okay?" Ryan said quietly, reaching over to rub his sisters arm.

"It sounds like there isn't really anything to talk about it," she said, the resilience within her tone cracking somewhat. She took a breath and cleared her throat. "Ms. Montez, may I use your bathroom?"

Elena Montez nodded. "Of course, sweetheart."

Ryan waited about a minute before standing up. "Excuse me," he said – not even providing an excuse for what he was doing. They all knew that he was going after his twin, there was no point in pretending otherwise.

She hadn't even bothered to lock the bathroom door – when he'd called out her snippy 'what?!' told him that she was in fact okay with him entering. Sharpay was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her elbows on her knees and her forehead resting on her palms as she stared down at her pink toenails that peeked out from her black Jimmy Choo peep-toe pumps. Ryan wordlessly entered, and slid down with his back against the sink cupboard to sit cross legged facing his sister.

"Sharpay… I need your support right now. I… I don't think I can do this without you," Ryan said quietly. "We're still gonna see each other all the time, at school every day and all our dance and vocal lessons. And we can hang out, you know, I'm sure that Ms. Montez won't mind if you come over here and…"

"But I can't just come into your room if I feel like saying hello," Sharpay said quietly. "I can't ask you to come and give me your opinion about what outfit I should wear – even though most of the time I don't agree with you anyway."

"You can call me. You can send me picture texts with your outfit choices," Ryan supplied. "We're not gonna be together forever."

"I know that. But I just wasn't expecting that we'd be apart this soon. And I guess I'd always thought that when we did separate it would be because we're going off to do better things. Not because…. Not because of this. Not with you having to come live… here," Sharpay said, glancing around the bathroom. "What colour are these walls, anyway?"

"I think they're puce," he said with a smile, and then sighed. "I know what you mean. Gabriella is one of my closest friends, and her mom is awesome, and I'm grateful for their offer – but Shar, you have to know that this isn't my ideal. But please try to understand why I just can't go home right now. You're the one who said that Evans' aren't afraid of who they are and they shouldn't hide. If I go home – that's what I'll be doing. I'll be hiding from who I am, I'll have to. And right now… it's either here or trying to find some crappy apartment. Would you rather come visit me here or in some random apartment on the south side?"

Sharpay sighed, and admitted in a resigned sigh, "I guess this is the better of two evils."

* * *

It was about an hour after Derby and Sharpay Evans left the Montez house hold. They didn't stay very late, finishing their meals and sampling a cheesecake which Elena had baked. Ryan had gone upstairs for a little while – checking his e-mail and doing a short homework exercise – and then made his way back downstairs. He could hear that both of the Montez women were in the living room, their voices drifting through to the hallway as Gabriella giggled at something her mom said. He paced in the hallway for a moment before making his way to the opened French doors and knocking lightly, just to make his presence known. Gabriella and Elena looked up, both smiling warmly at him.

"Hey Ry," Gabriella said.

Ryan cleared his throat. "Um… I can come back if I'm interrupting something."

"Oh please not at all. We're just talking about Grey's Anatomy, hardly earth shattering conversation," Elena said.

Gabriella smiled assuringly. He came into the room and sat to Gabriella's right on the couch, looking up at where Ms. Montez was in the arm chair to Gabriella's left. He bit his lip and then asked quietly, "I was just wondering if you could tell me about the 'conditions' that you said would be set down if I… if I um… you know… took you up on your offer. To stay."

Gabriella glanced over at her mom, trying to gauge whether perhaps she might want her to politely excuse herself so she could discuss the matter with Ryan in private. "Uh…"

"Stay, Gabi," Elena said, sensing the gesture from her daughter. "This is about you, too." Elena sat forward a little in her seat, looking at Ryan. "It's not really… conditions, per se. Well, there is a condition. And then I suppose what the rest really is, is that you let me talk to you about some things that I want you to think about before we reach an agreement. I guess the second condition then is that you listen and take those things seriously."

Ryan nodded, a bit warily. "Um, okay…"

"I'll start with the main condition. I want you to keep in regular contact with your father."

Ryan exhaled slightly. "With all due respect, contact is a two way concept, Ms. Montez."

"Your father isn't not talking to you. He hasn't kicked you out. I know that you're close with your mom and sister, so you'll maintain the connection with them. But it's important that you keep seeing your father. No matter how uncomfortable and contrived, you have to keep trying. Avoiding contact with him isn't going to solve the problem. I am completely supportive of your reasons for not wanting to live with him – after all, it's not as though you're fifteen and just being bratty about the situation. I respect that you don't want to have to put up a facade or force yourself to censor your behaviour. That's fair enough. But your mother was absolutely right with everything she was saying about giving your father a chance. It's a two way street, and your part is to do things like go over for dinner, or to play tennis. It may be awkward, but if you grin and bare it, in the long run I think it will help."

Ryan swallowed. "Okay. I… I think you're right. I wish you weren't, but I get that."

Elena nodded. "Good."

"Okay so… what was the other stuff?"

"I want you to consider carefully what living here will be like. It will be different to living at your house. We don't have housekeepers. You'll be assigned some chores. I also work late sometimes and I go away over night – Gabriella and I have a relationship built on trust where she doesn't abuse my trust and throw parties or whatever else while I'm away. I know that I probably don't have to say it but I'll say it anyway – I'll expect the same from you. I'm not going to parent you, but this is my house."

"Absolutely! Of course!" Ryan exclaimed.

"And this applies to both of you – just because there are two people from your friendship group living in the one house, I really don't want this to become the 'hang out' for your friends."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I don't think either of us would particularly want to be responsible for the permanent hang out for the guys."

"Plus, that won't happen because there's no basketball hoop here," Ryan pointed out with a small grin.

Elena laughed slightly, and then directed another warning at Ryan. "You'll have to put up with Troy being here all the time."

"He's not here that often!" Gabriella protested with a smile.

"I think I can handle that… but if he bugs me, I can just invite Sharpay over and he'll disappear I'm sure," Ryan said with a smirk, before adding seriously, "I can invite Sharpay over sometimes, can't I? And I don't mean as a way to annoy Troy."

"Of course you can," Elena said. "Not all the time of course – I don't even allow Troy over here all the time."

"Yeah, I go to Troy's sometimes," Gabriella pointed out.

"I'll think about everything that you said, but honestly – I don't see any of it being a problem. I'm just so incredibly grateful for your offer, I really don't know how to explain just how grateful I am." Ryan's eyes were cast downward as he spoke, but then as he looked up and his gaze travelled from Gabriella to Elena – there was no doubting the gratitude within his expression.

Gabriella reached over, wrapping her arm around Ryan in a half hug. "We're making the most out of a sucky situation. And I for one am really, really glad that you're here."

* * *

At 2pm the following afternoon – being Saturday afternoon – Gabriella and Kelsi were at the park across from the Winrock Centre, settled under a tree with a pile of their books and notes for their midterm exams.

"This was a great idea," Kelsi declared.

"Us studying together instead of separately, or studying here at the park?" Gabriella asked.

"Both. I mean, I was happy enough with you there at my house. Studying on a weekend is just such a drag, but I'm so behind in everything so I knew I had to take advantage of Jason being busy all weekend. But here, it's like, the best of both worlds."

Kelsi glanced out onto the outdoor basketball court that was within view. The girls weren't blatantly watching – but even if they were it wouldn't have mattered because there were some unconcealed observers. A couple of the juniors in the squad had girlfriends who'd brought along a few friends, and they were all sitting by the sideline. There were also some other randoms observing – after all, they were in a public park. The guys were playing shirts against skins – Gabriella pleased that Troy was on the skins side, with his golden tan now glistening as the droplets of sweat had accumulated.

"Do you think this is smart? Practicing in public like this? If they were just running and stuff I wouldn't think otherwise, but anyone could watch them. For example, anyone from the Knights."

"From what Troy told me, they're not really changing anything about their game, nothing major anyway. The Knights coach has probably studied game tapes anyway, that's what Coach Bolton does, he watches videos of all the games that the Knights have played," Gabriella answered.

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "All for a high school game."

"For the ones who want to play college ball, it's not just a high school game."

"True."

The girls returned to their requisite study notes for a few minutes, reading and jotting down points periodically. Kelsi stopped writing and set down her pencil.

"Gabriella?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I umm… can I ask something a little… umm… embarrassing?" Kelsi asked, biting her lip.

"Um, sure," Gabriella said, feeling a little wary. She put her book down on the grass, carefully marking her page, before looking back up at her friend.

"It's about Jason," Kelsi elaborated. "Um, okay. Context. So… we were hanging out last night, we like hung out for the whole night. First we grabbed some dinner and then we went back to his place, his parents were out at this party thing. We were just watching a movie – which usually when it's me and Jason we do actually watch the movie. But it was a DVD that we've both already seen and we kissed and then we just sorta kept kissing. Which… like, we've kissed before but we don't very often…" Kelsi trailed off, pausing to search for the right word.

"Make out?" Gabriella supplied.

"Yeah, I guess. Not for hugely extended periods, anyway. Well, we did at the last party but we'd both been drinking so that's totally different. But I was fine with it, I was totally into it," she confessed, blushing slightly.

"Please, don't be embarrassed telling _me_ that," Gabriella said wryly.

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "True. So yes, we were kissing and it was pretty intense and somehow we wound up like, lying down. He had his back to the back of the couch and I was facing him, I kinda felt like I was about to roll off which was probably why I let myself inch forward closer to him."

Gabriella nodded. "Did something… happen?"

Kelsi shook her head quickly. "Oh no! Nothing like that. Well… what I'm asking is I guess like that. I'll just ask, shall I? So… I think Jason uh… I think he was… I think he got… um. Excited?" Kelsi said delicately, by now blushing furiously. "But I'm not sure if he was. I really didn't know. We don't… we don't talk about it. _Ever._ At all. In the slightest. Not a single reference. I don't think he and I have ever even like, referred to you and Troy or… or anything."

"Okay so… what are you asking?" Gabriella said slowly.

"How do I know if he was?" Kelsi asked. "I don't know much about this stuff, other than like… the theory you learn in health, and the occasional Cosmo article mainly when I'm with you guys."

"Well… I can't know for sure but if Jason is anything like Troy, he probably was. Especially if your kissing was that intense."

"But wouldn't it have been like, super obvious? Isn't it like…" Kelsi paused, and with a flourishing gesture completed her sentence with, "out there?"

"What was he wearing? Jeans?"

Kelsi nodded. "Yup."

Gabriella bit her lip and cleared her throat. She was now beginning to have a sudden empathy for what it was like for Taylor six months ago, attempting to provide advice of this nature. It was a little awkward, not only knowing that Kelsi was uncomfortable with it but also given that the mental pictures of Jason were somewhat disturbing for Gabriella. She looked around, and seized one of Kelsi's pencils and snapped off a twig that was on a nearby branch on the grass.

"Okay umm… so… let's pretend that this pencil is Jason. And this twig is… little Jason," Gabriella said tactfully. "If you catch my drift." She was holding the pencil upright. "Now… we're grown up here. We can use a real word. Erection. The male erection has… stages. It's not like it goes from this…" Gabriella held up the twig flush against the pencil, and then instantly had the twig rise to be perpendicular with the pencil. "To this."

"Okay…" Kelsi said slowly.

"And really… it wouldn't start out being like this twig. It would be more like…" Gabriella glanced around, and then pulled a strand of a weed out of the ground. "Maybe more like this. And then it becomes like the twig. And then it gradually… rises." As Gabriella spoke, she had held the weed up, then discarded it for the twig, and then slowly had the twig move from being flush against the pencil, gradually moving the twig through the angle until it was at 90 degrees. "And then eventually, it becomes more like this…" The twig kept slowly moving until it had completed a 180 degree pan.

It was at that point that Gabriella spotted Troy and Jason coming over from behind Kelsi, and quickly placed her instructional tools down. "To be continued," she said quickly, smiling and waving at the boys.

Kelsi looked around, seeing the guys approaching.

"Why hello ladies, enjoying the view are you?" Troy asked with a flirtatious grin.

"You wish," Kelsi teased.

The guys collapsed onto the grass beside their requisite girlfriends, both couples exchanging modest kisses in greeting.

"You guys are looking awesome," Gabriella complimented. "Not that I would know, but… you do."

"We're working hard enough, you'd hope we were looking okay," Jason said. "I think Coach thinks he's like, an army drill sergeant sometimes."

Gabriella and Kelsi laughed lightly and awwed sympathetically.

"You might be onto something there," Troy said, nodding in agreement with Jason. "Last night I was doing weights at home, I'd just done this insane set on the bench press with Coach spotting me, and you know what he said? Not 'good work Bolton' or 'now hit the shower.' But he said 'now drop and give me twenty'."

"Was he joking?" Kelsi asked.

Troy gave Kelsi a 'are you kidding me' look. "He was serious. And then when I was doing the push ups he said 'try some one armed' and I said something I shouldn't say to him."

"Was he mad?" Gabriella asked, biting her lip.

Troy shook his head. "Nah, he knew he was being a hard ass. I think he was half joking because he knew I was shitty that he'd even made me do the push ups."

"So yesterday you went for a run before school, and then you had training in free period, and official training after school, and then you had a personal training session last night," Kelsi confirmed.

Troy nodded. "Like every other day this week. Plus with extra training on days when we have gym credit free periods. Normally we just fuck around casually in the gym but we took it seriously this week."

"I'm feeling tired just listening to this," Kelsi said incredulously. Gabriella nodded in agreement.

"I crashed at 9:30 last night. I can't remember the last time I went to sleep that early on a Friday night," Troy confessed. "And we've already agreed that our team bonding tonight won't be going late. We're meeting for dinner early, at like 6, and just doing the one round of mini golf. So we should be home before 10."

"So what are you girls doing here?" Jason asked.

"Studying," Gabriella answered. "We were both studying at home and were talking online while studying and then decided to study together, so I went over to Kelsi's. We had a bit of cabin fever, and Kelsi's mom was going to the mall for a couple of hours so she gave us a lift here."

"We're being picked up in about a half hour," Kelsi added.

"You lazy, lazy girls, you could have walked here from Kelsi's house," Troy said.

"Could have, but didn't particularly want to," Gabriella shot back.

Chad jogged over to the foursome sitting under the tree on the grass. "Hey Gab, hey Kels. JC, Hoops, we're starting back again."

"Already?" Jason complained. "I thought today was meant to be a casual session."

"It's Coach. There's no such thing as a casual session," Chad pointed out.

Jason grumbled but pressed a good bye kiss to Kelsi's lips. As Troy leaned in to kiss Gabriella goodbye, his arms moved to wrap around her – and he felt her hands on his biceps, pushing his arms down.

"No hug," she murmured, but allowed the kiss to take place, lips meeting softly and the kiss prolonging longer than the first modest kiss they'd shared.

"Why no hug?" Troy asked, after they'd pulled apart.

"You're all sweaty," she said, wrinkling up her nose.

"You normally hug me after games," Troy pointed out.

"That's different… it's like a victory hug."

He lowered his voice. "And there are other occasions where I get kinda sweaty…"

"That's also different. That's like… simultaneous sweat," Gabriella said with a blush.

He pressed his lips to hers once more before standing up and throwing a final cheeky grin at his girlfriend. Gabriella's eyes lingered on Troy's rippling back muscles and then travelling to his ass as he jogged after Chad and Jason.

"Gabriella, you're staring," Kelsi said.

She blushed, but nevertheless said, "I'm allowed to."

* * *

On Sunday morning, Kelsi had come over to Gabriella's house, with plans made for the girls and Ryan to listen to Gabriella's audition piece for the East High's Got Talent auditions for drama club members the following afternoon; and to just generally hang out. Ryan had spent most of Saturday with his sister, with dance class, then going over their own audition piece and spending a few hours in the afternoon shopping. She'd brought another collection of his belongings, this time moving to more permanent items, such as his keyboard. Elena Monetz had ducked down to the Coronado Center and so they'd moved the keyboard down into the dining room, with Kelsi positioned behind it and Gabriella standing up beside her.

_Coz although we like to know what life's got planned_

_Things like that are never in your hands_

_No one knows if shooting stars will land_

Gabriella's sweet melodic voice softly finished singing the song, and she looked expectantly at Ryan and Kelsi.

"Well?" she asked hopefully.

"Gorgeous," Ryan declared. "More than gorgeous. Amazing. Plus, that song is really lovely, I've never heard it before."

"Kelsi told me to download it! It's by this Australian girl, she was on a TV show there," Gabriella said.

"I heard it and I really wanted to learn it and transpose it into my key but it just didn't sound the same," Kelsi said. "But I knew as soon as I heard it that it would suit Gabriella perfectly."

"Can I play?" Gabriella asked, gesturing at Ryan's keyboard in front of Kelsi.

Kelsi stood up from the Montez dining table and Gabriella sat down in the vacated seat, her slender fingers running over the keys and hitting a few random keys.

"I wish I could take a year of my life to just like, learn to play piano really well, and to write," Gabriella said dreamily. "That's all. No math, no science, none of that stuff."

"You say that now, I bet you'd miss the math though," Ryan commented.

Gabriella looked pensive as she played the right handed part of Chopsticks, and then stopped playing. "Probably," she conceded. "At least I can now play with your keyboard, Ry. Was Sharpay okay with bringing it here?"

"Please, she hardly did anything, she would have gotten someone to carry it out to put in her car, and I'm the one who carried it inside," Ryan pointed out.

"True."

"I love your keyboard," Kelsi said, running her fingers lovingly over the keys.

"You have a baby grand at home!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Yeah, but my baby grand can't do this."

Kelsi reached across Gabriella, pressing a few of the instrument buttons. "Play chopsticks now, Gabriella."

Gabriella obliged – the sound of a strings orchestra coming from the speakers instead of the usual piano sound. She and Ryan laughed lightly.

"Gee Gabriella, I didn't know you could play the violin," Ryan joked.

"That was like, seven violins, seven violas, seven cellos and a double bass all at once. Oh, and a harp," Gabriella said, standing up from the keyboard. Kelsi sat down once again in front of it, flicking the settings to an acoustic guitar, and she then began to play the opening chords to _Everything_ by Lifehouse.

"I wish I could play the guitar like you Ryan," Kelsi said wistfully.

"You can play the piano, the violin, the flute, the clarinet… besides you can play the guitar!"

"I know the basics, but for some reason it just doesn't flow for my fingers like other instruments," Kelsi said.

"Troy was really amazing on Friday, wasn't he?" Gabriella said, her voice becoming light and dreamy.

"He was," Kelsi agreed, nodding firmly. "I'm so glad he auditioned. I think now that he's committed, he will try to work around our show… whenever we finalise a date that is."

"I'll try to talk to my dad about it this afternoon at tennis," Ryan said. "See if Lava Springs is still an option."

"What time are you meeting them again?" Gabriella asked.

"I have to leave here at about 2pm," Ryan answered.

"Ooh, that works out well, can you leave a tiny bit earlier and drop me off at home on the way?" Kelsi asked. "My mom sounded all put out when I asked her if she could pick me up this afternoon."

"I thought we were going to study again?" Gabriella said to Kelsi, pouting slightly.

"I wanted to, but my mom wants me home for some reason, I really don't know why. She just likes to be randomly overprotective and insist that I not be out all the time."

"Have you even told her that you and Jason are going out?" Ryan asked.

Kelsi bit her lip. "Umm… not exactly. She knows that we're good friends and that we hang out a lot. Does that count?"

"No!" both Gabriella and Ryan said simultaneously.

"Kelsi, we've _so_ talked about this already, I just assumed you would have told her already. Or that she would have worked it out and then asked you," Gabriella said, slightly aghast.

"You don't know my mom, not _really._ She… she's weird with stuff like this. It's easier this way." Kelsi decided to change the track of the conversation. "Speaking of relationships… how is Chase?"

Ryan ducked his head. "Um, last I talked to him he's fine."

"When did you last talk to him?" Gabriella asked – suddenly occurring to her that during the last week and a few days of Ryan living at her house, there had only been two occasions she knew specifically of that he had been talking to his 'friend.'

"Thursday," Ryan said, before confessing, "I've kinda been avoiding him, to be honest."

"Avoiding him? Why? You said you guys got along really great when you met!" Kelsi said, evidently befuddled.

"We did," Ryan agreed. "Brilliantly. We got along really well, there was… uh… you know. Attraction."

"So why avoid him?" Gabriella asked.

"It's complicated," Ryan said dismissively.

"Well maybe by trying to explain it to us, you'll be able to understand it more," Kelsi suggested.

"Things have just been really crazy. I didn't even know where I was gonna be living and… and I know that he was feeling a bit guilty as though all this is his fault, which is ridiculous. I didn't want to bring him down with my crap."

"And?" Gabriella prompted, narrowing her eyes – sensing that Ryan was holding back.

Ryan sighed, there was no fooling Gabriella Montez. "Chase is… he came out a few years ago. He's at that point where he's feeling really comfortable with himself, he doesn't hold back from being honest about himself to anyone at college. He's… he knows that I'm getting used to it all, that he has to be patient with me and stuff. But I just can't help but think that he's gonna get sick of it, that he'd rather pursue something with someone who firstly doesn't live three hours away, and secondly who he doesn't have to dance around and be wary about how to act and whether he's pushing or… any of that shit."

"All relationships have that beginning stage where you have to feel out where each other is at, all people have some kind of baggage," Gabriella pointed out. "That's just how relationships work. I think having him around is one of the best things you could possibly have right now."

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe."

* * *

Just five minutes drive away from Gabriella's, Martha and Taylor were in Taylor's bedroom, piles of textbooks and notes surrounding them.

"I feel like my head is about to explode," Martha groaned.

"It'll all be worth it when you're at an awesome college next year," Taylor said.

"Yeah, and I'll probably be so swamped that I'll look back on this as though it were easy," Martha responded, rubbing her temples slightly.

"You love it. You go on about how great life is now that you're dancing more often but deep down, you know that you love all this."

"Love all what?"

"Books. Knowledge. Learning."

Martha shrugged. "I don't _hate_ it. I dread physics class, that's for sure. Troy and I are both there looking blank while you and Gabriella are nodding along, completely understanding everything."

"Please, don't compare your level of understanding to Troy's," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "What aren't you understanding? Tell me and I'll see if I can help."

"You know what's ridiculous? These midterms hardly even matter. We've sent away our college applications. We've done the SATs. Which, by the way, you realise we should have our results for in less than twenty four hours time?"

"Sshh, I'm not thinking about that," Taylor hushed her. She'd had the date of the likely publication of their SAT scores marked on her calendar for months, since before even taking the test.

"Oh my God, what if they aren't out tomorrow? I'll _die_ if I have to wait any longer!" Martha exclaimed.

"They will be," Taylor said confidently. "They come out like clockwork."

"Have you heard back from any of your early action applications yet?"

Taylor shook her head. "Harvard doesn't have an early action acceptance program."

"So you didn't apply for any of them?" Martha asked.

"I can hear your tone. It's the same as the one that I get from the career counsellor and Gabriella and even _Chad_ has started in with it."

"I think the career counsellor and Gabriella and Chad are right to use a tone with you," Martha said honestly, but gently.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm nervous enough about midterms and getting results."

"And you keep doing that! Not wanting to talk about it."

"How about we talk about you acting all weird and avoidy around Jason this week?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows.

Martha gave Taylor a look. "Point taken."

"If you're trying to get through this without Jason or Kelsi finding out, you're not going about it very well."

"I said point taken," Martha said firmly, her look hardening. "Let's keep studying."

Taylor rolled her eyes and smirked slightly, and both of the girls returned to their textbooks.

* * *

"Hey guys, have you noticed that Martha has been a bit weird lately?" Kelsi asked.

Ryan, Kelsi and Gabriella had moved into the living room, now just sitting around chatting aimlessly.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Just… different. Quieter. More withdrawn, I guess," Kelsi attempted to explain. "I asked her the other day if everything is okay and she insisted she's fine but… I don't know. I just can't help but get this feeling that something is up."

"I actually noticed the other day that she was acting funny," Ryan said.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Gabriella said.

Gabriella's tone had been a little forced as she blatantly lied through her teeth to one friend in the name of protecting the loyalty of another. Fortunately, Kelsi was so busy being pensive that she didn't notice the speed of Gabriella's forced response – however Ryan glanced sideways at Gabriella.

Kelsi sighed. "I'm not so sure."

"Oh! Look at the time. It's quarter to two. I need to get ready," Ryan said. "Tennis whites and all."

"I'm just gonna use the bathroom quickly," Kelsi said.

She headed toward the downstairs bathroom, and quickly before he darted upstairs to get changed, Ryan leaned in close to Gabriella. "You were so lying just then."

"What?" she said, biting her lip.

"Don't 'what' me, Gabriella Montez. You know something," Ryan said accusingly.

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do. I'll harass you about it later."

"Oh good," Gabriella said sarcastically, poking out her tongue at Ryan as he left the room.

Sitting alone in the dining room, Gabriella paused contemplatively before picking up her phone and dialling Taylor's number. It rang a few times before Taylor picked up.

"_Hi Gabriella,"_ Taylor said cooly.

"Hey!" Gabriella exclaimed. "What are you up to?"

"_Just studying at the moment."_

"Want a study buddy? Kelsi and I were studying yesterday and it was just so much better than trying to find the motivation to study alone on the weekend."

"_You and Kelsi were studying yesterday?"_

"That's what I just said," Gabriella said. "She's about to leave now…"

"_Oh, are you studying again?"_

"No, Kelsi and Ryan were helping me with my audition piece."

"_Wow, more stuff for the drama club. I thought this talent show was supposed to free up your time?"_

"It will after we've finished all the auditions, after that it's just basic logistical stuff which is being shared with the student council and the drama club members."

"_Guess that's convenient since you and Ryan are a part of both."_

"Yeah, it does work out well," Gabriella said. "Anyway, so you up for some joint studying?"

"_Well Martha is here at the moment, we're working on our physics report, you know, the one that you're doing with Troy? And then I'm meeting up with Chad after the guys finish training. So I guess maybe I'll have about a half hour between when Martha leaves and when I have to start getting ready for Chad to come over. But I think I need to clean my room so…"_

"That's cool," Gabriella said, her tone uneasy. "You're busy, that's fine. What are you and Chad doing? Going out?"

"_Studying."_

"Oh… okay."

"_I'd better go, I'm ignoring Martha."_

"Okay. I'll… see you tomorrow then."

"_Okay, bye."_

Gabriella was left staring at her cell phone in slight confusion, and was still in that position when Kelsi re-entered the room.

"What's up?" Kelsi asked.

"I just called Tay to ask if she wanted to study this afternoon."

"Oh? And?"

"She's busy."

"Damn," Kelsi said.

"She sounded… just weird. I can't explain it."

"Kinda like how I think Martha is acting weird but can't explain it?" Kelsi said sympathetically.

Gabriella knew it wasn't exactly the same – unless Taylor secretly had a crush on Troy, which Gabriella seriously doubted. "Maybe," she mused.

"What did she say?"

"She just said that she was busy." Gabriella relayed the conversation to Kelsi, and then sighed. "I'm probably reading too much into it. She's probably just genuinely busy. I know that I don't like talking on the phone if I'm only with one other person, it's kinda rude."

Kelsi nodded encouragingly. "There you go! It's probably nothing."

However even as Gabriella had spoken the words, she didn't believe them. Taylor's tone hadn't been one of annoyance or anger. It had been a tone of complacency, a tone of ignorance. As though speaking with her supposed best friend was an inconvenience.

It wasn't a tone she felt comfortable with at all.

* * *


	25. Chapter 25

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THS MOMENT**

**AN: **Thanks to Audrey for beta reading... looove you mwah!

Also - just to clarify for those of you who are not American and don't spend hours of your time researching the college system... This is directly from the College Board website

_**Early decision plans are binding.** You agree to attend the college if it accepts you and offers an adequate financial aid package. Although you can apply to only one college for early decision, you may apply to other colleges through the regular admissions process. If you're accepted by your first-choice college early, you must withdraw all other applications. _

_**Early action plans are similar but are not binding, unlike early decision.** If you've been accepted, you can choose to commit to the college immediately, or wait until the spring. Under these plans, you may also apply early action to other colleges. Usually, you have until the late spring to let the college know your decision._

Some of Gabriella's applications have been through _early action_, not early decision. Essentially its the same as regular applications, its just that the application is earlier and so you don't have results from your senior year to bolster your application. Like she needs them.

Taylor was being so one track minded about Harvard that she didn't bother with any of these applications - Harvard doesn't have an early action or early decision proram any longer, they used to but they removed it. She has applied to other colleges, just all through the regular decision rounds.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

_Only this moment_

_Holds us together_

_Close to perfection_

_Nothing else out there_

_Always beside her_

_Trusting my senses_

_Deep down inside I know love will survive_

**Royksopp 'Only This Moment'**

* * *

Troy's tongue trailed a languorous trail around Gabriella's left areola. She moaned slightly as he allowed his tongue to flick backwards and forwards against her nipple, and again moaned but this time in exasperation as he removed the pressure.

His tongue reconnected with her skin, travelling from her left to her right breast through the scenic route of the valley between her breasts, then her underside of her right breast and finally reaching the summit. Without warning, his mouth became engulfed with the warm, smooth flesh of her breast, capturing her nipple and surrounding skin within the cavern of his lips.

His mouth was completely occupied by the flesh of her breast, and yet somehow he managed to say her name with perfect clarity. "Gabriella?"

"Troy…" Gabriella said throatily.

"Gabriella!" an impatient voice said.

His impatient tone made little sense, her voice uttering his name again but in a questioning tone.

"Troy?"

"Gabriella wake up, it's not Troy, it's Ryan. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say his name like that just before."

Her eyelids fluttered open, and spotted Ryan in his t-shirt and boxers, clutching onto his laptop, staring down at her.

"Ryan? Did I sleep in?" Gabriella asked groggily.

"No your alarm hasn't gone off yet. Look!"

He thrust out his laptop which was connected to the wireless at Gabriella's, placing it into her lap. Gabriella blinked a few times, her sleepy haze not allowing her to focus yet, and then realised what she was looking at – in Ryan's e-mail account was an e-mail from CollegeBoard.

"Oh!" Gabriella gasped, suddenly completely awake. She sat upright, picking up the pillow on the left side of the bed and placed it behind her so she could lean back against them. "How did you go?!"

"I haven't looked yet. The first thing I did was pick up my cell and on my way walking in here I sent a mass text to people telling them."

"Well go on then!" Gabriella urged. "Log in!"

She shuffled over, giving Ryan room and gestured for him to sit down beside her. He obliged, sitting beside her cross legged. She gently placed the laptop back into his possession.

"Maybe you should go first," Ryan said warily. "Or, you get your laptop and we can do it together. Yes! Let's do that!"

Gabriella swallowed. "Um. Okay." Somewhat hesitantly, she swung her legs over to stand up and pad over to her desk. Her laptop had only been hibernating so it didn't take long for the desktop to load. Her hands slightly shaking, Gabriella opened an Internet Explorer browser and swiftly typed in the web address and navigated to the log in menu of her CollegeBoard account.

"Okay," Gabriella said.

Ryan nodded. "Ready… set… go!" he declared, and his fingers in a flurry entered his log in details as he waited for that impatient moment for the screen to load.

Across the room, Gabriella hadn't even touched her keyboard and she was instead intently watching Ryan's face, watching for that moment when she knew that his scores had come up and he was registering the information. That moment came, and it wasn't a look of elation, or a look of relief,

"Well?" Gabriella asked, biting her lip. She rose from her desk and made her way back across to the bed. "Can I look?" He nodded, and Gabriella sat back down beside him, peering over at the screen. As she looked. Ryan was continuing to stare at the screen – trying to register what the implications of these scores were.

Truthfully – he hadn't expected brilliant scores. He hadn't even expected great scores. The 1550 that was staring back at him sat pretty much within the realm of average. Ryan wasn't accustomed to average. Average wasn't something that was associated with his life. If he had to hand in an assignment for a subject that he didn't particularly 'get', he would attach a glossy, shiny title page which at least gave the aura of something special.

The 380 staring back at him for math was beyond depressing. The 590 for reading was slightly above average, so too was the 580 for writing. Ryan was lucky – for many people, getting this sort of result would be a guarantee of not getting into any of their top choice colleges. All of Ryan's top choices weren't reliant upon SATs. He had auditions lined up for the dance program at Juilliard, NYU and Purchase over the coming months. He'd also applied to colleges such as Columbia College in Chicago where you audition upon entry to the college itself – but where a video of your dancing being sent with your application was taken highly into consideration. And his scary back ups, the back ups that he really didn't want to have to go to, were all schools which didn't consider standardised tests in the application procedure and had extremely high acceptance rates.

"That's okay!" Gabriella said optimistically. "I mean… you planned around not having the SATs really being that important, right? All that matters is that you didn't fail abysmally so that they can see that you are literate."

"I know, I just… Would have liked to do better. For me, you know?"

Gabriella gave him a tight smile. "Yeah."

"Anyway, how did you go?" Ryan asked, and before Gabriella could say anything he plonked his laptop down onto her mattress and catapulted himself up off the bed, running toward her desk.

To see the log in page before him.

"You didn't look!" Ryan exclaimed accusingly.

Gabriella bit her lip. "No."

"Why not?!"

"I don't know," Gabriella said, biting her lip. "I just… I don't know."

"You're going to do brilliantly!" Ryan exclaimed.

"You don't know that, what if I don't?" Gabriella replied quietly. "I um… I think I might have a shower and get ready and look after that."

"You promise you're gonna look?" Ryan asked warningly.

"Of course I'm going to look," Gabriella said witheringly. "I just need a minute. This is a big deal."

Ryan rolled his eyes but nevertheless got up and left the room, returning back to his own. He heard the shower turn on a few minutes earlier. A part of him wanted to sit in Gabriella's room and wait for her to return so he could tie her down and force her to open the browser and look at her results. But he wondered if maybe she wanted to be alone while looking at them, and so when he heard the bathroom door open, he left her to get ready in her room and went and took over the bathroom himself.

Ryan bound downstairs dressed in grey slacks and a red long sleeved button up shirt, finding Gabriella sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal in front of her, while Elena was cooking herself some toast.

"Morning Ms. Montez," Ryan said cheerfully.

"Good morning Ryan," she responded pleasantly.

"Well?!" Ryan looked at Gabriella expectantly.

Gabriella kept staring down at her cereal without reacting.

"You haven't looked yet, have you?" Ryan asked, aghast.

"Looked at what?" Elena asked.

"Our SAT results went up on CollegeBoard this morning and I woke up Gabriella so we could look at them."

"And you haven't looked yet, Gabi?" Elena exclaimed. "Well, go on then!"

The doorbell rang at that moment. "I'll get it," Ryan volunteered, disappearing towards the front of the house.

"I would just prefer to maybe find out how everyone else went and then look," Gabriella protested.

"You've been waiting for these results for so long! I don't understand!" Elena protested.

Ryan reappeared in the kitchen with the early arrival of Troy.

"Well?!" Troy exclaimed, staring at Gabriella expectantly.

"That's what I just said, she hasn't looked yet," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"Why are you here so early?" Gabriella asked, avoiding the issue.

"Because when Ryan texted I cut my jog short and like, ran home. And then my modem wasn't connecting to the internet so I thought I'd just come here early – I hope that's okay…" Troy said, glancing at Elena.

She waved her hand at him. "More than okay."

"So why haven't you looked? Come on, let's go look now," Troy prompted.

Gabriella bit her lower lip. "Um… we'll go look at yours."

"You can use my study," Elena said – her casual way of requesting that they don't go up to Gabriella's room.

Gabriella nodded and picked up her bowl of cereal, leading Troy through to her mother's den just across the hallway from the living room.

"Gabi, what's going on? Why haven't you already excitedly looked?"

Gabriella sighed. "It's nothing Troy, really, I just… kinda didn't feel ready to look at it yet." She gestured for him to sit down at the desk chair in front of the computer, while she pulled up another chair from the corner of the room. It didn't surprise her that her mother had already had the computer on that morning, checking her e-mails.

"Are you nervous?" Troy asked, glancing up at her as he typed in the web address.

She paused. "Yes and no. I really was going to go check after Ryan had looked at his but then I felt bad because he didn't do as well as he wanted to."

"Then maybe I should be making you do it before me because I'm not exactly expecting brilliance here," Troy said wryly, as he now typed in his details. He took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Do you want me to stay, or would you rather I gave you privacy?" Gabriella asked.

Troy bit his lip. "Umm… I want you to stay. No. Actually… do you mind going?"

Gabriella shook her head. "That's fine, I'll just…"

"No I want you to stay! Or... maybe… no stay." Troy paused. "Stay, but can you like… close your eyes. And then if it's _really_ embarrassing I can just click out of it."

Gabriella nodded. "Deal." She promptly closed her eyes and for good measure, placed her hands over them.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Troy asked.

"Four," Gabriella responded cheekily – knowing very well that he wasn't holding any fingers up. It was a joke they'd exchanged on more than one occasion prior.

"Okay, you're really good at that because I was thinking four," Troy said with a laugh, before the seriousness came back over him. "Right. I'm doing this. I am clicking on it….. now."

Gabriella bit her lip as she waited in anticipation for Troy's reaction.

"Hmm."

"That's all? Hmm?"

"Uh huh."

"Can I look?"

"Yeah."

Gabriella removed her hands from over her eyes and her eyelids fluttered open, focusing on the screen.

"That's not bad at all," she said encouragingly.

"Coulda been worse. Sure glad I'll be getting into college on the basis of a basketball offer and not relying on that, that's for sure."

"You totally kicked it in writing!" Gabriella exclaimed. "690! That's awesome! And you say you don't have a good vocabulary."

"Yeah, then the average math and reading scores totally bring down the high of that," Troy remarked, glancing at the 480 and 530 respectively.

"That 670 is almost Ivy League level."

"Yeah but writing doesn't even count at some of the colleges. If I had been relying on that…"

"But you're not," Gabriella pointed out. "Troy, did you even really study for the SATs? Like SAT specific study?"

"Well… not as much as I could have, I suppose," he admitted.

"So given that, what does this matter?"

"I'm not upset. I'm just very… meh."

"Meh?"

"Yup. Meh. I'm not happy, I'm not upset. The SAT doesn't define who I am, it's basically a means of getting into college and then in a few years it won't even matter. For me, how I play this Friday is the clincher, not this number here."

"I'm glad you feel that way. That's a very mature outlook," Gabriella said, clearly impressed. She stood up from the second chair and quickly moved toward the door, speaking behind her as she moved. "Okay I have to go do my hair and…"

"Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed, moving after her. "Come back here and look at your score right now!" He grasped onto her hand and pulled her back, sitting back in the chair in front of the computer and pulling her to sit upon his lap.

"But…"

"Gabriella, you are looking at this _now!_" Troy cut in, exasperated. "You're not even ready to go and we have to leave in like less than fifteen minutes. You can't keep putting this off."

"But I want to."

"And I don't have a clue why," Troy said. "Now come on, type in your details and let's just get it over and done with."

With a sigh, Gabriella begrudgingly typed in her details, hit enter, and then huddled into his shoulder, turning away from the screen. "I can't look. If I do badly, can you break it to me gently?"

When she'd said that, it had flashed through Troy's mind that he could be a smart ass and say in a quiet voice, 'Um Gabriella… you got a… well…' and then tell her in a cheery voice the extraordinary high number that he undoubtedly knew was going to come up on the screen any moment.

But when the number came up – Troy found himself so blown away that he wasn't capable of pulling off any sort of acting performance.

"Holy fuck!" he exclaimed, a whole lot more loudly than intended.

"How'd she go?!" Ryan's voice exclaimed from outside the room.

"Come in and look! Gabi look!" Troy said, prying her from his shoulder.

Both Ryan and Elena burst into the room from where they'd been unashamedly eavesdropping outside. Gabriella finally looked at the screen, her mouth dropping open as she stared at the number.

"That's… that's pretty good," she said blankly.

"Pretty good?! Pretty good?!" Troy repeated. "2330 is not what I would call 'pretty good' I'd use… like… fu-reaking amazing!"

Elena didn't even glance sideways at Troy catching his own curse, staring in amazement at the screen herself.

"Gabriella, this is… oh my… I'm so…" she couldn't even finish a sentence, instead throwing her arms around her daughter who was still sitting on Troy's lap, embracing her in a tight hug.

"And 800 in math you freaky math girl you," Ryan teased.

"For the first time in my life that phrase don't offend me," Gabriella said, blinking again at the screen. "I wonder what I missed in the reading," she pondered, looking at the 770. "I bet I got Question 7 wrong, do you remember it?"

"Gabriella, I hardly remember what I did yesterday let alone what Question 7 was about," Ryan remarked, rolling his eyes.

"2330 baby, that's so incredible," Elena said, still overcome with the result. "Oh my… I have to… I have to call people. And 800 for math! That's just… absolutely amazing. Who do I need to call?"

"You don't need to call anyone, mom, you need to get ready for work," Gabriella said, standing up from Troy's lap and rolling her eyes, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"'You're right. I can call people once I get to work," Elena said with a firm nod.

Troy's cell phone began to ring, and as he reached into his pocket he said, "You, Miss 2330, go finish getting ready."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mr. Bolton."

Troy smirked and they all dispersed, Ryan and Gabriella to finish getting ready for school, Elena to get ready for work and Troy moved into the hallway and answered his phone.

"Hey mama," he said, having seen the caller ID of his mother's cell phone.

"Well?! Are you at Gabriella's? How did you go?"

Both Lucille and Jack had been at home getting ready for work when Troy had come bursting into the house clambering for his laptop, and then for the computer in the den when the internet connection wasn't working properly. It had been Lucille who had suggested that he arrive at Gabriella's a few minutes early and ask to use her computer – at which point Troy had gotten ready in about a quarter of the typical time, driven twice as fast as usual and arrived at Gabriella's almost half an hour earlier than he would normally.

"I did okay," Troy said. "I got a 1680, so that's above average."

"That's wonderful, sweetheart! There's nothing wrong with that at all!"

"Yeah. I got a 670 for writing, which was a surprise."

"My son, a writer?" Lucille's teasing voice came over the phone.

"Yeah, I think they marked it wrong, mixed it up with someone who is now looking at their 400 wondering what happened," Troy joked.

"How did Gabriella go?"

"Troy, are you speaking with your mother?" Elena asked excitedly. "Can I talk to her?"

"Did you hear that? I think Ms. Montez wants to brag about Gabriella to you herself," Troy said somewhat cheekily.

Elena practically snatched the phone out of Troy's hand. "Lucy! Oh my God! My Gabi did sooo amazingly. She got 2330, can you believe that?!?! 2330! _And_ there was 800 for math…"

Troy left his mom and Gabriella's mom gushing over the phone while he made his way to the Montez kitchen, helping himself to a glass of milk. Ryan appeared in the kitchen a moment later.

"Gabriella's mom talking to your mom, is she?" he asked.

Troy nodded. "It's cute, she's so excited and proud."

"Hey, I would be too, if I were her 2330, that's…" Ryan trailed off, unable to find a label for it.

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "Don't know what she's doing going out with a moron like me."

"You are _not_ a moron!" Gabriella protested, entering the kitchen with her school bag slung over her shoulder. She pressed her lips to Troy's in a soft kiss, before adding cheekily, "Besides, I go out with you for your abs."

Ryan laughed while Troy mocked being offended. "That's fine. I only go out with you because you help me study. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't give you the time of day."

"Yeah, studying, _that's_ what you guys do together," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, I'm ready, are we going?" Gabriella asked, looking to Troy.

"Yes. Except… your mom has my cell," Troy said, gesturing to the hallway.

The trio all filed out of the kitchen, Ryan taking the lead and calling behind him, "See you guys there!" as he made his way out the front door.

"Mom! We have to go to school, can Troy have his cell back?" Gabriella asked impatiently.

Elena held her finger up for a moment, quickly wrapped up the conversation, and then handed Troy back his cell phone.

"Lucille said to tell you congratulations, Gabi; and she also said to tell you Troy that she sent your lunch with your dad since you left so quickly."

* * *

There was a mixed mood among the Wildcats and their peers as they went about their day at East High. With East High competing in the junior varsity girls basketball championships on Friday afternoon, Varsity boys basketball championships Friday night, the _East High's Got Talent_ auditions being finalised that afternoon, the juniors beginning their intensive ACT prep and speculation surrounding an upcoming wild drunken party to take place at the house of Jason Cross – that was enough for the school to be buzzing.

However it was the buzz of SAT results at the forefront of the gossip, with emotions running both high and low. The Wildcats themselves represented the broad spectrum of reactions to results. Kelsi was the quiet achiever of the group, people knew her for her musicality but didn't automatically associate her as being an academic although she received predominantly A's with a scattering of B's. She'd studied ridiculously hard for the SATs, pulling out a 1780 which she was absolutely ecstatic about. If she didn't get into Juilliard, her back up was to get into Columbia which had a program she could study music classes at Juilliard whilst studying at Columbia. Martha had also done well, not quite as well as she had hoped with her math score sliding a little, but her reading and writing scores had been excellent. None of her top college choices required SAT scores for admission – an active decision on Martha's part, as she was a strong opponent against the concept of standardised testing.

Chad had been pleasantly surprised, really not expecting much at all but wound up with similar results to Troy – except achieving a higher reading score, a just above average writing score and a slightly below average math score. Zeke had announced loudly that his total score resembled something more like Gabriella's math score and that he didn't particularly care – although his friends all suspected that deep down he did care and was kicking himself for not really studying for the exam in the first place.

Jason wouldn't tell anyone his score.

Taylor wasn't happy in the slightest –2110 was a score that most would be incredibly proud of but that wasn't quite enough in her mind to sew in a place at Harvard. Statistically, about fifty percent of Harvard students had received at least a 2250 on their SATs and as a result of her Harvard tunnel vision, 2110 was simply not acceptable.

When Sharpay had arrived that morning, Ryan had called out to her and darted over to enquire about her results.

"Oh, I didn't look," Sharpay responded smoothly.

Ryan's jaw dropped. "Pardon?"

"I did not look," she responded, speaking slowly and articulately.

"Why not?"

"It doesn't matter," she said simply. "My Juilliard audition is in a few weeks and I need to be completely focusing my energy in that direction."

"Sharpay, you're not a guarantee to get into Juilliard! You need to look at your SAT so you can look at your fall back options and see whether they are realistic and whether you need to be filing any late admissions or…"

"Ryan. You do yoga. You understand energy and stuff, don't you?"

"Sharpay, getting into Juilliard has nothing to do with yoga. It's just math. They accept like, eight percent of the people who apply. Out of every 100 people who audition 92 get rejected. Those odds…"

"Include people who apply and are deluded," Sharpay finished for him. She'd thrown him a bright smile and kept walking into the building, passing the rest of the Wildcats along the way and throwing Zeke a small smile as she passed.

"She looked bright, did she do really well?" Gabriella asked Ryan as he rejoined the group.

He shrugged. "She didn't look."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "She didn't look? Why on earth wouldn't she look?"

"If I remember correctly, you were protesting about looking," Troy pointed out with raised eyebrows.

"I was just being weird, I would have looked right before I left," Gabriella said. "But to actually not look at all…"

Gabriella had been coy about her results, telling her friends that she had done 'well' – however Jack Bolton was crossing the school from a short faculty brief in the main admin building to his office in the gym, and to Troy's embarrassment stopped by to hand his son his bagged lunch. He then congratulated Gabriella on her results, having been texted by his wife to let him know Troy's results and mentioning Gabriella's score as well. And of course enough people overheard so that by the time that Gabriella had reached first period, ninety five percent of the school seemed to have heard about it.

"Oh my God, Gabriella, congratulations!" a red headed boy had exclaimed in passing her in the corridor, as she and Troy moved from homeroom to their first period.

"Thanks," she said awkwardly, having no recollection of ever having spoken to this boy before. She wondered if he was in her literature class, or maybe she'd seen him around at basketball games. "Um, how did you go?"

He gave her a peculiar look. "I'm a sophomore…"

She laughed nervously. "Right, I knew that, I was just being silly."

"You had no idea who he was, did you?" Troy said quietly as they walked away.

"None in the slightest. So why on earth does he know me?"

"Well, firstly because you're in student politics, secondly because you star in musical productions, and thirdly because you go out with me," Troy announced matter of factly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes but she wasn't even going to call him on being arrogant because she knew it was true, that before she was known for her leadership or musical theatre roles, she was known as the girl Troy Bolton was making googly eyes at.

Classes were running as per usual however there was a bit of disruption with students coming and going in the middle of classes. The guidance office had announced that in addition to the compulsory appointments coming up after midterms, they were offering times over the coming week for students who felt the need to speak with someone as soon as possible about their options. Heads of department were circulating notices about extra tutorials in the lead up to mid terms – these exams realistically being the final chance that students would have to improve their GPAs before colleges would make decisions.

Good results, average results, bad results – whichever way it went, the buzz of the release of scores was bound to stick around throughout the day, whether the attention was wanted or not.

* * *

With all of the extra attention she was receiving, it took Gabriella an extra ten minutes to make her way from her elective creative writing class to the cafeteria for lunch. If she wasn't being stopped by students, she was being stopped by teachers who wanted to congratulate her. She was feeling somewhat frustrated, it wasn't like she'd gotten a 2400. She'd expressed this to Mr. Davis, her calculus teacher and favourite mentor, and he'd rightfully pointed out that in reality there was little difference between achieving a 2300 and a 2400 – either way it would likely place her above the 99th percentile.

Finally she'd made her way into the cafeteria, creating eye contact with Kelsi who had waved at her from where she and Ryan were sitting on the ledge beyond the table with the rest of their friends, and Gabriella began to move through the lunch queue. Her head was ducked as she moved swiftly from the food line to her friends, avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

Martha, Taylor, Jason, Chad and Zeke were all seated at the table, while Ryan and Kelsi had taken seats on the ledge behind the table, declaring that they wanted a place to spread out the notes they had for the talent showcase. Troy was standing up, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich his mother had made for him in hand, looking at the sheets of music in front of Kelsi and Ryan. Troy spotted Gabriella sliding into the spare seat beside Jason at the table, and he was quick to abandon Ryan and Kelsi to step toward his girlfriend.

"Can't a girl get a good SAT result without being stopped every five seconds with someone wanting to talk about it!" Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

Troy pressed a kiss to her cheek in greeting. "I'm not happy about this either, how dare they take up our time together at lunch?"

"Oh stop complaining. People are being really nice about it. They're congratulating you in a good way," Taylor pointed out from directly across the table, her tone somewhat snippy.

"I just don't like people making a big deal about it, that's all," Gabriella said a little defensively. "I test well, so what?"

"I think I should make an appointment with the guidance counsellor," Jason said abruptly.

"Good luck with that," Taylor scoffed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I went to book an appointment with the guidance counsellor and you know that they said? They said that these appointments are reserved for people with _actual_ concerns and that they'd prefer I wait until the end of the week to see if there are spaces available and if not I can wait until February, can't I? Aren't my concerns _legitimate_ enough? Do my parents not pay school fees like everyone else's parents? Am I not entitled to the services the school provides?"

"Why do you need to go see the guidance counsellor?" Troy asked from his seat beside Gabriella. "You got an awesome SAT. I bet your GPA is great. You have a solid list of extra curriculars. You're pretty guaranteed to get into a top school."

"I wanted to enquire as to whether there is any way I can somehow bolster my Harvard application. Is that not a legitimate reason to go?"

"No," Jason said under his breath.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Taylor asked, slightly taken aback.

"I said no," Jason repeated, a little firmer. "Seriously Taylor, you need to chillax. So what if you don't get into Harvard? Life will go on."

"You're still in with a great shot; I mean if you want to talk statistics, the bottom twenty five percent of Harvard admissions go to students who get an SAT of less than 2100," Gabriella pointed out, trying to speak Taylor's language, identifying statistics. "And anyway, the SATs aren't everything. Besides, Jason's right. I know that Harvard is important to you but it's not the be all and end all."

"_You_ do not get to lecture me about this!" Taylor said firmly.

Gabriella blinked. "Uh… I'm sorry?"

"You have no idea what I feel like right now. You've already been accepted into half your colleges through early action!" Taylor snapped. "So you can just take your 2330 and stop judging me, okay!"

Gabriella's mouth dropped open slightly, her wide, innocent eyes glossing over as she stared at her best friend in utter disbelief. "Fine then," Gabriella said coldly, and stood up, clutching at her cafeteria tray.

"Gab…" Chad began to say.

But it was too late, because Gabriella had stormed away, pausing briefly at the trash can to dump her tuna surprise – keeping possession of her tub of yoghurt, apple and water bottle – and then fleeing altogether. She kept walking, eyes cast steadily forward on her destination. She didn't know if there was simply no one else left wanting to congratulate her or if there was something in her expression telling that she simply wasn't in the mood, but not one person attempted to converse with her.

She wasn't sure about Troy, but Gabriella hadn't been up to the rooftop for a while. It wasn't the kind of place that you went to all the time because she feared that would somehow diminish its magic. In cooler weather, it was nice to remain within the confines of the smaller undercover section. In warmer weather, it was nice to move beyond the shelter, to enjoy the vast span of this magical rooftop world with the breathtaking views of the Sandia Mountains. The brilliant Albuquerque sunshine was deceiving, as tempted as Gabriella was to continue with her dash beyond the covered area, she knew that it was actually fairly cold and was best remaining in the area with the slightest of a balmy greenhouse effect.

It was only minutes later that Troy appeared – Gabriella wasn't surprised at all that he'd made his appearance and followed her.

She looked up at him; he was standing over her looking at her as she sat on the bench with tears glistening in her eyes. "You didn't have to come, I'm just being a silly emotional girl."

Troy shook his head. "No you're not. Taylor was a real bitch to you just then. Just because she's cut up doesn't give her the right to be rude."

"Maybe I should have just held my tongue, I mean I know why she's being all uptight about this and so maybe…"

"Don't make excuses. You're allowed to be pissed at her."

Gabriella nodded but didn't say anything, instead drew her knees up, the soles of her black flats resting on the edge of the bench. Arms hugging her legs to her chest, she finally began to speak again.

"When I was thirteen, I had to get the bus home from school on a regular basis. My middle school was across the road from the high school and we all used the same school buses, the high school kids would have to cross the road and come get them from the stop on our side of the road I had these sunglasses with like, a turquoise frame… in hindsight they were probably really ridiculous but at the time I loved them desperately. I was sitting on the bus one day, like, in that area at the front where there are seats facing into the aisle. And I was sorta staring off into the window behind the head of the girl who was sitting across from me. She was this… really… rude individual," Gabriella said tactfully.

"She was a bitch?" Troy supplied quietly, as he sat beside Gabriella on the bench, turning to face her.

She nodded. "She said to me _'just because you're wearing stupid sunglasses doesn't mean that I can't tell that you're staring at me.' _I didn't even really register that she was speaking to me at first, I was in my own dreamland. And she said something like, _'oh yeah, won't even acknowledge me, how rude'_ and I realised she was talking to me and I just apologised quietly and said that I was daydreaming and staring out the window. Every day for a week after that, she was downright rude to me for no reason other than that she could be. She said that I was probably staring at her because I was a lesbian and… just all this shit."

"Teenage girls can be real cows," Troy said sympathetically.

"I stopped getting that school bus, instead I took this other bus which was on a different route but in the same area, and I was just going to have to just walk a little further but still got me pretty close to home. The first day I got it, I was really worried because I hadn't gotten that bus before and I wasn't sure exactly where it stopped along the way, it was going up this street further and further away from where I'd thought it would stop at the corner, and then I would walk up in the other direction. So I quickly went up to the front of the bus to ask the driver where the regular stop was, and she just stopped right there. A bunch of these other kids then got off and they started in on me, saying that I was a bitch for making her stop there because they were gonna have to walk further because it wasn't meant to stop yet. I apologised and tried to explain to them that I was worried that maybe it wasn't going to stop for like, another half a mile or something. But they were just being really rude, and this time there was like, this whole bunch of them. _'Freaky math chick is a lazy bitch' _I remember they would say."

"Oh Gabi…"

She continued with her story. "I had this one sorta half acquaintance who I would sit with on the bus, he was so amazing in just providing me with the strength to get on that bus. They wouldn't say anything on the bus. Every day after that, I just let them dictate where the bus was going to stop and I walked longer. I didn't care because the girl on the other bus scared me even more, I guess because she was older. This one day, it was like the last day before a vacation and my friend wasn't at school and hardly anyone was there. One of the chicks ran up to where I was sitting on my own and she said something, and I turned around, and she had this candy bar wrapper with all the melted chocolate bits on the inside and she shoved it in my face."

"That's disgusting," Troy said – not so much referring to the act itself, but the fact that some kid would actually feel compelled to do something like that to someone else.

"I… I'm not one of those weirdos who like, picks at stuff from his scalp and eats it. I don't flaunt my intelligence like a know it all. I just do my own thing. At most of my schools it wasn't really like, a thing I was picked on for, but I was always excluded. That was the only school where it was really bad but I think… I think it sorta made me segregate myself from people further after that. Each school I've been at, I'd find a group of academically inclined acquaintances but even among them I always knew that they looked at me differently. I didn't… I didn't ask to be who I am. I don't know why it is that I can do all these crazy math problems in my head. I didn't ask for a photographic memory. I just got it. And… I guess… I thought of all people…" Gabriella paused. Throughout her whole story from her childhood, she'd remained fairly calm. But it was at that moment that fresh tears began to well, a lone droplet sliding down her left cheek. "I thought of all people, that Taylor understood that."

"I'm sure she does," Troy said, reaching over to take Gabriella's hand in his, squeezing it gently. "I think she was a bitch and I don't think you are overreacting by being upset at her. But I don't think she really meant what she said."

Gabriella swallowed and sniffled the welling tears back. "I hope not. Because… you know, I can deal with people like all those idiots on the bus making me feel inferior, or people like that. I'm used to it. But when people who are meant to get it, to appreciate intelligence – people like her – start making me feel like I'm less of a person…"

"No one should make you feel like less of a person. No one, Gabi."

"Are you sure I wasn't being unreasonable? Like, Jason is there and telling us that he wants to go see the guidance counsellor. We all know that he must have screwed it up really badly, so badly that he won't even say just how badly. And Taylor's going on about how terrible her situation is and…"

"You weren't being unreasonable, she was. She had no right to speak to you like that, you were just trying to get her to see what everyone is trying to get to see. But Taylor is… I think she's just beyond being able to be helped. She's gonna be like this until she gets that letter from Harvard. And if it's not the letter she wants…"

"She is going to break," Gabriella said quietly. "I'm mad at her but I'm still feeling bad for her and wanting to help. How screwed up is that?"

"It's not screwed up, it shows that you're a good friend." Gabriella nodded and swallowed, biting her lower lip slightly. "You know if you want to cry, you can," Troy offered. "I don't mind."

"I thought boys hated it when girls cry?"

"Hmm, sometimes. I don't like the idea of you crying because of me. But I get that sometimes you just need to cry. Kinda like how sometimes I just feel the need to hit at a punching bag."

Gabriella perked up. "That could probably work for me too right now."

Troy laughed lightly and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Everything will be cool with you and Tay. You're both just stressed, and you're obviously a bit hormonal and…"

"Excuse me?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows shooting up.

Troy smirked. "I can count to 28, you know. As in, 28 days…"

"And here I was thinking that fifteen was your limit," Gabriella said teasingly.

He pretended to stab at his heart, gasping. "Ouch, babe!"

The bell signalling the end of lunch period rang, and Gabriella immediately rose to her feet and took a breath, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey, we don't have to rush anywhere, it's free period," Troy said soothingly, and grabbed her hand to pull her back down. "Just take a minute."

"Don't you have training?" Gabriella asked, her tone somewhat protesting but allowing him to pull her down nevertheless.

"Just gym work, nothing official. If I'm a few minutes late, it's cool," he assured her.

Troy bit his lip. Among Taylor's venom filled comments, there was one piece of information which had been fluttering around in Troy's brain.

_You've already been accepted into half your colleges through early action_

He wasn't so irate about the piece of information that he was going to drag it out of her in the midst of her teariness, but she was mostly calm now, and so he couldn't help but feel tempted to ask her.

"Gabriella?"

"Yeah?"

He paused and took a breath – and then backed out. "Are you okay now? Do you um… are you gonna be okay going to drama class with Taylor there?"

Gabriella nodded. "I'm okay. Still annoyed with her but I know she didn't really mean any harm and she just snapped. And class should be fine – it might be awkward if she decides she wants to ignore me but I'll try to smooth things over. I hate tension."

* * *

East High had one of the best gym facilities of any public school in New Mexico. A few years prior, the parents of one of East High's track stars just so happened to be the mangers of a fitness equipment warehouse. They had struck up a deal with East High, selling treadmills, rowing machines, cycle machines and weights equipment at just a fraction above cost price. In return, there was a long term advertising agreement with East High – the advertisement for their warehouse featuring around the basketball court, football grounds, and baseball diamond; as well as in the East High Yearbook and the newsletter sent out to parents on a monthly basis.

The result was that Varsity athletes had access to a vast array of training equipment. Zeke, Chad, Jason and Troy were all in the cardio room during their free period. Zeke and Chad were on two of the treadmills, while Jason and Troy were on two of the rowing machines just in front of the guys.

"So she just huffed and went to the library?" Troy asked, enquiring about what had happened at lunch after he'd gone after Gabriella.

"Yep," Chad said. "I went after her and she said to not follow her. And I asked if she was just saying that and it was a test and did she really want me to follow her, and she sorta cracked a smile and said she really wants to be alone. So I doubt it's anything monumental."

"So it'll just blow over probably. Gabriella said if Taylor isn't a bitch to her then she'll try to apologise."

"I so don't get chicks. All this drama for no reason," Zeke commented.

"Tell me about it. Kelsi keeps saying how she thinks something is up with Martha and I'm like, just ask her about it! But she's all, it's not that simple, I ask her and she avoids it and I'm like, just ask her again!" Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"They should just get into a cat fight and then it'll all be good," Chad remarked.

Troy snorted. "No, that's what you and I do, man."

"Boys!"

All for of them looked up to see Coach Bolton in the doorway.

"I thought you were teaching a class," Troy remarked, eyebrows raised.

"I am. I thought I'd check on you. If you're able to talk while you're exercising, you're not going hard enough." Coach Bolton went over to the treadmills and increased the elevation by a couple of notches, and then fiddled with each of the rowing machines, increasing the tension. "That should be better."

"Gee, thanks Coach," Troy said sarcastically.

* * *

Gabriella decided to take the initiative, and she left the music room where she'd gone through her song one last time with Kelsi before auditions that afternoon; and headed to wait just outside of Taylor's Global Issues class that she was in while the rest of their friends were on free period. She arrived in perfect timing, less than a minute before the bell rang and the students began to pour out of the classroom. Taylor was one of the last out of the room, and her eyes widened upon seeing Gabriella approach her from her position leaning up against the wall on the opposite side of the corridor.

"Um… hey," Taylor greeted her awkwardly.

She didn't ignore her, so it was a start.

"Hi," Gabriella responded.

"Listen…" both girls said simultaneously.

"You go," Taylor said quickly.

Gabriella took a deep breath and nodded. She gestured in the direction of their drama classroom and the girls began to walk and talk. "Firstly – I just want to explain to you the reason that I was getting so sick of people congratulating me for my SAT score. It's not that I'm embarrassed, or that I'm not grateful for the opportunities it'll open up or… or whatever. But it annoys me because quite frankly, I really don't see how there is such a huge difference between my SAT score and yours; and the score that plenty of other kids in our grade got. I don't even particularly agree with standardised testing, I mean I do well at it, but I don't think it's the fairest measure of judgement. And… I hope you know that I wasn't judging you, and I'm sorry if it came across that I was being harsh. And I probably shouldn't have just left, I should have sorted it out there and then. But I just felt really… you kinda made me feel badly about being intelligent which is a way that I haven't felt in a really long time and…"

"Gabriella," Taylor interrupted her, eyes widening. She held her arm, stopping her from walking for a moment, the girls coming to a standstill in the corridor. "I don't… I don't think _less_ of you. I wasn't… I wasn't denouncing your intelligence. Don't you get it? I'm _jealous_ of you."

"Jealous? Of me?" Gabriella repeated.

"Yes," Taylor admitted with a sigh. "Which I known isn't fair because it's just something you were gifted with. But I just… I studied so freaking hard for the SATs it isn't funny. I barely slept for months, I drank so much coffee and energy drink it's ridiculous. And I know that you studied too, but it wasn't at the same intensity that I did, I'm sorry it wasn't."

"I know that."

"And just as a by-product of having a photographic memory and numbers just making sense to you… you can put in less work and achieve better scores."

"Which is why I was frustrated with people congratulating me!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I don't sit around and do nothing with my… with my brain. But I know that there are people who worked harder and as a result achieved really great scores – like you. And you should be getting the attention, because you put in the work and achieved a great score and _that_ is what is worthy of something to congratulate."

"Harvard doesn't see it that way, though," Taylor said quietly. "And we're back at the jealousy thing. Because you're going to get accepted…"

"Taylor, you don't know…"

"Yeah, I do. On paper you look so impressive. 2330 SAT, perfect GPA, winner of contests, participant in extra-curricular activities not only academic, but civic and performing arts. You'll get in. And…"

"And I don't even want to go there," Gabriella admitted.

Taylor nodded. "And it's my dream and… and I know that even though I'm in with a chance, it's not a guarantee. I know that, and I don't need you guys to remind me of that."

The final bell rang and Taylor cursed under her breath. "Shit. Come on. We'd better go."

"Tay? Are we okay?"

Taylor nodded. "Of course. Come on, Ms. Darbus is gonna flip."

Gabriella nodded, not quite as convinced that Taylor was entirely happy with the situation, but happy to let the situation go for now. The girls darted downstairs and along the corridor, eyes widening in fear of the closed door to their drama room.

"I'll do it. Since I made us late," Gabriella said boldly, and stepped tentatively toward the door, knocked and opened it.

"Miss Montez and Miss McKessie, you are late! Do you have a pass?" Ms. Darbus demanded immediately.

Gabriella swiftly moved to where Ms. Darbus was seated on her high backed chair and began to explain a story in a hushed tone that no one could overhear. The teachers facial features softened and she nodded. "Girls sit down, and don't be late again."

Troy and Chad glanced at one another and then gaped at their girlfriends as they took their seats. If the two of them had arrived late to class, there would have been a showdown between Darbus and Coach Bolton regarding appropriate times for athletes to complete detentions. A note flicked onto Gabriella's desk a minute later, with Taylor's familiar neat and precise cursive.

_What did you say to her? _

Gabriella promptly wrote back. _I told her that I'd gone to the bathroom at the end of my free period and realised I needed a 'supply' that I didn't have and called you to ask if you had any. Even Ms. Darbus isn't cruel enough to yell at a student over a time of the month related issue._

* * *

Troy often had difficulty concentrating on his school work. He'd go through periods of high motivation where he'd find himself suddenly very dedicated and productive, but on the flip side he would go through periods of the complete opposite. The weeks surrounding the playoffs and the championships had been the same every year at East High, during his freshman year on the JV team, during his sophomore year when they'd been knocked out of the playoffs by West High, during his junior year when they'd made it to the championships. School work would take a backseat to basketball. Senior year felt like the intensity of the three prior years combined. There was more at stake. There was no second chance.

The result of such high intensity training was that at any given moment of free time when Troy would sit down to look at a homework assignment or an essay, he would either be too wired to sit still, or too exhausted to concentrate. Monday night after dinner he was pacing around in his bedroom, a mountain of school work building up on his desk in addition to the study for midterms that he knew he needed to focus on sooner or later.

But he was fine with later, and any distraction was welcome. Including the ringing of his cell phone, especially when a photo he'd taken of his girlfriend on New Years' Eve popped up onto the screen.

"Hey you," Troy greeted her. "How was your audition?"

"_Hey. Um, it was fine."_ Immediately, Troy knew that something was up.

"What's wrong?"

"_Nothings wrong, but umm…. Do you think you can come over? My mom said its okay."_

Troy furrowed his brow. "Umm… why? If this is some kind of booty call, then don't you have your…"

"_No, I don't mean it like that," _she responded, Troy could just imagine the slight smirk and the roll of her eyes. _"I uh… there's something that I… that we…. Well, we need to talk."_

'We need to talk.'

The four most frightening words a guy could hear within a relationship.

Closely rivalling 'Honey, I am pregnant.'

"Gabi, you don't say that to a guy, you should know that."

"_And I also don't mean it like that. I um… just please? Can you ask if you can come over for a little while?"_

"If your mom agreed and I'm home by curfew I don't see why there will be any problem. I'll call if mom and dad have a problem with it, otherwise I'll see you soon."

"_Okay thanks."_

"Oh and Gabriella? Should I wear anything special? If I've done something wrong and you're inviting me over so you can kill me, I'd like to go wearing something half decent."

* * *

Twenty minutes later and Troy had gotten permission from his mom to go over to Gabriella's – as long as he was home by 10pm – and he'd driven over, been let in through the front door by Ms. Montez, and went straight up to Gabriella's room. He could hear music playing in the room next door, a concept which Troy was going to have to get used to, that there was additional member of the Montez household. He knocked on her door and immediately opened it, finding her pacing backwards and forwards.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately. "Did something happen? Are you…"

"Troy, it's seriously nothing like that," Gabriella assured him, rubbing his arm.

"Did the audition go badly? You said it went well but…"

"It did go well, I was really happy with how I sang. We were running behind but we saved a bit of time when Sharpay had proclaimed that there was no need for her and Ryan to audition given their track record as brilliant performers," Gabriella said with a slight smile.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Right."

"But no this is…. Nothing to do with any of that. Come, sit."

The two both sat down on her bed, Gabriella across from Troy with the 'good luck' bear that he had given her on the opening night of _Once Upon A Time _in her lap.

"So," Troy said.

"So," Gabriella echoed, before taking a breath. "Okay. Umm…. I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna… well see the thing is… what I wanted to talk to you about… the thing is…"

"Gabriella?" Troy interrupted. "Just say it because you're making me nervous now."

She nodded. "When Taylor had her outburst at lunch she said something, something about me, and I don't know if you didn't hear it or if you heard it and you're trying to work out how to ask me about it or if you heard it and you don't want to ask me about it but I've wanted to talk to you about it for a while now and so I figured that maybe today is my sign that I just should blurt it out and so here I am, about to blurt it out. I um… okay well firstly, is that as you might have heard Taylor say, I have already gotten accepted to some colleges via early action programs."

Troy nodded. "I did hear it… and…. I wanted to say something when we were talking up on the rooftop but it just didn't feel right. I wanted you to tell me."

"I should have told you sooner, I really should have but… I guess I didn't want to distract you, with the championships and everything."

"How is telling me that you've gotten some acceptances going to distract me, exactly?" Troy asked, an eyebrow cocked.

Gabriella sighed, beginning to play with the bear in her hands subconsciously, untying and retying the bow around its neck, fiddling with its paws. "Because it's not just that I got acceptances. It's that I've been thinking about those acceptances, and also the ones that I didn't get to apply for early action or that I haven't heard back from and… anyway… I was thinking about colleges. And…. I made a decision. Well, not really a decision, but I narrowed down the field and I think… no. I know… I _know _what my top two choices for college are. And I know that we agreed to start being completely candid about these decisions but a part of me felt as though I'd be making it harder for you over these next few weeks when you'll have your offers and scouts and doing more official visits and… and that I didn't want you to be even subconsciously favouring particular schools because of their geographic location, I don't want you to be closing your options in any way. But… I decided that I wasn't doing us any favours by being coy about it and that I'm better off just being completely upfront and being here for you to vent and bounce your thoughts off as you're going through this process."

Troy blinked, taking a few seconds to digest Gabriella's ramble. "Okay… I… I get your logic. But I'm also glad that you want to talk about it. I prefer the new logic. And can I guess?"

"Can you guess…"

"Your top two schools. I've looked into them, out of curiosity. I'm guessing… Harvard and Stanford."

Gabriella smiled. "You got one of them right," she said elusively.

"Right. So… Harvard and MIT?"

"You changed the wrong one."

Troy's brow furrowed. "Not Harvard?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Not for undergrad, anyway. I like the look of their Medical School but for undergrad it's not really my preference."

"So… Stanford and MIT?" Troy said.

"Stanford and MIT," she confirmed with a nod. It was the first time she'd said it out loud, actually admitted that those were her choices to someone. Her mother had practically guessed, just between their various conversations and her daughters ponderings. But this was the first instance of Gabriella speaking the words aloud. "Assuming I get into both of them, anyway. They are my favourite two choices. Which… really doesn't help you or us anyway. Opposite sides of the country and all. It's like I'm not only making a decision about a college, but about a lifestyle. I really don't know how I'm going to make the decision, at the moment I have early action entry to one of them and the other I have to wait until regular decisions to find out but…"

Troy leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Doesn't that feel better? Having told me? I feel like… I feel like this big weight of our relationship has been lifted."

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'm kinda wondering why I keep doing this, putting off talking about stuff."

"You have to stop doing it," Troy said seriously. "There's no reason why it should keep building up into this big scary conversation we need to have. It should just be something we continually talk about. I'd never bought the concept that you still hadn't developed any further thought about your college choices since our first conversation. When you told me that Yale had pretty much been kicked off your list, I knew then that you'd been contemplating it seriously and not waiting until you had all the acceptances in your hands."

Gabriella flopped back on her bed, her head hitting the soft pillow and let out a small sigh. Troy also laid down to her left, waiting patiently for her response. Gabriella turned onto her left side, her right arm draping across his abdomen.

"It's not that I don't trust you, or that I don't take the future seriously. It's more so that… talking about it is… it's accepting that the future will be the present soon. And I'd much prefer to just live in…"

"… this moment," Troy chimed in softly, the pair speaking the end of her sentence simultaneously

"Do I really use that phrase a lot?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "Kinda."

"Well, it seems appropriate."

Troy shrugged. "Yes and no. I mean… I agree with the living in the moment but at the same time, I think about the future, and I don't just mean my future with basketball or my future with what major I might study. Gabriella I…" he paused and took a breath. "I don't see myself at any point in my life without you there."

Most girls in their senior year would be struggling to get their boyfriend to make a commitment to an upcoming school dance more than a week or so in advance. But as Troy spoke so candidly, the warmth and sincerity of his tone was unmistakable.

Gabriella's arm that was draped around Troy's torso squeezed him in a half hug. Their foreheads met, resting together, the blue and brown loving gaze speaking multitudes.

"I love you," Gabriella murmured.

Troy smiled, responding quietly moments before their lips met in a lazy, tender kiss. "I love you too."

* * *

**AN – **I'd really love some feedback… I'm going through a slight motivational/confidence crisis and I know you guys are still out there reading but I'm not hearing as much in response to my work and… yeah. Just would like to hear anything you have to say. :)


	26. Chapter 26

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **I have depicted online chat conversations with Troy and Ryan, and then later Chad and Ryan, in this chapter. I've used slight chat speak but tried to keep it readable – like there's a lack of punctuation and capitalisation but I haven't shortened every other word so dat th sntnce rds lyke dis. If you are having any difficulty reading these conversations, let me know and I'll send you a translation because there are a lot of very subtle updates about various things going on in their lives incorporated into these conversations.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

_What do you think  
I would give at this moment  
If you'd stay  
I'd subtract twenty years from my life  
I'd fall down on my knees  
and kiss the ground that you walk on  
If I could just hold you again_

**Billy and the Beaters 'At This Moment'**

* * *

"Oh my God, this must be what its like to be a judge on Idol," Gabriella remarked. "When they narrow them down to the top 40 or however many it is."

It was decision time. The executive board of the drama club – consisting of Sharpay, Ryan, Gabriella, Kelsi, Katie, Kelly and Theodore – were in Ms. Darbus's classroom after school on Tuesday. The rest of the drama club had been invited to cast anonymous votes for acts that they believed both should and shouldn't be included within the showcase – the reason for the anonymity was because in reality, half the auditions from the members of the drama club themselves may have to be culled from the final show. Ms. Darbus was hovering in the background in a supervision role, however she was handing the reigns of organisation of the event to the club, and only giving minimal input.

The kids had put together a group of desks forming one larger surface and were seated around, with the summary sheets from each of the auditions that they'd watched over the course of the prior afternoon and also the Friday before. They'd immediately sorted out the clear 'No' auditions and cast them aside, and were now in the process of arguing about what belonged in a 'Maybe' pile and what belonged in a 'Yes' pile.

"What was the final number of acts we determined can be selected?" Theodore enquired.

"Well… if we do it on the basis that our duration is two and a half hours, with a half hour interval. So we have two hours which is… 120 minutes," Sharpay said. "And then we're allowing approximately four minutes for each act, with an extra thirty seconds for introducing and changing over. So it's four minutes thirty per act. So how many acts would that be?"

"26 point 6 recurring," Gabriella responded promptly. "Or… just make it 25 to keep it at a nice number."

"Do we really think that long per act is necessary?" Katie asked.

"I guess it depends on the act. I mean… the dramatic performance that Julie Anne and Marco did could easily have been allowed longer – it could be cut into two acts and they come back and do the other half," Ryan pointed out. "Troy's song works better if he does the full thing. But Ethan's cello medley was probably a bit long, with just him playing the cello. It's just an average, we can tweak it. How about we pick twenty for now, and work out with those particular acts how long the show would be?"

Sharpay immediately stood and went over to the portable whiteboard, and picked up a purple whiteboard marker, quickly jotting the numbers 1 – 10 in one column and 11 – 20 on the next column.

"Okay. So we already know that the school orchestra is opening," she said, and then picked up a dark pink whiteboard marker to scrawl 'Orchestra' beside number 1. Without commentating, she also wrote 'Sharpay and Ryan' as number 20.

Gabriella exchanged glances with her fellow board members, but it was Theodore who actually spoke up.

"We haven't even seen your performance, how are we supposed to agree to the fact that it is worthy of being the final song?" Theodore asked bluntly.

"Believe me, it's worthy," Sharpay said simply.

"Do we really need to work out the order now?" Katie asked.

"It might help, with visualising how it would feel as a show as a whole, to make sure it feels balanced," Kelsi pointed out. "But that doesn't mean that anything is set in stone."

"Okay… let's do this rationally. Let's go through and discuss each one rationally, one by one, give everyone the chance to discuss it and then we'll vote on whether we can agree it's a probable yes, or a maybe. We go through, count the yes's, and if there are too many we cut some more, and if there aren't enough we go back to the maybe's," Gabriella suggested.

Sharpay nodded. "Good idea. Okay. Let's start with the dance performances."

"Hang on wait, before we do that, can I just ask what's happening with the location situation?" Katie asked. "I mean, I was on the phone for two hours late last week, there's practically nothing available in our time frame on a Friday or Saturday night."

"Yeah and plus it might be useful to know what facilities we're going to have," Kelly mused. "If we're on a real stage – like at Lava Springs – then the change over will be easier. If we do this basketball court thing that you said Troy suggested, I'm not sure how the electronics will work, or whether some of these acts will even work in that kind of environment."

Ryan had told the other members of the drama club that Lava Springs was a possibility but that there may be a series of meetings booked in throughout the entire time frame they had to put on the show. So they knew it was possible they may not have the country club as their location, but they didn't know exactly why.

"Umm… it's still uncertain. Dad is still not sure," Ryan said elusively.

Beneath the table, Gabriella squeezed Ryan's thigh. His family tennis match on Sunday had – rather ironically given all the drama within his world – been relatively uneventful. His family had split into teams consisting of Ryan and his mom against Sharpay and his dad. Sharpay wasn't a tennis player at all and so Vance had been doing all the work, and he'd rather directly hit the ball toward Derby each time – meaning that it was essentially a singles match between the Evans' parents. Vance had arrived minutes before the time they'd designated for their game, and in the brief break they took between sets, the conversation was forced but nevertheless amicable. Vance had asked whether Ryan was enjoying 'sleeping over' at the Montez's – to which he'd responded in the affirmative. It wasn't until they were shaking hands after the match – which Vance had notably thrown right at the end and allowed his wife to win – when Ryan had built up the courage to say casually to his father, "So Sharpay said that the stage at Lava Springs is pretty booked out on Fridays and Saturdays."

Vance had avoided making any eye contact and simply cleared his throat and said, "It is, but that might change. I'll let Princess know."

The result of this brief exchange was that there had been the slightest of a development, the slightest of increased hope that the production could be something a little more professional than it would be in the gym. If Vance was adamant about the matter, he would have just said no then and there, instead of conceding it may change.

"Are you saying that you think that the performers will need to adapt their act to the roundhouse stage?" Gabriella asked Katie.

Katie shrugged. "It would help. Like… take for example Zeke and Jason's comedy thing. In roundhouse form, anyone who is not able to see it properly isn't going to get it."

"Could we like, set up one of those cameras where what it being recorded is up on a big screen?" Kelsi mused.

Eyes shifted to Theodore, who was in a media and film class. He paused pensively. "I don't know… probably? We could probably get one of those big white projector screens. In theory it works but it's just very complicated for the gym, how we could set it out. We'd need to work with the AV and manual arts departments."

"Well I already asked the AV people about the electronics situation, we'll have no problem getting power into the middle of the room, for speakers and microphones and that kind of stuff," Gabriella said. "It's going to involve extension cords probably going through our aisles but… that's fine."

"And I went and talked to the manual arts people by the way, constructing a stage won't be a problem," Kelsi added.

Ryan knew what both the girls were doing, they were trying to make him feel better about their back up option – should Lava Springs not eventuate.

"For now, let's just pretend we have a regular stage," Ryan said. "Or, you know, this weird stage with the video projecting on a screen. We can hold out from making an official announcement."

"So. Back to sorting through these," Sharpay said, diverting their attention to the auditionees outlines on the table. "What did we think of the ballet guy?"

* * *

Jack Bolton was evil.

Troy was convinced that the Devil himself had procreated somewhere in the Bolton family line, because there was no way that one man could be as evil as Jack Bolton without having inherited some sort of pure evil gene from somewhere.

Coach had taken the statistics from their weekend of training and their full out, intense mock game the day before; and then determined the biggest weakness of each of his players.

Troy had high percentages for his three point attempts, points from the arc, free throws. Thanks to the extra conditioning work he'd been putting in, his endurance and strength was better than ever. He could run the mile in 5 minutes 30 seconds without particularly trying.

And so Troy had been sent outside onto the outdoor court with a basketball in hand, and told that he was to practice one thing and one thing only.

Lay-ups.

For twenty minutes, Troy had been out on his own, doing lay-ups.

The Mikan drill with a right handed lay-up, then a left handed, then a right handed, then a left handed. Practising from one foot, and from two feet. Practising reverse lay-ups. He even found himself trying to emulate a spinning lay-up that he'd watched and re-watched footage of Kobe Bryant doing.

"You're no Kobe," a voice said from behind.

Troy spun around, basketball still in hand, to see Coach Bolton standing there watching him.

"After twenty minutes straight of that, I bet my lay-up is almost as good as his," Troy grumbled.

Jack smirked. "Could you jog out to the track and get Jason and Xavier? We're breaking for ten minutes; and then getting back into it."

Troy glanced at his watch, confirming the time, and nodded. He jogged out towards the track where he could see Jason and Xavier running around the bend. Troy put his thumb and index finger into his mouth, blowing a shrill whistle – and causing both his team mates as well as some guys training with the high jump and some others running around the track to look up. He gestured toward the gym, both Jason and Xavier nodding and abandoning their endurance training to head back toward the gym.

While his team mates had headed into the locker rooms to use the bathroom and replenish their bottles of water and Gatorade – Troy was in the gym, basketball in hand, shooting free throws.

"Captain," Coach Bolton's voice rang out from behind.

Troy didn't respond, just lined up once again, shooting a clean free throw. He jogged after the ball and after retrieving it, turned around.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Take a break," Coach Bolton said firmly. "We're playing full intensity, no holds barred. Take a break."

"I'm fine," Troy said shortly, taking his place back at the free throw line and once again lining up.

"Captain…"

"The Knights play dirty, we know that, so it means we all need to be at the top of our free…"

"Troy." Troy retracted his shooting hand, holding the ball to his chest, and glanced at his father. "That's not a request, it's an order. Take. A. Break."

* * *

Gabriella let out a small sigh of irritation. They'd been arguing a particular point for ten minutes – or rather more specifically, Theodore had been arguing with the rest of the club. Glancing around Gabriella sensed that the rest of the executive boards patience was wearing thin, and they had barely started with the decisions, so goodess knows just how tense things would be in an hours time. She decided to intervene, hoping that she'd be able to talk some sense into Thedore.

"Theodore…" Gabriella said, attempting to sound sweet but there was a forced edge to her tone. "I know that you like this act but I think that you need to keep in mind that you may have a different style of humour to other people."

Theodore crossed his arms across his chest. "What are you implying?"

_That your sense of humour is stupid_ was the thought that came to Gabriella's mind. However before she could respond, Sharpay decided it was time to put her foot down.

"Look Theodore, it doesn't matter what Gabriella thinks of your humour. The fact is that the rest of us don't want it in the show, and we're backed up by the votes from the rest of the club. So deal with it," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes.

Gabriella proceeded to scribble with pencil in tiny letters in the margin of her page, '_it was so much easier when the twit liked me and would agree with everything I said!'_ shoving it over far enough for Kelsi to read. Kelsi stifled a giggle.

"Let's move onto the singing auditions," Ryan suggested.

The music and dance auditions were much easier than the 'other' category – fellow performers found it fairly easy to determine whether someone or a group of people could sing or dance; but comparing the juggling acts and stand up comedy routine and magic act and other various acts was somewhat like comparing apples and oranges and watermelons.

They moved quickly through – and then found themselves with a contentious matter.

"Look, I know that they were both good, and this is hard because you three are friends with them both…" Theodore began. He paused and continued. "But I don't think we need both Troy and Chad in the show."

"But they were both really fantastic!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"We're running out of places in the show, and… honestly, in both cases, we're looking at a male jock singing a soft acoustic rock number," Theodore continued.

"I kinda agree," Kelly admitted, avoiding eye contact with any of Ryan, Kelsi or Gabriella.

"Me too," Katie spoke up.

"Oh come on guys! Don't ask us to do this," Gabriella implored.

"Well all three of you can abstain of you like…" Theodore pointed out.

"No, I have an opinion," Kelsi said firmly. "I won't be abstaining. If you want to pick between them, pick Troy. He actually wants to be in the show. I don't care about this bet or whatever on earth it was that made Chad audition. He's made it clear that his reasons for auditioning aren't real."

"Totally," Katie said firmly, nodding in agreement. "I mean he didn't say any of it to me, but from what you guys told me… I'm not saying he wasn't good, but if Troy wants to be in the show and Chad doesn't…"

"There's more to think about than just who wants to be in the show," Ryan pointed out. "We have to market this thing. Right now, it's a glorified talent show. And if we just have the 'expected' people in it – no one is going to feel a particular need to come. Think back to when everyone first found out about Troy and this singing thing."

"Everyone went mental," Kelly said, nodding as she understood where Ryan was going.

"Exactly. Twinkle Towne had these massive sales, suddenly people cared about the drama club. Yes Kelsi wrote a great show and blah blah blah – but let's get real. Troy was the cache. But he's old news now. Chad on the other hand? That's something new."

"I tend to agree with you on that," Theodore said, nodding.

"And plus, we had in our drama club goals for the year to tap into new talent," Kelly pointed out. "To encourage different people to participate in our productions."

"Sharpay?" Kelsi asked, turning to the president.

"Troy was better," Sharpay said simply.

"But Chad could become better," Ryan pointed out.

Sharpay shrugged. "Maybe. But on the basis of that audition, Troy was better."

"We should be seeing the performer as a whole, seeing their potential, not just them on the surface," Ryan returned.

"It doesn't matter, we all know who Gabriella is going to vote for," Katie said triumphantly. "Troy it is."

"Actually… I abstain," Gabriella spoke up.

"You what?" Sharpay asked.

"I'm abstaining. I'm not capable of being objective. Truthfully, I don't even know who I'd vote for. I agree with both sides here, I think that Troy wants to be in the show so he should be in it above someone who shouldn't, but I also agree that marketability is a factor. Additionally, Troy is my boyfriend and I want him in the show. But Chad is my friend – and I also think that Troy would actually want us to pick Chad. This bet – I know we think its ridiculous, but it seems to be a big deal to them and I think for Troy half the purpose of the bet was because he wanted Chad to get picked so he would then be asked to sing in the showcase. Anyway, I'm abstaining."

Sharpay smiled triumphantly, realising she had the power to make her selection be the ultimate decision anyway. "Okay, well, as drama club president, my vote counts in a tiebreak situation and…"

"Sharpay, come on, don't use that, we should discuss this," Ryan said.

"You're only saying that because you don't agree with my vote," Sharpay pointed out.

"Might I interrupt?" Ms. Darbus said.

It was the first time she'd interjected all afternoon, she'd been sitting quietly at her desk grading some sophomore English papers keeping a sharp ear upon the conversation. Thus far she'd agreed entirely upon the decisions being made – but now, she saw room for intervention. The students turned to look toward the club's mentor teacher.

"I think I just may have a compromise that will suit all parties involved."

* * *

Every single muscle in Troy's body was aching. He felt like he'd been hit by a tonne of bricks. It wasn't only him though, the entire team was feeling it. Normally it was a feeling that Troy would enjoy – aching meant that he'd worked hard. But it seemed to surpass the usual level of muscle fatigue. He desperately wanted to get home and collapse onto the couch, but it was difficult leaving the hot shower booth. It was telling himself that he could go home and have an even hotter shower and employ a tension relief mechanism of a different sort that provided the motivation to step out from the hot spray and wrap a towel around himself.

The weariness translated into a dull mood in the locker room, as Troy re-entered and headed to his locker, the only conversations transpiring were quiet and lifeless. Chad was leaning up beside his locker, having changed back into his jeans and yet to put on his shirts. His cell phone was in hand, typing a text.

"Hoops," Chad said, his voice tired. "Just checked my cell, Evans' sent me a text asking if me, you and JC could come by the drama room before we leave. He says it won't take long."

Troy let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay," he said. I wanna find out if Gabi wants a ride home anyway."

"Why can't she just ride with Evans?" Jason asked from where he was standing at his locker.

"She could but… I just like to drive her. Keep things normal, you know?"

"You're like a dog peeing everywhere, being territorial," Zeke commented.

"You know, I'd argue and be defensive about that comment but I really can't be bothered. That's totally true," Troy conceded with a half hearted shrug. He reached into his locker, pulling out his plaid cotton boxers and quickly pulling them on beneath his towel. "I won't be long, then we'll head over there, and then we'll get the fuck out of here."

"I feel like having a bath," Zeke mused.

Eyes stared at him from around the locker room, eyebrows raised.

"Uh… pardon?" Chad said, wanting to clarify he'd heard right.

"Don't you have a bath sometimes?" Zeke said.

"Uh, no, I have a dick," Chad said blatantly.

Troy and Jason both laughed, Zeke looked a little wounded but on the whole didn't care.

"Well when I'm feeling nice and relaxed and you're still feeling all tense, we'll see who is looking so smug then."

Chad raised his eyebrows. "I'm going over to Taylor's for dinner and 'studying', my friend. What's that about 'tense' you just said?"

* * *

Back in the drama classroom, Ms. Darbus's suggestion was being discussed. Ryan had thought it was perfect, hence immediately texting Chad and asking the guys to come by – and also asking Jason so they could ask his opinion about the screen they'd proposed setting up.

"I really don't think they'll agree to that," Gabriella said, shaking her head. "I don't know why, I just have this gut feeling that they'll find it weird – especially Chad, since he's new to this whole performing thing. Troy might not quite be as adverse to it."

"It's worth pitching to them, anyway," Kelsi said.

A knock came at the door, the very boys in question stepping into the room – with the additional tag along of Zeke.

"What do you want?" Chad asked bluntly.

"Hi Chad, nice to see you too, how was training?" Ryan asked.

"Exhausting. Hence wanting to get this over with."

Jason smiled at Kelsi, while she gave him a small wave.

"Jason, you're familiar with the extent of the AV equipment accessible to media students, are you not?" Theodore asked.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Do I know you?"

"Theodore Gallagher, I'm in your film studies class…"

"Are you one of the juniors who sit in the corner?" Theodore nodded. "Oh okay. And yeah, I am. Why?"

"We're discussing our back up venue for the showcase, being the basketball arena in the format that Troy suggested," Ryan explained. "Where there would be a stage in the centre with seating wrapped around. With dances we can request that the performers part way through switch the dance so they are facing the opposite direction, with singers they can move around and sing to the crowd. But with acts like what you two guys auditioned with," Ryan said, gesturing to Zeke and Jason. "Half the audience aren't going to have a clue what is going on."

"So we then pondered whether it would be possible to set up some sort of live camera feed onto a projector screen."

Jason paused to contemplate the matter. "Possible, yeah. Complicated, hell yeah. On small scale what you're suggesting is easy – you have a video camera here, it's hooked up to a projector, which then transmits onto a screen. But in that lay out with the equipment we have… I don't know."

"You don't have to do the stage in the centre thing, I was just trying to make it sound better than just doing a show in the gym," Troy said. "Just have the stage up the end near the locker rooms, you've then got direct access for the performers to come in from there, and you can set up seating at ground level up the rest of the court. And the parts of the grandstand that would wind up being like, direct side view of the stage, reserve those for the people who are involved in the show for easy access to and from the locker rooms."

"That would be a whole lot more simple," Kelsi said.

"It doesn't matter anyway, I'm going to make sure that we can use Lava Springs," Sharpay said with sudden determination.

Ryan sighed. "Sharpay…"

"Anyway, so moving on, these guys are obviously tired and bored and want to get out of here and so do we because I so have better things to be doing than sitting around here with all of you. Troy and Chad. We spent about ten minutes arguing and discussing both of your auditions and the long and the short is that we had originally decided that we needed to pick between you because we don't have space for two male jocks singing acoustic soft rock solos," Sharpay explained bluntly. "We voted, and someone…" she shot a fierce look at Gabriella. "Abstained from voting and so we had a tie and I was going to use my power as president of the drama club to break the tie however Ms. Darbus provided us with an alternative suggestion."

"Which is?" Troy said impatiently.

"A duet," Sharpay said simply.

Troy and Chad glanced at one another.

"A duet?" Troy repeated. "With him and me?"

"Yes," Sharpay said simply.

"Is this one of those things where if we argue about it, you're just gonna argue back to convince us otherwise and then Gab is gonna stare at Troy all imploringly and he'll give in anyway?" Chad asked.

"Pretty much," Ryan said with a nod.

Chad and Troy looked at one another. Troy shrugged slight and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah okay," Chad said with a sigh.

"But note that we protested on the basis of our manliness but we're just really tired and can't be bothered," Troy pointed out.

"Duly noted," Kelsi said wryly.

"Do you need us for anything else?" Chad asked.

"No. You are all dismissed," Ryan said, waving his hand away.

All four immediately turned to leave the room, but Troy turned back around, making eye contact with Gabriella.

"Do you…"

"I'll go with Ryan. Really. Go home," she said, nodding firmly.

He nodded and with that, the four exhausted Wildcats filed out of the room, the door closing behind them.

"Wow, he must be tired to not even argue with that," Gabriella said under her breath.

"What was that you said about them making a big deal about it?" Katie asked, eyebrows raised.

"I really thought they would," Gabriella protested. "Practice must have been exhausting."

"As is this," Sharpay said, interrupting the chit chat. "Now let's get this done."

* * *

After getting back home, Troy found himself striking a slight second wind. Less then ten minutes after walking through the front door, his mom unveiled a delicious home cooked meal – in accordance with the pre-competition dietary regulations which had been identified by her husband, of course. The food revitalised and re-energised Troy enough to stop him from simply collapsing into bed. Instead he actually found himself motivated enough to sit down in front of his laptop at his desk and open a Word document with his English homework questions. He then opened his e-mail account, his Facebook page, his Twitter account, and was finding himself rather tempted by the World of Warcraft icon but instead clicking on the orange AIM button – the English homework document long forgotten.

_**HoopsMan – **yo yo whats up?_

_**RyanE1990 – **not much, i have my chem text open and its like reading chinese or something. dunno how your doing that physics class with all the smart people_

_**HoopsMan – **well, i sit there and feel dumb and i do all my labs with gabi and my group project is with her and the hope is that i scrape enough in tests to pass the subject_

_**RyanE1990 – **hahaha and didnt u start the year all determined to do well?_

_**HoopsMan – **dont we all? the reality sunk in that i am no genius and as long as i do enough to graduate, itll all work out_

_**RyanE1990 – **guess ur lucky to have that luxury._

_**HoopsMan – **tell me about it. hey, gabi is home isn't she?_

_**RyanE1990 – **yep. her mom called earlier, shes got this like 2 day conference thing up there and was gonna drive back home and then back up there tomorrow morning but decided to stay up there overnight. so we went to the grocery store on our way home 2 get food and got back maybe a half hour ago._

_**HoopsMan – **oh ok… she is just normally online is all, even if she is on away._

_**RyanE1990 – **well shes here. that or she was kidnapped and someone else is playing music in her room._

_**HoopsMan – **hey listen man i gotta go, talk to you later._

_**RyanE1990 – **k see ya._

* * *

Gabriella was lying on her bed, novel open in front of her as she submersed herself into _Heir to the Glimmering World _by Cynthia Ozick. It was compulsory for her AP Literature course however it was a book she would have read for her own please anyway, and lamented that she didn't have more time to read books for her own enjoyment. She'd been happy to change into her flannel purple plaid pyjama pants and purple tank top and dedicate a good portion of her evening to reading.

She was so submersed in her novel that she didn't hear a thump on her balcony, it was only the male voice cursing, "Fuck!" which caused her to look up and see none other than Troy Bolton present.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed, then out of habit covered her mouth and glanced toward the hallway, worried about being overheard. She then recalled that her mother wasn't home so it wasn't really a cause for concern.

He looked at her sheepishly as he opened the French door. "I haven't come up there for a while, man that hurt, I fully whacked my foot against the railing."

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked.

"Your mom isn't here, is she?"

"Uh, no, but Ryan is. And… how did you know that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I was on AIM and Ryan mentioned it. And then I 'went for a jog.' Hence that I'm not very dressed up," he said, gesturing down to his sneakers, black sweatpants, white v neck cotton t-shirt and red and white East High zip up sweat shirt.

"That's not very nice, taking advantage of your parents trust in your athletic dedication," Gabriella remarked.

Troy shrugged, and slipped off his shoes and socks - on second thought leaving them on the balcony.

"It's not like I do it regularly. I just… I wanted to see you," he said earnestly, perching on the edge of her bed.

"You mean, you're horny," Gabriella said matter of factly.

"I never said that!" he exclaimed defensively.

"You didn't need to," she said, eyes shifting down to the bulge in his sweat pants.

"Oh… that thing just has a mind of its own," Troy said dismissively.

"I still have my period."

"Oh." There was no mistaking the disappointment in Troy's tone.

"Sure you came over here 'just to see me'," she said, rolling her eyes. "And you were disappointed at that fact."

Troy sighed dramatically. "Okay. Your boyfriend is a horny pervert who is currently flowing with an insane amount of testosterone and was planning on having a really long hot shower tonight – if you catch my drift – but then suddenly I had a flash of brilliance upon learning of an alternative and please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you," Gabriella said, feeling a little sorry for him.

"So when you say you have your period… you told me before that it's light at the end. So… how light? Could we just like… put a towel down and…"

"Troy!" she exclaimed, utterly mortified. "That is so gross! Shut up before I retract my non hatred statement. Ew!"

"I must be horny to have actually said that out loud." He wrinkled up his nose. "Forgive me?"

"Hmm, maybe," Gabriella said aloofly, turning away from him and settling back with her book in front of her, pretending to ignore him.

"Please pretty please with cherries and strawberries and whipped cream on top forgive me?" Troy begged with a cheeky smile, lying on his side beside her and wrapping his arm around her side. He leaned in to press a soft kiss to her cheek. "Don't hate me for being a pervert and horny and suggesting dirty things because I can't help it."

Gabriella giggled as he continued to press light kisses to her skin, she ducked her head down trying to avoid his contact but instead he just kissed her arms. "Tro-oy!" she whined. "That's not fair, you're cheating. Forcing me to forgive you."

"Forcing via kissing?"

"Yes. It's called duress."

"Nope, it's called looove, you love me so much that you just can't stay mad at me," Troy teased cockily, now straddling her behind and holding her hair away as he peppered kisses to the back of her neck.

Gabriella giggled and wriggled beneath him, finally turning herself over and allowing his soft kisses to press against her cheeks once again, and then finally for his lips to press against hers. They remained in that position, him straddling her with soft, tender kisses being exchanged. Gabriella's hands pried at his sweatshirt, one arm at a time he lifted a hand from its position holding its weight above her, allowing her to shrug the material from him. She then murmured softly, "Lie on the bed."

"Mmm?" Troy asked, kissing her again.

She gently guided his body to move off of hers, midway she grasped onto the hem of his white v neck shirt to discard yet another item of clothing.

"Should I be worried that you're undressing me and commanding me to lie on your bed?" Troy asked.

She giggled. "Nope. Lie with your face down."

It was only once she was straddling his thighs and her hands were applying pressure to his back did Troy realise what she was doing.

"Ohhh, you're such a good girlfriend," Troy said, relaxing and turning his head to the left and allowing his fore arms to cross over the other in front of him.

"I try to be," Gabriella said, focusing on his upper back. "Your dad must be practically killing you guys! I'm not even trained in this and I can feel that you're all tense and tight."

"Maybe you'll have to do this for me every day this week then," Troy suggested.

"Every day?"

"Hmm every other day?"

"I'm surprised getting massages isn't a part of your prep for the championships, like professional athletes."

"I think they used to do that, like when I was in junior high. Rumour has it that some idiot on the football team got horny and hit on the massage therapist."

"Well then the school shouldn't have hired some young female attractive massage therapist, they should have hired someone old and motherly. Or male."

Troy shuddered slightly. "No way I'd let a guy touch me how you're touching me now."

"Your physiotherapist when you strained your hamstring last year was male," she reminded him.

"Completely different situation," Troy said firmly, before letting out a small grunt. "Oooh right there, it's really tense there."

"Here?" Gabriella asked, applying more pressure with her thumb.

"Yessss. You can do it harder."

She continued to massage him, for the most part in silence with the exception of Troy's little vocalised reactions and Gabriella checking that she wasn't hurting or that she was in the spot he wanted. She'd paused only to quickly grab some lotion to assist, and then to pull at the waistband of his black sweatpants, stripping him of the material to allow her to massage at his legs.

"How has your hamstring been?" Gabriella asked, her hand delving beneath his cotton boxers to massage at the thigh he'd experienced problems with last season.

"No problems at all, thank God, knock on wood," Troy said, lazily reaching up to gently tap the wood of her headboard with his knuckles.

"Turn over," Gabriella requested.

Troy didn't really think anything of it, merely followed her directions, grabbing at one of her pillows for his head to rest upon. She was acutely aware of his erection, suspecting it was partially a physiological reaction to the massage and partially indicative of arousal in response to the masseuse. However she ignored it, using lotion to massage his shoulders, then down his biceps and forearms, before concentrating on rubbing at his pectoral and abdominal areas. She skipped down to his ankles, beginning to massage her way up his leg.

"No foot massage?" Troy asked with a smirk.

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose. "I draw a line. Maybe if they were freshly clean."

"Are you suggesting that I'm dirty?"

"You're extremely dirty, Mr. Bolton," Gabriella said flirtatiously.

Troy merely smirked, remaining lying with his eyes closed, the steady rhythm of his breathing demonstrated in the rise and fall of his chest as he revelled in the relaxing ministrations of her delicate, dextrous hands. He was in fact so relaxed that it took him a moment to register that her hands had left his warm skin and that her fingers were now poised upon the waistband of his boxers prying the material down.

"Be a sweetheart and lift your backside for me?" her delicate voice asked.

Troy obeyed, and it was at that moment that he asked himself, 'why?'

A question which was answered a moment later when she'd pulled the boxers down his legs completely, and then trailed a languorous lick around the circumference of the head of his member.

"Holy fuck," Troy groaned.

"Would you prefer this or that foot massage?" Gabriella murmured, her hand wrapping around the base of his shaft and beginning to slowly pump up and down.

"This, I believe," Troy managed to say. "Oh fuck, such a good girlfriend, so very, very _very_ good."

* * *

Ryan was sitting in his new bedroom, which was becoming increasingly like his bedroom and less like a guest room. Ms. Montez had told him to feel free to make it his own, within reason. So he'd transferred a few of his coveted Broadway show posters, some more photos of friends and family, giving the room a touch of the Ryan Evans' flair. He was sitting up in bed, a folder on his lap providing a surface for his laptop so it wouldn't overheat, his back up straight against the headboard – trying to maintain his posture.

_**FroMan8 – **i cant believe she did this 2 me. when she said 'come over and well study' she said it all seductively._

_**RyanE1990 – **does she know thats what you thought she meant?_

_**FroMan8 – **yeah, i made it pretty clear that i expected at least something. i think she takes pleasure in my pain._

_**RyanE1990 – **does tay really not care that ur at her house and meant to be studying but ur on aim instead?_

_**FroMan8 – **weve reached a new agreement. she doesnt hound me about studying and i agree to ask her for help when i really need it. she helped me with my chemistry hwork earlier._

_**RyanE1990 – **can i look at that in homeroom in the morning?_

_**FroMan8 – **sure. your like the worst class president ever haha._

_**RyanE1990 – **shut up. anyway we all know its really gabi running the show._

_**FroMan8 – **nah you do shit too._

_**RyanE1990 – **have you organised to head to sacramento to check out the college yet?_

_**FroMan8 – **yeah i called them 2day actually. gonna go the weekend after the championships, same weekend that hoops goes to check out the butler sitch._

_**RyanE1990 – **sweet. u think u will wanna go there if you like it? rather than u of a, or new mexico state or somewhere near here?_

_**FroMan8 – **u of a havent offered anything to me._

_**RyanE1990 – **they will. i bet they'll be there on friday._

_**FroMan8 – **thats what coach says._

_**RyanE1990 – **oh for fucks sake._

_**FroMan8 – **what?_

_**RyanE1990 – **i was talking to troy earlier and i mentioned that me and gabriella had to go to the grocery store to buy stuff for dinner coz ms. montez is staying in santa fe overnight. he said he had to go – and then like 20 min ago i heard this thump in gabriellas room and pretty much ignored it. i just heard a kinda manly groan. r u catching my drift?_

_**FroMan8 – **ew. bash on the wall and yell at them to shut the fuck up._

_**RyanE1990 – **i might just move downstairs and turn on the tv really loud. brb while i move._

* * *

Lying back on Gabriella's bed, Troy was feeling completely and utterly satiated. His body was relaxed, the tension was removed. And the appreciation he felt for Gabriella in that moment was supreme.

"Fuck you're good at that, baby," Troy murmured sleepily, pressing a soft kiss to the crook of her neck. His hand absentmindedly caressed up and down her side as they nestled together on her bed.

"Okay you need to wake up, Troy," Gabriella prompted.

"I'm not asleep."

"You're close to. Come on. You went out for a jog like, over an hour ago. You need to go home or your mom is going to send out a search party. A search party that will begin at my front door, no doubt."

Troy groaned and snuggled in a little closer to his girlfriend. "Don't you wanna cuddle with me? I thought girls liked that."

"I do like it, which is a part of the problem," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes slightly.

He appeared confused for a moment, but then he understood – a smirk coming over his face. "I'm just that irresistible to you, am I? So irresistible that you can't handle me being around?"

"Okay, don't go overboard. Seriously Troy, you have to go!" She sat up and rolled off the bed, picking up his boxer shorts and throwing them over to him.

He knew that she was right, and the truth was that he was tired and so the sooner he got home, the sooner he could collapse into bed. He sighed and proceeded to pull on the items of clothing that she was tossing to him, before heading over to the door to the balcony to put on his shoes and socks.

"You could use the front door, you know," Gabriella pointed out. "Since my mom isn't here anyway."

"It's more fun this way," he said with a shrug.

The couple shared one final tender kiss before Troy stepped out onto the balcony. He was about to swing his leg over the edge, but then he turned back to face his girlfriend.

"Hey Gabriella?"

"Yeah?"

"You know your shower has like… one of those pressurised hose things?"

"Umm… yeah?"

"I am convinced that it was a woman who decided to put them into showers."

"Huh?"

"Since they have… multiple uses."

She gasped, realising the innuendo of his suggestion. "Troy!"

"I'm just saying…"

"Well don't say!"

* * *

**AN - **I want to just quickly thank all the people who left such lovely reviews and sent really beautiful PMs last chapter. I tried so hard to get back to most of you but I have just been really super busy with trying to find work (being unemployed right now sucks beyond belief), trying to keep up with uni and of course writing this story and not to mention having something vaguely resembling a social life. So if I didn't write back to you personally, know that I am really really really grateful to have such fantastic readers and supporters, your words just lighten up my day and make me feel really really wonderful - that sounds corny but it's totally true. I've had some really interesting suggestions lately, some of which I'm definitely taking on board and some which I wonder if you guys just have hacked into my laptop and had read my notes for the upcoming chapters :-D I continue to encourage you to give me feedback and let me know your thoughts, issues, annoyances, grievances, favourite bits, or hell, just tell me that Troy is sexy and we can cat fight over who loves him more :-D

-Dani xo


	27. Chapter 27

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**A/N – **Thanks Audrey for being awesome.

Also, a question I pose to my British friends – can you tell me, out of curiosity, whether it is customary for the British lottery to randomly have celebrities 'helping' with the draw; or is Zachary's publicist just really, really creative?

* * *

**Chapter 27**

_So here we are in the still of this moment  
Fear is gone, hope lives on  
We found our happy ending  
For there's only love (only love)  
And this sweet, sweet love  
After all is, all is said and done_

'_**All is said and done'**_

* * *

Gabriella bound down the stairs on Wednesday morning, wearing her third red and white themed outfit for the week. She was going to have to rush past the meeting of her friends outside school into the building because she only had so many red and white winter clothes and was wearing white capri pants with a red and white polka dotted baby doll t-shirt – although she did have a white cardigan to provide a little additional warmth.

"Morning," Gabriella said brightly, bouncing into the kitchen and heading straight to the fridge to pull out yoghurt.

Ryan was seated at the breakfast bar with the print out of the final cut for the Talent Show and a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning," Ryan responded, eyeing Gabriella over. "You look chirpy."

"I'm always chirpy in the morning."

Ryan snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Can I ride with you to school today?" Gabriella asked, as she scooped yoghurt into her bowl.

"What, has Troy conceded that it is impractical for him to come pick you up?" Ryan asked.

"He called me like, a minute after my alarm went off and said he's skipping his run and going into school early to train, but he offered to come back and pick me up. I told him to not be stupid and he actually agreed that it is a bit illogical."

"Just a bit," Ryan said wryly.

"I think it's sweet," Gabriella said, smiling slightly as she picked up the granola to pour a small amount her bowl of yoghurt. "He's kinda old fashioned like that, wanting to drive me everywhere and opening doors and bringing me flowers."

"I'm not sure if chivalry is his motivation," Ryan remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows cocked, the breakfast she was preparing forgotten.

"Well… okay. I wasn't gonna say anything but... okay… am I right I saying that Troy was in your room last night?"

Gabriella's mouth opened and then closed and then opened again. "Uh…" she cleared her throat, cheeks flushed a little. "It's not what you're thinking. He was stressed out and just came over and I gave him a massage."

Ryan snorted. "With your mouth?"

"Ryan! Don't be crude!" she exclaimed – however as Ryan noted, she didn't deny it.

"Sorry, that was a bit gross. But Gabi… come on! I was in the next room! Sure, the minute I heard one noise I went downstairs."

Gabriella's cheeks were now flaming. "Uh… I…"

"Your granola is getting soggy."

She glanced down at her bowl and wordlessly retrieved a spoon and moved around to sit on the breakfast bar beside Ryan. She pretended to be fascinated by a stray piece of granola which had spilled from the box and not made it into her bowl, staring at it intensely.

"It doesn't really bother me, you know," Ryan said.

"Huh?"

"I don't want you to like, have to change your life because of me. Once Troy isn't training on Thursday afternoons anymore, I can guarantee you that I won't be anywhere around here. But at the same time, I guess your mom wouldn't have just stayed away overnight without giving you the slightest of warnings if I wasn't here, would she?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not, I guess. To be honest I kinda… I forgot you were there. Which is stupid because when he first came in and announced that he was aware mom wasn't home, he said it was because you told him. But then I just… got caught up in the moment, I suppose."

"And that's cool. You could have come into my room and politely suggested that I go downstairs and I probably would have caught the hint, rolled my eyes, and been grateful for the warning."

"So you're not going to like, tell my mom?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan cleared his throat. "Uh yeah, that would be a really great conversation. How was your meeting, Ms. Montez? By the way, your daughter's boyfriend snuck in last night and she gave him a…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not gonna tattle. But, if she asked me directly, I wouldn't lie for you. I might say like 'well, I didn't _see_ Troy here…' and leave her to make her own deductions."

"I don't expect you to lie for me. It's not like I'm planning on making a habit of last night. It really was rather unexpected – and if you think about it, it is really _your_ fault for telling him that my mom wasn't here."

"Yeah, throw that back in my face," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

Gabriella was desperate to change the topic. "So I can ride with you?"

"Yes, of course you can, that's a given," Ryan said, his mouth full at the time.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Gabriella reprimanded.

"Yes, mom."

She gestured to the sheet in front of him. "So this is finalised? Definite? These are our selected people for the show?"

"Yep, this is definitely the final list. Well, unless people back out or… whatever. I e-mailed it to Sharpay and she approved and said to print it and bring it so we can put it up as soon as we arrive."

"It's amazing how that one suggestion from Ms. Darbus about combining Troy and Chad then helped with making decisions about the rest of the show."

"I just hope all these people are okay with us suggesting they should combine their acts," Gabriella mused.

"Oh well, if they're not, they aren't in the show. Simple," Ryan said matter of factly. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Okay I want to get in early so we can get this list up, so we'll leave in about twenty minutes if that's okay with you?"

Gabriella nodded and quickly began to wolf down her yoghurt, knowing she still had to do her hair and print out a draft report she'd written for Economics. Ryan shook his head at her disapprovingly.

"Don't eat too fast, you'll get indigestion."

* * *

"Okay you've got time for one last set, then we should probably hit the showers," Chad said, glancing at the clock on the weights room wall.

Troy nodded and took up his position lying back on the bench with the barbell above him. He tested the weight that they'd used the prior round.

"Put another plate on," Troy said.

"Dude, this is meant to be a casual early morning work out, not some…"

"Another plate. Come on, I ripped that last set. There's no point in doing this if we're not pushing ourselves," Troy said optimistically.

Chad rolled his eyes but nevertheless obliged, picking up extra plates to slide onto either end of the barbell.

"What's with the Mr. Positivity thing today, anyway? You're all mister bright and chirpy."

"Had a good sleep is all. I've been wicked stressed with all the training Coach has had us doing. A good rest is all it takes sometimes to feel rejuvenated and ready for some more hard work," Troy said, carefully grasping onto the barbell to begin his set of reps.

Chad smirked. "A good rest? I hear differently."

Troy grunted as he pressed the barbell. "Say what?"

"That's 5…" Chad said, counting Troy's presses. "And let's just say that you need to remember that there are now _three_ occupants in the Montez household. And that the newest member has a room next door to your girlfriend."

Troy almost dropped the barbell, luckily Chad was on the ball and steadied it, taking it from Troy's hands and setting it back onto its resting place. Troy sat up, staring at Chad.

"What?!" Troy exclaimed.

"Although, I must say, props for the sneaking in while her mom is out but… dude. Have respect for people who have to hear you guys," Chad added.

"Firstly, we didn't have sex," Troy said firmly. "Secondly… umm… so Ryan heard something? And how do you know about this then?"

"Coz we were talking on AIM when he said he could hear someone making masculine groaning noises and said be right back coz he was gonna move downstairs."

Troy appeared a little relieved at the notion of Ryan going down stairs – recalling that he hadn't been particularly aware of his surroundings or particularly caring to keep his vocal reactions to a minimum.

"Oh…"

"You weren't having sex?" Chad said, cocking his head.

Troy shook his head. "No."

"But there was masculine groaning?"

"Maybe," Troy said elusively.

"Nice."

"That it was," Troy replied, a slight grin upon his face. "I can't believe Gabi didn't tell me to shut up though. She should know better than to expect me to be thinking about much while she's… you know."

"Eh, whatever. Sneak in all you want, but I just wouldn't make a habit out of being heard."

"Duly noted." Troy glanced at the time on the wall. "Guess we should shower up if we don't want Darbus to slam us for being late to homeroom."

"Eh, Coach would come to the rescue and get us out of detention anyway."

"That, or she'd just save the detention for next week _after_ the championships," Troy pointed out.

"You make a good point. Let's get going then."

* * *

For Gabriella, it was a different feeling arriving with Ryan to school. Not different in a good nor a bad way, but just different. There were a few glances – it was almost a part of the routine of all the students for Gabriella to arrive with Troy. A couple of sophomore cheerleaders that they passed enquired as to Troy's whereabouts, Gabriella coolly informing them that he was at the gym doing an early morning work out. A look of disappointment crossed over their faces – evidently Gabriella's arrival with Ryan had sparked a moment of hope that maybe her relationship with the basketball super star was on the rocks.

"Hey guys!" Kelsi called, smiling brightly at her friends as they approached. Kelsi, Zeke, Jason and Taylor were already present standing by the E pillar. "Is Troy not coming in today? He's not sick, is he?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Troy came in early to work out in the gym."

"That must be where Chad is," Taylor mused.

"Anyway, we have to go in to put something up on the bulletin board," Ryan said, gesturing toward the main building.

"Oh, you finalised the…" Kelsi began to say.

He nodded in confirmation. "All printed and ready to be put up."

"Finalised the what? Have you guys got the talent show list drawn up?" Zeke asked, stepping toward them, eyes glinting.

Ryan clutched protectively at the clipboard he was holding onto – the very sheet Zeke sought a glimpse at snugly inside the front flap. "Yes. And if you want to see it, you'll have to come inside."

"Okay, we're coming," Jason said, immediately picking up his backpack from the ground.

Ryan and Gabriella began to move into the building; Zeke, Jason and Kelsi following. Kelsi glanced back behind her at where Taylor had remained perched on the ledge with a book open in front of her.

"You coming?" Kelsi asked.

Taylor shook her head. "I'll wait here for Martha."

"Do you want me to wait with you? I know who's on the list so I don't really need to see it being put up."

Taylor waved her hand away. "It's fine, you go in. I want to read over this article before homeroom anyway."

Kelsi nodded and scurried after her friends, slipping in beside Jason – whose arm naturally fell around his girlfriends shoulders as the group moved inside the building toward the bulletin boards.

"Why don't you just let me and JC look at it now?" Zeke asked Ryan.

"Because everyone will be given equal access to the information," Ryan said calmly, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"And I think he likes torturing you," Gabriella contributed with a light chortle.

"I can't believe you guys finalised this and you didn't tell me," Jason said, shaking his head slightly.

"Well I wasn't allowed to tell you so I figured it would be easier to just not tell you we'd even finished with the decisions," she said. "I can't believe you really care this much."

"At first I didn't, Zeke asked me to do this thing and I was just like, whatever. But now I wanna be involved! Everyone else is. And that still doesn't excuse you not telling me," Jason teased. "You're my girlfriend! Girlfriends are meant to tell boyfriends things. Hey Gabriella, did you already tell Troy?"

Gabriella hesitated. "Well… okay Troy does know but we had to consult with him about a related issue. So that's a very different scenario."

"I promise that next time that I'm told to keep a secret I'll tell you," Kelsi said, standing on tip toe to kiss Jason lightly on the cheek.

"If it's important I wouldn't, JC sucks with secrets," Zeke pointed out.

"I do not!"

"Yeah you do man. You just like, let things slip and don't even realise you've said it. Like when you say things around Coach which…" Zeke trailed off, and glanced over at Gabriella. "Which you shouldn't say around Coach."

"I don't want to know," Gabriella said calmly.

"Point being, Kelsi, don't tell him stuff."

Jason glared at Zeke. "Thanks man for the support."

"No worries."

They rounded the corner and the bulletin boards were now in sight – with Sharpay pacing backwards and forwards, her pink slingback pumps click clacking against the floor.

"Hey Shar," Ryan called out greeting his sibling – and realising a moment too late that she was annoyed. She looked up, and marched over to meet him midway.

"Finally!" she said, rolling her eyes. "I thought we agreed we would be here early today."

"Have you been waiting for us?" Ryan asked. "I thought you just wanted the announcement up before school, there's plenty of time."

"Well, I have to sign the sheet, don't I?"

"Uh… you do?" Gabriella said, eyebrows furrowed.

Sharpay looked at her witheringly before holding her hand out for the clip board. Ryan handed it over and she flipped it open, already prepared with her pink sharpie in hand to scrawl her autograph at the bottom of the page, beneath where it read, _'Enquiries to be directed to drama club president Sharpay Evans or any of the drama club executive board.'_

Zeke was attempting to peer over Sharpay's shoulder to read the list, and she pushed him away lightly. "Patience is a virtue, Zeke."

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly, smirking. "A virtue you possess?"

Sharpay didn't respond, merely finished her large, scrawling autograph and then handed the clip board back to Ryan. Gabriella plucked a few thumb tacks from a nearby notice board, allowing Ryan to hold the sheet up firmly and Gabriella to stick the tacks in to hold the sheet up.

Zeke and Jason immediately began to scan down the list, their faces lighting up as they spotted their act on the list.

"Yesss!" Zeke cheered, the guys exchanging fist pumps. "You guys had me worried when you wouldn't tell us!"

"Do you really think that we would have let you follow us in here and then wanted to stand here and wait and watch you observe that you hadn't been picked to be in the show?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows raised.

"I guess not," Zeke conceded.

"Thanks guys, this is off the hook," Jason said, his smile bright. An arm wrapped around Kelsi, half hugging her.

"I voted against it," Kelsi said deadpan.

"Really?" Jason asked, his face falling.

"No!" Kelsi said, slapping him lightly on the arm. "I thought it was really funny. _You _were really funny."

He brightened again, looking somewhat bashful. "You did? So you voted for us?"

"Of course I did."

"So, any feedback? Anything you want us to change?" Zeke asked.

"There will be some polishing but nothing major," Ryan said.

"So, will you be helping us with that, Sharpay?" Zeke asked.

"I think Theodore was assigned as your mentor, he had some interesting ideas – surprisingly," Sharpay said.

"He had a rough start but he's been good value lately, the guy knows his stuff," Ryan agreed.

"Will you at least be helping us with our costuming?" Zeke persisted.

Sharpay narrowed her eyes slightly. A part of her wanted to ask him whether this was his purpose for auditioning – wanting to spend time with her. But the truth was that even if that was his logic – it wasn't a logic she particularly took issue with.

"Maybe," Sharpay said elusively. "I suppose costuming is one of my many fortes."

"Oohh Taylor was right, you do have it up!" Martha's bright voice was heard from behind.

"Oh! Martha! Before you look at it, I want to talk to you about…" Ryan began to say.

"Hang on, I just want to check who else got in other than me," Martha said, beginning to scan down the list. "Oh, you're combining Troy and Chad? Interesting. That could be awesome or it could be a complete train wreck."

"It's not the only combination we're doing, which is what I want to talk to you about," Ryan said.

Martha wasn't really listening to him. "What is this?" She'd spotted the sixth item on the list, which read _'Rap, hip hop, break dance medley.' _There was an asterisk beside the item which then corresponded to a list of about fifteen students at the bottom of the page, one of those names being Martha's. "I didn't audition with these people."

"Yes, which is what I want to talk to you about."

"You could have talked to me about it _before_ you put this up," Martha said, arms crossing over her chest.

"Well uh… we didn't really get the chance, we only made our decisions yesterday afternoon," Kelsi pointed out.

"I have a cell phone. You have my number, don't you?"

"Are you not happy with this?" Gabriella asked, biting her bottom lip. "Because the problem was that we had a lot of decent people auditioning with rap songs and break dances and hip hop. And we really can't let all of those people in the show. And Ms. Darbus was the one who suggested that we combine Troy and Chad and it then became a really great idea that we were able to use in a few places. Including here."

"So we want to choreograph a joint group effort – sorta like with the people dancing as the guys rap kind of thing," Ryan continued to explain.

"You do realise that hip hop dancers don't really dance to 'rap' music," Martha said warily, not quite on board with the concept.

"You could though, couldn't you?" Ryan sighed. "We thought you were awesome, Martha, but so were a lot of these people. It makes little sense to try to pick between talent when we can just combine it together in an extended number. We're doing the same thing with other people – we've got about five girls who all had decent voices and auditioned with the same song – so, we're going to have them do it choir style. And like I said, we've even asked Troy and Chad to combine."

"What are Troy and Chad doing?" Chad's voice asked from behind, the basketball co-captains approaching. They'd just showered up and changed after their early morning work out.

"Hey!" Gabriella exclaimed, immediately moving toward Troy.

"Hello you," Troy greeted her, a quick kiss being exchanged before falling into a hug. "Ryan got you here safely?"

"Yuh-huh."

"I have to thank you, by the way," he murmured into her ear, still not letting go of one another.

"For what?"

"For the most _awesome_ sleep last night."

Gabriella blushed. "Uh… you're welcome?"

Troy and Gabriella pulled apart from the rest of their friends, wrapped up in one another as they updated one another on the last hour of their life since last communicating with each other. This left Chad had moved to join in the rest of the group.

"So, this is the final list huh?" Chad remarked. "Who's the competition?"

"It's not a contest, it's a showcase," Kelsi said. "Where we want to showcase as many people as possible."

Chad was scanning down the list. "Oh, did they shove you in with other people too, Martha?"

"Yes." There was no mistaking the slight resentment in her tone.

"Don't you think it'll be fun? Doing a big fun group number?" Ryan asked.

Martha shrugged. "I like dancing by myself, I just feel more free that way. But I understand why you had to do it. It's just not what I expected that's all."

"You got in the show, that's all that matters, right?" Chad said. "I mean, I don't even want to _be_ in the show and then yesterday here they are asking me if it's cool to sing with Hoops."

"You asked Troy and Chad if it was okay to combine them?" Martha asked incredulously. "You mean, you consulted with _them_ but you couldn't call me?"

Chad winced, glancing from Ryan to Kelsi. "Yeah good luck with this, I uh… I might get to homeroom."

"I'll go with you," Zeke said quickly.

"Me too," Jason chimed in.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked, her attention being drawn from Troy to the rest of their group as Chad made his escape.

"Seriously guys, three out of the seven of you on this selection panel are supposed to be my friends, and you couldn't give me a call to ask how I felt about this?"

"Are you upset that we didn't ask you, or upset about the decision itself?" Gabriella asked slowly. "Because… we honestly didn't think you'd mind that much, if anything we thought you might have some fun with it, get to be creative, collaborate with other people."

"I care that you could consult Troy and Chad but not me."

Troy scratched the back of his neck and shifted from one foot to the other. He quickly kissed Gabriella on the cheek and said quietly, "See you in homeroom," before darting after his three buddies he could see in the distance.

"It really wasn't like that," Kelsi said gently. "We hadn't really been thinking about trying to combine acts or anything like that. We were debating about Troy and Chad and trying to select between them, Ms. Darbus suggested combining them and Ryan immediately texted Chad about coming over after training. We moved on, kept discussing, the guys came, and when they were fairly agreeable and we moved on to keep discussing other acts, that was when we figured other people would be agreeable."

Sharpay sighed. "Look, do you want to dance in this show, or not?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"It's simple. You auditioned for a part in a show. We're modifying lots of the acts, some of them modifying a pre-existing act, some of them taking the talent that was shown and forming new acts. You fall into the latter. This is the part we have given you. You take the part or you leave it. No one had to consult with anyone."

If nothing else, Sharpay could always be relied upon to speak the blunt truth if she felt so inclined to do so.

Martha sighed. "I get that, I do, as drama club members none of you _had_ to consult with me. But as my friends I guess I thought that maybe you might give me a call to pass the idea by me. It's fine really – you're right, it will be fun."

"Okay great, you're happy, I'm going to homeroom," Sharpay said, and breezed away.

"Are you really okay?" Kelsi asked, biting her lower lip. If Martha hadn't been acting strangely lately she might not have been overly concerned about the situation. But with all of the behaviour put together, Kelsi wasn't feeling particularly at ease.

"Yeah… maybe my time of the month is coming, I kinda overreacted a bit then," Martha said.

"And I think you're going to have an awesome time. Oh, and might I add that some of the boys in this number with you? They are _hot_," Kelsi said with a slight giggle. "But don't tell Jason I said that."

Martha forced a smile at Kelsi. "I don't really know any of those guys."

"Well, you will soon," Ryan said brightly.

Gabriella avoided eye contact – knowing that it wasn't any of the guys who were in her act that Martha had her eye on, rather it was a certain dark haired varsity basketball player in a cooking comedy act right tentatively scheduled right before Martha's medley.

"Come on, let's get to homeroom," Gabriella said brightly, standing beside Martha and squeezing her arm around her friends side. Martha shot her a small smile of gratitude for the shift in conversation away from potential matchmaking talk.

"Yes, it would be embarrassing if the guys managed to make it on time and yet we were late," Martha added.

"Hey, where did Taylor go?" Kelsi asked.

"She met me out front and told me where you all were and then when I came in she said she'd meet me at homeroom because she had to go to her locker," Martha informed.

The group of Gabriella, Ryan, Kelsi and Martha began to move through the corridors to their homeroom, a not so subtle change of conversation on Kelsi's behalf to their upcoming midterms and finding time and motivation to study. When they reached the classroom, students were already milling about inside in their new-old seating arrangements. Chad was sitting backwards on his chair facing Taylor, the pair holding hands on top of the desk and engaged in quiet conversation. Zeke was sitting on Ryan's desk in conversation with Sharpay, whilst Troy was perched on Gabriella's desk talking to Jason – or rather, whispering about Zeke and Sharpay.

Kelsi and Martha both went directly to their seats, Gabriella also heading to her seat and Ryan trailing behind.

"Excuse me, what are you doing on my desk?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend teasingly.

"It was boring up the front. Chad and Taylor are having eye sex and Zeke is macking on Sh…" Troy trailed off, glancing at Ryan. "Uh… Zeke is _talking_ to Sharpay. _Talking._"

"Yeah, right," Ryan said, rolling hie eyes.

"She looks perfectly happy with his 'talking' to her," Gabriella said tactfully.

"That's what I just said," Jason said smugly.

"Well, that's going to be interrupted because he is sitting on my desk," Ryan said, moving to head over.

Gabriella grasped him by the arm and pulled him back. "Stay here and hang til the bell goes," she requested. "Let them keep talking."

Ryan narrowed his eyes a little, peering casually over at them. "Why?"

"Because Zeke is a great guy and he could be good for her and while she's open to giving him a chance you should let them talk?" Gabriella suggested.

"You match making with my sister?" Ryan asked.

"It's not match making when its already happening," Troy pointed out.

"Exactly. And I'm just stopping you from doing the protective brother thing when all they're doing is talking," Gabriella added.

"That's the concerning thing," Ryan said wryly. "That she's _talking_ to him. And did you see that? She _laughed_. It was her real laugh too, not the fake giggly laugh that girls do when they're hitting on a boy."

"_All _girls?" Gabriella repeated.

"Yes," Troy, Ryan and Jason said simultaneously.

"Like you have expertise in that," Gabriella said, poking Ryan in the arm. "And I do not have a fake giggly laugh."

"Yeah, you do," Troy said bluntly. "It's harder to pick because your normal laugh is giggly. But you so have one; back before we were going out and even when we'd only been on a few dates, I would say stuff that wasn't funny at all and you'd find it amusing."

"Maybe I'm just easily amused," Gabriella said defensively.

"Oooh, you started a domestic, good one," Jason said, nudging Ryan.

"It's okay, it worked. We're together."

"I so do not have a giggly laugh," Gabriella said with a slight pout.

"I love your giggle," Troy said, stroking her arm gently.

"You could have a hyena cackle and Troy would find it hot," Jason said.

"That is true," Troy agreed.

"That's almost sweet," Gabriella said.

And with that, the domestic was over, right in time for the warning bell to ring.

"Right, that's it, get off my desk," Gabriella said, nudging Troy.

"I think Darbus would be okay with me just sitting here," Troy said.

"Yeah, right."

Ryan strode across the room to where Zeke was standing up from where he had been perching on Sharpay's desk, Sharpay laughing lightly as he spoke.

"I don't believe you!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"For real! I swear that's what happened, scouts honor."

"Hey man," Ryan said cooly, sliding into his seat and eyeing Zeke over.

"Hey dude, sorry I kinda took over your desk there."

"It's cool, I was talking to Troy and Gabi and Jason."

"Anyway, better go back to my seat," Zeke said, gesturing a few rows over and throwing Sharpay a grin. She nodded and waved slightly to him, waggling her fingers.

"What was that?" Ryan asked quietly.

"What was what?" Sharpay asked innocently.

"You know very well what I'm talking about."

"Actually no, I don't have a clue."

The official bell rang, and Sharpay spun around to face the front of the classroom, grateful for the escape from facing the official brotherly inquisition. Around the room students migrated to their seats from where they'd been sitting talking with friends.

Ms. Darbus rose and announced that she would quickly be running through the student notices as the school had updated its fire safety procedures policy and she was required to read aloud the new information.

"The drama club bulletin board now features a list detailing those students who have been selected to shine with their talent on stage at our Extravaganza Showcase. Students who have been selected are requested to speak with Miss Sharpay Evans or any of her drama club executive board team to discuss the next stage of procedures."

Sharpay tossed her hair over her shoulder, turning around slightly to smile at her fellow classmates.

"We have final sign ups for the scholastic decathlon competition due on Friday, those students who wish to register interest in participating in the contest are to see Miss McKessie by the end of lunch period on Friday. The yearbook committee advises that the official yearbook photos will be taking place next Thursday, with photographers present in the gym throughout the lunch hour and your seventh and eighth free periods. Any issues with this, if you are aware you will be absent for example, will need to be discussed with yearbook committee president – also Miss McKessie."

Taylor's hand shot up in the air. "May I just note that these issues need to be brought to my attention as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Taylor. And finally, just a reminder that Friday lunchtime, the cheer squad will be hosting a final pep rally to support the varsity boys basketball team in their endeavours to bring home the championship trophy. I am told that the game is on Friday night, with proceedings to begin at 7pm here at our very own East High gymnasium."

"Are you coming, Ms. D?" Chad called out.

"To your game?" Ms. Darbus repeated, not even reprimanding his lack of hand in the air wait to be called upon to speak manners.

"Yeah."

She paused reflectively. "Do you want me to come?"

"Well, you've had me and Hoops and JC and Z in your homeroom for like, 18 months now. I think you'd have fun."

"Lots of other teachers go," Zeke pointed out.

"That is because Principal Matsui encourages it," Ms. Darbus said.

"All the more reason to come," Troy joined in.

Ms. Darbus paused for a moment, before answering somewhat elusively, "I just might make an appearance. See what all this fuss is about. Anyway. It's time to move on to these fire safety procedures. I should identify that at some point over the next fortnight there will be a spontaneous fire drill during class and so it is imperative that you are familiar with the course of action to take in the case of an emergency…"

* * *

"Hey, you coming to the championships on Friday?" Chad called out to an unsuspecting freshman who was loitering in the hallway, clapping his hand onto his back.

Troy rolled his eyes. They'd left the gym five minutes before the end of free period and Chad had succeeded in advertising the game to just about every single person he'd passed that day.

"Uh… I'm not sure yet."

"You'd better be there. The cheerleaders are doing a special dance before the game," Chad said with a grin.

The younger boys eyes widened. "Really? I might come check it out."

"Awesome."

Chad spied a pretty brunette rushing from the bathroom clutching onto a hall pass, wanting to get back to her classroom before the bell rang. "Why hello there," he greeted her with a dazzling smile. "Do I know you?"

Her eyes widened, almost in disbelief that Chad Danforth was speaking to her. "Um… I don't think so. I'm a sophomore…"

"I've seen you around. Do you come to our games?"

"I have a few times. One of my friends has a crush on one of the guys on your team, one of the juniors," she revealed.

Chad grinned. "Are you and your friends coming to the game on Friday night?"

"I... I think so," she stammered.

"Fantastic, I'll look forward to seeing you there."

"Uh… okay…" she said, her voice rising an additional octave.

"That was mean," Troy said, once the girl has scurried out of earshot.

"How was that mean? I'm just advertising the game to people."

"What, the posters all over the school and daily announcements aren't enough?"

"Don't you want a packed house? We could overtake the Knights side of the gym."

"No we can't, we're not allowed to, we have to leave it open for them."

"Oh… well still. We could like, set up a big screen outside for the overflow of people."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Sure, great idea, let's do that."

"What's a great idea?" a female voice asked.

Chad and Troy looked up to realise they were passing Ryan's locker, where Gabriella was standing just by him.

"Oh! Hey!" Troy said, immediately pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Chad is advertising the game to like, every person we walk past. To so many people that he's suggested that we set up a big screen outside for the overflow to watch."

"That's a bit ambitious," Ryan remarked, promptly closing his locker. The foursome all knew that Ryan and Chad had chemistry down the hall from where Troy and Gabriella had physics, wordlessly moving in the direction of the science wing.

"I feed off energy from the crowd, just trying to make sure we're gonnna have a packed house is all," Chad said with a slight shrug.

"Did I tell you that scouts from a few colleges have already let the school know they'll be coming," Troy asked Gabriella.

"Let the school know?" Ryan repeated.

"They get preferential seating. Kinda like a players box at a professional game," Troy explained.

"I think there's three seniors from the Knights team who are looking to get recruited," Chad said.

"Anderson's got a verbal agreement already though," Troy said.

The bell rang, students spilling out of classrooms to move toward their next period class.

"Really? With who?"

"Texas A&M."

"Who the hell would voluntarily move to Texas?" Chad mused.

"Well, not everyone can have offers from schools in California," Ryan pointed out.

"When are you heading to Sacramento to check it out? Next weekend?" Gabriella asked.

Chad nodded. "That's right. While Hoops here is in freaking the middle of nowhere…"

"Indianopolis is the fourteenth biggest city in the United States, its hardly the middle of nowhere," Troy interrupted.

"I'll be just miles from the beach…"

"Sacramento is inland! It's like, two hours from the coast!" Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, why do you know everything?" Chad complained, eliciting a chuckle from Ryan and Gabriella and a smug look from Troy.

"Hey guys!" Martha's voice rang out, the group looking to see Martha and Taylor walking from the corridor to their left as they headed through the cross way.

"Hey girls," Chad greeted them. "Heading to the science wing?"

"Of course," Martha responded.

Chad's arm automatically slipped around Taylor's back as they turned right.

"Hey Taylor, just letting you know that you should dump Chad because he was just hitting on a sophomore," Troy said casually.

Chad's eyes widened. "Bolton! I was not! I so was not, tell her I wasn't."

"Okay it wasn't really like that," Troy conceded. "But he was taking advantage of his status as a senior varsity basketball player to convince her that she and her friends should come to the game."

"Oh please, he's been doing that all week. He did it with this group of juniors _while I was there_."

They all laughed, and reached the doorway to Ryan and Chad's chemistry class.

"Try to get through the next hour without hitting on anyone though, my tolerance will wear thin at a certain point," Taylor said warningly.

Chad took a step closer to her, his forehead pressing down to meet hers. "You know it's only you, baby."

The group split, the boys moving into their chemistry room and Troy and the girls heading up the corridor and entering their physics room, taking up position along their bench in the lab with Troy by the wall, then Gabriella, Taylor and Martha.

"Gabriella, you and I really need to organise a time to sit down and talk about the yearbook and a bunch of other things. We're going to have to schedule a time because we keep saying we'll get around to talking about it and it hasn't happened," Taylor said with a slight roll of the eyes.

"I know, which is totally my fault," Gabriella admitted apologetically. "These last couple of weeks have just been crazy. But we're getting a heap of planning done tomorrow afternoon at our drama meeting, and then after this weekend, I'll totally be yours. Monday, we'll have a huge long talk about it all. I promise."

"I was thinking we could even meet up over the weekend to discuss it all," Taylor suggested.

"Well… Troy and I were kinda going to spend some time together. Since he's away a lot over the next month," Gabriella said, reaching out to grasp Troy's hand on the table top.

"Um… you can bail on me if you need to, if this is important," Troy said hesitantly, seeing the disgruntled expression on Taylor's face.

Gabriella pouted at him. "Don't you wanna spend time with me?"

"Of course I do! You know I do."

"No, you know what, Monday is fine," Taylor said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know why you're so worried about meeting with me about it, I've kept up to date with the progress and its looking really amazing Tay," Gabriella complimented.

The final bell rang and Mr. Newman promptly rose to his feet and closed the classroom door.

"Good morning class, please take your seats and we can get straight into today's lesson. As outlined last time we're going to be running through a practical exercise. The good news is that this will take up the majority of today's class. The bad news is that I want an individual write-up from each of you about the results, due in our class on Friday morning. This write-up is important as this principle is going to form a major part of your midterm exam."

Troy's eyes widened, gulping. The last thing he needed was a major piece of homework due on game day. Gabriella took his hand again, squeezing comfortingly, knowing that he was perturbed by this information.

"Okay so if you'll break into your lab groups and begin to read through the methodology, I'll disperse the materials."

Troy was barely listening as Taylor, Martha and Gabriella proceeded to go through the details of the experiment; in his brain he was trying to work out when exactly he was supposed to fit in time to do this report properly. He could certainly find time to scribble down some chicken scratch, but he knew that he was relying on a good midterm result to make up for the less than good major assignment he'd handed in before the winter break.

"Troy?" Mr. Newman said, and Troy broke from his reverie to look up at his teacher was leaving a box of supplies with their group.

"Yes sir?"

"Your write-up is due on Monday."

Troy blinked. "Oh um… I… I appreciate the offer but I don't want special treatment or anything so…"

"It's due on Monday. I want something decent, not something you throw together between push up reps and free throws. Take the extra time and thank me by bringing back that championship, huh?" Mr. Newman said with a grin. "No pressure."

Troy laughed awkwardly. "Um… I'll try. Thanks."

"That was nice of him," Gabriella said brightly.

"Yeah. Just bring back that championship. No pressure my ass," Troy said under his breath.

But there was pressure everywhere. His dad going on about more college offers, Chad ensuring the maximum number of people possible would be there, teachers, friends and parents all coming along with one expectation – to bring back that championship.

* * *


	28. Chapter 28

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **Thanks to Nel (_Persephone Lemonade)_ for some of the ideas in the pep rally this chapter. It helps to have a friend presently in an American high school available to listen to my whinging and to answer random questions :-D

I have totally completely failed lately at replying to people's reviews and PM's. I barely have time to breathe, let alone write. And I always tell myself 'I'll reply later!' and later just never seems to come. So I am seriously really sorry; if you've ever asked me a question that you really want answered and I have failed to respond, just ask it again and I will endeavour to get back to as many people as possible this week as I am on Easter break. Thanks to everyone for all the lovely reviews and comments - just because I don't reply, doesn't mean they're not appreciated. :)

Thanks to everyone who read my insane one shot _Beyond My Control _which I posted about a week ago. If you haven't checked it out... yeah I can't really recommend it because it's stupid. I guess if you've got nothing better to do check it out, haha.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 28**

_This moment will never come again  
I know it because it has never been before  
And I listen to the wind  
And I see the trees __are shaking..._

**Victoria Williams 'This Moment'**

**

* * *

**

_**4:05pm Thursday**_

_**26 hours and 55 minutes until the championships.**_

Troy was sitting in the bleachers of the East High gym, playbook in one hand, bottle of Gatorade in the other. It was the final training session before the ultimate fate of the Wildcats Varsity basketball team for the season of 2007-2008 would be determined. There had been no last minute work out sessions allocated for lunch or free period the following day. The focus was instead on energy preservation and mental preparation.

Troy knew every member of the West High Knights team, he knew their strengths, their weaknesses, their trademark moves. He knew who was likely to play dirty, he knew their statistics from the season. As an extended team - with the members of the team as well as Coach Bolton, Assistant Coach Mason, and Coach Frederick who assisted with conditioning and fitness work outs – the Wildcats had analysed game tapes and constructed potential plays on the basis of almost any given scenario.

In 26 hours and 55 minutes time, it was going to come down to two factors – execution, and luck. And those two factors were inextricably linked. Luck was about providing opportunities, chances. And execution was required to capitalise upon the lucky breaks. Troy couldn't control the luck, but he could work his damn hardest to control the execution. And so here he was during their fifteen minute break, staring at the playbook, envisaging the perfect play.

"Hey Captain!"

Troy looked up to see Zeke standing in the back entry to the gym.

"Yeah?"

"You so have to come check something out," Zeke said, his tone indicating it was something important.

Bringing the playbook and his sports drink with him, Troy stood from his place half way up in the bleachers and traversed down and crossed the gym to exit where Zeke had disappeared. The back entrance to the East High gymnasium backed onto the front of the school with a clear view of the student parking lot, and as Troy emerged he found Chad, Jason and Zeke sitting on the edge of a raised garden bed staring out at the parking lot.

"What's going on?" Troy asked, feeling mildly irritated.

"Hey Hoops, check this out," Chad said. He gestured down to the parking lot where a blue Lancer with a driving school sign on top had been reversed into a parking spot.

"Gabriella's having her first driving lesson," Zeke explained.

"It's not her first, she had one last week. And what's so exciting about it?" Troy asked.

"This is _not _her first lesson?" Jason asked, eyes wide, stifling a snicker.

"No, why?"

"She just went to drive and the instructor had to brake for her because she didn't see someone else about to pull out of the parking lot in front of her," Zeke informed him.

"And then – this is the best part – she just stalled the car," Chad said among laughter. "How the hell do you stall a car with automatic transmission?"

The three guys all started laughing, Zeke and Chad exchanging fist pumps. Troy wasn't amused by the information, staring at them with raised eyebrows.

"The championships are tomorrow and you guys are sitting here making fun of my girlfriend?" Troy asked incredulously. "You really think that's a wise use of time?"

Chad, Zeke and Jason exchanged sideways glances at each other.

"Dude, we're on a break, we're just chilling. And we're not exactly making fun of her. We just think it's amusing. That's all," Zeke pointed out.

"Yeah but tomorrow…"

Chad rose, standing to face his friend. "Tomorrow's the championships. We know. We get that, and we're focused. We've had the best preparation we could have possibly had. We're more ready for this than we ever have been before. A part of being ready is having some down time, you know that."

There was a firm look exchanged between Troy and his co-captain. Troy knew that of all his team mates, of all his friends, it was Chad who was able to relate to the pressure. It was the same pressure of opening up doors to basketball opportunities. The same pressure to make the most of their final year in the team. The same familial pressure – although Chad's father may not be often present, Troy knew that on a certain level, his friend wanted to prove himself to his parents.

Troy sighed. "Well… does the down time have to involve making fun of Gabriella?"

"Your down time should involve activity of a different sort with Gabriella," Zeke advised with a smirk.

Troy rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, instead stood watching as the blue Lancer finally crawled its way out of the parking lot. He winced as he observed just how slow the speed was. He questioned the logic of the driving lesson taking place around peak school traffic in the school zone – it may have made more sense for it to just be around the streets of their neighbourhood like Gabriella's first lesson the week before had been.

"Well, your down time source of entertainment is gone now, and it's time to get back into training," Troy said firmly.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Jason said with a roll of the eyes.

_**26 hours and 50 minutes until the championships.**_

* * *

_**Friday morning**_

_**11 hours and 30 minutes until the championships**_

"Are you ready for this?" Troy asked, as he pulled into the parking lot on Friday morning.

Gabriella glanced over at him. "Ready? Ready for what?"

"The insanity? Don't you remember it from last year?"

"What, you mean beyond any regular pep rally?"

"Imagine a pep rally, multiply that by five and then that is going to be going on _all_ _day_. You really don't remember?"

"Well I was practising with Kelsi before school, and then I was in a decathlon final preparation meeting at lunch, and the rest of the day I was generally feeling nervous about singing in public so… I can't say I remember it being particularly insane. You guys were a bit nutty all day."

"It's called de-stressing. Your normally mature, composed boyfriend will today revert to junior high maturity," Troy said warningly.

"Can I expect you to snap my bra strap at some point?"

Troy nodded. "Quite possibly."

"Thanks for the warning."

There was already a notable change in vibe just when they pulled into the parking lot. Gabriella's mom had dropped her off at school at 7am on the corresponding day the year before, about a half hour before students would typically begin to arrive, and so Gabriella avoided viewing the invasion of red and white. On usual pep rally days the school spirit would increase with more school colours than usual. But on Championship Friday, it was the person wearing a green hoodie who stood out from a mile away. The mood was giddy, intense, hyper. Gabriella was used to people greeting Troy excitedly but she almost felt like she was with a famous Hollywood celebrity, his truck being surrounded by team mates, cheerleaders and other peers. There was a 'gimme a T!' chant spelling out Troy's name being led by the cheer squad – all because Troy had arrived at school.

As for Troy, this was a reception he was somewhat used to, it was instilled within East High tradition. It had been the same the year before – even if Gabriella didn't quite recall it the same way. It had been the same for the football team who had reached their championships in Troy's sophomore year. He was happy to have his girlfriend by his side – adorned in his brandings, with her T necklace, the commitment ring he'd given her for Christmas, and his white and red letterman jacket he'd parted with the year before on their one month anniversary. He was more nervous than the year before – although it was quite possible that the year before, the fear of auditioning for the musical had overridden the nervous feeling in relation to the championship game. But now, the focus was completely upon the game. Nowhere else to turn, no distractions.

He kept his left hand entwined with Gabriella's as the couple moved through the crowd and Troy shook hands and greeted his peers – some acquaintances, some friends. The members of the basketball and cheerleading squad who were seniors stuck close by as they moved toward the fountain, where the less than athletically inclined members of their friendship group were waiting.

"Hey Troy!" Kelsi exclaimed, giving her friend a hug before turning to Gabriella. "Gabriella!"

The girls exchanged a long hug while Troy jumped up onto the edge of the fountain.

"So guys, how are we all feeling today?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"I took a detour past West High this morning on my way here. There's like a parade going on," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "A bit pre-emptive for that celebration I think."

"Well they'd better enjoy their celebrations now because they won't be celebrating once we cream them tonight," Zeke declared.

A series of cheers sounded out from the team and surrounding peers.

"Hey Gabriella," Taylor said, touching her friend on the arm.

"Hey!" Gabriella said brightly, greeting her friend. "Isn't today exciting? I didn't get to enjoy this feeling last year."

"Yeah, we were excited and nervous about something totally different," Taylor said, thinking back fondly to the preparations for the first round of the decathlon contest the prior year.

"Feels like… a really, really, really long time ago. Longer than a year," Gabriella said.

"That is because you love us all so much that you can't even remember what it was like at any of your other schools," Martha said teasingly.

Gabriella laughed. "That's kinda true."

"Okay now that you're here I can tell you all without having to repeat it. Guess what, I have awesome, awesome news," Martha said excitedly.

"Tell me," Taylor said immediately.

"So, do you remember when I was telling you about how we were having problems with our post office box and things were being redirected and stuff?" Martha said.

"Yeah…" all three girls said simultaneously.

"It happened again. And this really important package for me came like, a week before Christmas."

"And?!" Taylor said impatiently.

"I got into Sarah Lawrence! They accepted me for early decision!"

Kelsi and Gabriella both let out a slight shriek, simultaneously engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh my God that's amazing!" Gabriella exclaimed excitedly.

"Congratulations!" Kelsi added, equally excitedly.

Among the red and white spirit filled excitement, four girls were gushing and hugging over their friends excitement; the buzz in the air serving to only heighten their excitement.

"Early decision? So… that's definite?" Taylor asked.

Martha nodded. "I'm going to Sarah Lawrence. Officially."

Taylor wrapped her arms around her friend, the girls exchanging a long hug. "That is incredible. I'm so proud. And happy for you!"

"You are happy?" Martha said quietly, the girls remaining in their tight hug. "I was worried you might… be annoyed."

Taylor shook her head firmly. "Not in the slightest," she said honestly.

Both girls were beaming happily as they pulled apart from the hug.

"That is amazing! You're the first one of all of us to know officially where they are going!" Kelsi pointed out with a wide smile.

"Sarah Lawrence is incredible, I did this writer's workshop there a few summers ago when we were living on the east coast," Gabriella said.

"What's going on?" Troy asked, an elbow resting on each of Gabriella and Kelsi's shoulders. The squealy outburst of the group of four girls had caught the attention of the rest of the group.

"I got accepted through early decision to Sarah Lawrence," Martha announced proudly, her cheeks almost hurting from just how wide she was smiling.

"That's awesome!" Troy exclaimed, immediately giving her a friendly half hug. He then paused. "Wait, who or what is Sarah Lawrence?"

"It's a college," Martha said, rolling her eyes. "Like, my dream college. Hence applying through early decision."

"Then that _is_ awesome!" Troy said again, with greater conviction.

"Hey Troy!" Marty, one of the guys who Troy knew from a few of his classes, called out in greeting, waving.

"Hey man!" Troy said, waving back, distracted between his friends and the buzz going on around him. The cheer squad had broken out into a spontaneous cheer in the middle of the footpath.

"What happened?" Jason said, also joining in with the conversation. "What's awesome?"

"Martha got into Sarah Lawrence. Which is a college," Troy clarified for Jason – however the clarification was unnecessary.

"Way to go M-dog! I _so_ told you that you'd get in!" Jason exclaimed, and gave his friend a brief hug.

To those who were unaware of the layers of context surrounding the hug, it appeared to be merely a friendly hug. Gabriella and Taylor, however, were not oblivious to the slightly jolted look on Martha's face – that look where Jason's touch was obviously affecting her but she wished it wasn't.

"Thanks Jase," Martha said, genuinely grateful. She'd been talking to him online while she'd been filling out her application all those months ago and it had been he who had somehow, with his simplistic views of life, allowed her to get through the months of waiting without going entirely insane.

"So, um, where is Sarah Lawrence?" Troy asked, attempting to pay attention but in reality he was looking elsewhere.

"New York, just a little north from New York City. It's like close enough that…" Martha trailed off, having completely lost Troy's attention as he'd turned around to shake the hands of some acquaintances. "Yes. That's all."

Troy spun around. "Sorry, I was listening. New York City. Continue."

Martha laughed. "It's fine. Hey look! That's a new cheer!"

The group all turned around to join the circle of people who were around the cheer squad as they belted out a new catchy cheer.

"Oh hey, Gabriella, guess what?" Taylor said, nudging her friend. "The guidance counsellors agreed to let me have an appointment on Monday. Finally, after I've been harassing them all week."

Gabriella smiled encouragingly. "That's great, it'll be good to be able to sit and talk about your options."

The hidden intent to Gabriella's statement was _other_ options – hoping that the appointment with the guidance counsellor, being an objective, third party in authority, may be a source of reality check for Taylor. Taylor was not oblivious to her friend's statement, and was about to respond when Gabriella's attention was stolen away by Paula darting over after the squad had completed their cheer and grasping her arm.

"Oh Gabriella, you missed out on me telling Ryan this earlier. Troy, you'd better listen too because you are going to totally love me for what I'm about to tell you," Paula declared a little breathlessly, grabbing onto both of their arms and pulling them away slightly. She quickly added, "Platonically, of course."

"Oh really, am I?" Troy asked, cocking his head.

Paula interrupted her own train of thought, looking up and down and admiring Gabriella's outfit.

"I love your skirt," she complimented.

Gabriella looked down at her white layered gypsy skirt and red tank top. "Oh really? Thank you. I don't think it really goes with Troy's jacket but I had to make do."

"Anything goes with Troy's jacket. Except maybe a West High jersey," Paula pointed out with a smile. Gabriella laughed.

Normally this would have queued a remark from Troy about how Gabriella could make anything look good, except Paula had him on tenterhooks. "Paula? Enough fashion. Why am I gonna love you?" Troy said impatiently.

She merely smiled and obliged his request. "I just got the official approval from Matsui for a certain element of the pep rally at lunch time."

"Which would be…"

"Pie throwing."

"Pie throwing?" Troy repeated.

"Yes. At teachers. The faculty had to nominate five teachers from among themselves. And now students get until the end of third period to vote. The two teachers with the most votes and a student who is selected from those who voted are paired up. Pie throwing ensues."

In the next door conversation with a group of people, Ryan was half listening to Paula's excited announcement to Gabriella and Troy. She'd informed him of the progress when he'd first arrived and he'd merely smiled and said 'okay.' He caught Gabriella's eye, seeing her somewhat bewildered expression. He merely shrugged. They'd given the cheer squad completely free reign to organise the final basketball pep rally, keeping it as simple and traditional as pep rallies could be. Despite the changes that had been initiated over the last twelve months to East High culture, some things were deeply imbedded within tradition – including game day shenanigans.

Gabriella didn't see anything particularly entertaining about throwing pies at teachers, however Troy's face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"Oh! Oh! Please tell me that on that list of nominated teachers there is…"

"That's right. Coach Bolton," Paula confirmed with a smile.

"Yes!" Troy shouted, a fist pumping in the air. "Paula, you are officially a legend. Okay. How do I vote? And where do I vote?"

"There's a table with the box and ballot papers in the notice board area," Paula told him.

Troy immediately abandoned the friends who surrounded him in favour of rushing over to the large group of cheerleaders and team members to excitedly request slash demand that their vote be directed toward none other than Coach Jack Bolton. Gabriella shook her head slightly watching his reaction.

"It works for them, you know," Paula said.

"Hmm?"

"Acting crazy. The players," she explicated. "Especially this year when they've made it a night game. As it is, those few hours between when school finishes and they have to be back here for the game are going to be stressful enough. All this stuff… I know it all sounds kind of stupid but it helps."

"It's all just an act though," Gabriella pointed out. "Since the minute he picked me up from home this morning, Troy's been like a little kid who has drank too much red cordial. But I know that deep down he's just incredibly nervous."

Paula nodded. "Of course he is. But I guess it makes it easier to transfer the nervous energy into manageable adrenaline by getting it out there and acting crazy, rather than letting the nerves take over. It's too early to be getting pumped up for the game itself but the adrenaline is there nonetheless. So it needs to be used somehow. And if that means running around and getting excited about the prospect of someone throwing a pie at his dad… then so be it."

Gabriella nodded, a pensive expression on her face. "Sports psychology is fascinating as a field in its own right."

"Gabiiiii!" Troy's gleeful tone came suddenly from behind as he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting his girlfriend from the ground and swinging her slightly. Gabriella shrieked, clinging to his arms.

"Troyyyy!" she whined.

"Come with me," he requested, setting her down and tugging at her sleeve.

"Where are we going?"

He rolled his eyes as though the answer were obvious. "To go vote to get my dad pied in the face."

* * *

Troy's arms were wrapped firmly around Gabriella from behind as they walked through the corridors. They'd just finished second period Economics, third period was a free and Troy had no intent to do anything even remotely productive.

"Have I mentioned that I totally love when you wear my jacket?" Troy asked, his throaty tone melting into her ear.

"Once or twice," Gabriella responded with a smile.

"Well I totally love when you wear my jacket. It's almost as hot as when you wear my t-shirts after we've…"

"Troy!" Gabriella hissed. "We're at school. Keep it appropriate."

"So if we weren't at school, I could talk about our… uh… _joint aerobics classes…_ as much as I like?"

"You could. I might get annoyed at you for being a typical male who only thinks about… _joint aerobics classes._"

Troy grinned and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. "Only with you, baby."

"Hey Ry," Gabriella greeted her friend as she passed his locker with Troy still nestled closely behind her.

"Hey hey," he said brightly, closing his locker. He gestured up the corridor and enquired, "You guys heading to the quad?"

"Yup. I think everyone will be hanging out there today," Gabriella said.

Ryan fell into step with the couple.

"Have you voted?" Troy asked urgently.

"Yes," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

Troy smiled. "Excellent. Do you think Matsui would let me go use the microphone to remind people that they need to vote for my dad?"

"Probably not," Ryan said tactfully.

"Hmm, I thought I was pushing it. Guess I'll have to go about it the old fashioned way."

"And what's that?" Gabriella asked, glancing up at him behind her.

"Running around reminding everyone," Troy said simply.

"Isn't that what you were doing all morning?" Ryan asked.

"Yup. And in between homeroom and first, and between first and second. But this is a big school and there are heaps of people who I won't have talked to yet."

"You mean flirted with," Gabriella said.

"What?" Troy said incredulously. "I beg your pardon?"

"And to think you were getting up Chad for flirting with girls to get them to come to the game tonight," Ryan remarked.

"When was I flirting?" Troy demanded.

"Oh please. When you were talking to those sophomore girls, for example. Or, when you were talking to Liana and the other one."

"Okay the 'other one' was Alyson who I used to go out with and there is _no way_ I was flirting with her."

"But you don't deny flirting with Liana?"

"Um, if this is going to blow up into some domestic display I might just…" Ryan began to say.

Troy held up his hand. "This is not going to blow up into some domestic display. I was _not_ flirting with any of them. I may have been using my natural charm and… and… um, what's the word? Effervescence? To make them realise that I was representing a good cause. But I was not flirting."

"When a really hot guy is being charming and smiles and flips his hair out of his eyes, that is flirting," Gabriella declared.

"A really hot guy?" Troy asked, his head tilting to the side, a cocky grin filling his face.

Gabriella's lips twitched a little, relenting at the sight of the adorable expression upon his face.

"Yes, yes you are," Gabriella conceded, slowing her gait for a moment so she could tip her head back and allow them to share a less than innocent kiss in the hallway.

Ryan diverted his eyes but didn't comment, he merely pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. It instantly vibrated with the receipt of a text message which he subsequently opened.

"Just stop flirting!" Gabriella reprimanded once they'd pulled out from the kiss.

"It's for a good cause. Tell you what, I'll give you permission to flirt with guys to get them to vote for Coach."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "How generous of you."

Meanwhile as the playful banter continued between Troy and Gabriella, Ryan had successfully tuned them out altogether – his eyes widened at the sight of the text message before him. It was from none other than Chase.

_I'm walking past this fountain with a big pillar thing that has a giant E on it. _

Ryan was staring at the text, blinking, in disbelief at what he knew deep inside to be true. Before he could even respond, another text came through.

_Did I just see a poster for an old show reading 'Sibling Piracy' with your photo on it? What the hell was that one about?_

"Holy fuck," Ryan whispered. His hands were trembling as he attempted to open a response.

"What?" Troy asked.

"He's here," Ryan said, somewhat dazed. His fingers managed to type out a response reading _**What the fuck?!**_

"Who?" Gabriella asked.

"Chase. He is here. He… oh my God."

_How convenient, a big map in the cross roads of the school. Okay, so, how would I find the quad… So I go straight here, then left and volia. _

"He's going to the quad," Ryan croaked, swallowing slightly. "He can't go to the quad, everyone is at the quad… he…"

"Who cares? No one will know who he is. Let's go!" Gabriella said excitedly.

"I…"

"Oh come on! He's come all this way!" she said, trying to encourage Ryan. "If you're not gonna go, I will."

"We were headed there anyway," Troy pointed out.

Ryan took in a deep breath and then exhaled noisily. "Okay… okay. Let's… right. Let's do this."

"It's not like you haven't met him before," Gabriella said gently.

"Yeah but we've hardly talked since then."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Mine," Ryan conceded rolling his eyes slightly. He then ran his hand through his hair. "How do I look?"

"Don't look at me!" Troy said, wrinkling up his nose slightly.

"You look great, better than great," Gabriella insisted.

Ryan paused at the exit from the wing they were in to the quad and took a deep breath, before stepping outside. A few people called out to them, Ryan waving subtly but still scanning across the quad. He wished he could somehow disappear into the wall behind him, wanting to spot Chase before Chase spotted him. However he would have no such luck.

"I hear there's a game tonight," a velvet voice rang out from not far away.

Ryan swallowed and immediately looked in the direction of the voice – and there he was.

He'd been hiding behind an old maple tree, the trunk wide enough to shield him from view until he'd chosen to make himself visible. Gabriella and Troy both followed Ryan's line of sight toward where he was gazing – looking directly at a black haired, tanned, buff guy. He was wearing a red and white plaid shirt, light wash skinny leg blue jeans and white converse. He was tall, around six foot; his black hair was short at the sides with the top resembling a modest faux hawk; a light scruff of facial hair on his face derived more from laziness about shaving than a decision to be trendy. Aviator sunglasses covered what Ryan knew to be green eyes. A lazy smile spread across Chase's face as his gaze met Ryan's, standing upright from his lean against the tree. He shifted his sunglasses to move them to rest upon the top of his head and took a few steps forward.

Ryan also stepped toward him, bridging the gap between them. It was a surreal scenario – a part of him wanted to throw his arms around his friend slash potential boyfriend in a tight hug, to give him a small kiss in greeting. But Ryan was acutely aware that the quad was, at that point, filled with a whole lot of people. So Ryan held back, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Hi," Ryan said quietly, a sparkle in his eye which told the observant eye a lot.

"Hi," Chase responded simply.

"I um… I want to hug you or something but… umm… I can't. Not here."

"We could shake hands?" Chase offered with a grin.

"Okay," Ryan agreed, returning the warm smile.

Hands met, the unquestionable spark of electricity shooting through them both as the handshake went longer than necessary, hands limp rather than firm, the handshake merely allowing an excuse to touch.

Gabriella and Troy were hanging back just behind, Gabriella excited to the point of being bouncy, Troy somewhat fascinated by the exchange. Finally their hands dropped and Ryan cleared his throat. "Uh… you should meet…"

He pulled Chase back to where he had been scanning the quad. "This is…"

"Gabriella?" Chase guessed.

"How did you know that?" Gabriella asked a little suspiciously, then realised that she perhaps sounded a little rude and added, "and hello, nice to finally meet you."

"I've seen photos. And lovely to meet you too. I swear, other than his sister, there's no one else who I hear about more often."

"I'm Troy," Troy offered, holding his hand out to Chase.

"Hey, I'm Chase." Another handshake took place, this time firm and brief.

"What are you doing here?!" Ryan exclaimed. "Seriously. Like… in my school. On school grounds."

"Funny you should ask that. See, okay, I was in Hollister the other day – shut up, I know you don't like it," Chase said, holding a finger up. Ryan rolled his eyes and mimed zipping his mouth shut. "Anyway, so there was this really hot red and white plaid shirt in there. It was half off, and then I was trying it on and then I noticed that it was missing a button – but it has a spare button anyway. Long story short, I got it even cheaper again. But then I was thinking, 'where the hell am I going to wear a red and white plaid shirt? Ryan should be buying this since he has to wear red and white like, every other day of the week.' But since you don't like Hollister you wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. And then it occurred to me that there would be nowhere better to wear my brand new red and white shirt than to a place where red and white is practically dress code. And so, here I am."

"You came up here because you bought a red and white shirt and wanted somewhere to wear it?" Ryan repeated.

Chase smiled coyly. "Yup. That is the only reason."

Ryan and Chase were beaming at one another, and Gabriella was beaming excitedly watching them. Troy nudged her in the side and cocked his head toward their friends, indicating that perhaps they should move aside.

"Um… we have to um… go speak with our friends," Gabriella said. "It was really nice meeting you."

Chase grinned. "And you as well. You're going to this big game tonight, right?"

"Of course," Gabriella responded.

"Well I just may tag along if Ryan agrees, so I'll see you there. And hey, good luck and stuff. I don't know anything about basketball but uh… score lots of points," Chase said to Troy, extending his hand for a handshake.

Troy laughed, accepting the handshake. "Thanks, and I'll try."

Gabriella gave Ryan a quick excited grin and a slight nod – giving her seal of complete approval – before she and Troy headed over toward their friends. Gabriella was glancing back behind her as Ryan and Chase began to walk, moving back inside of the building and keeping a notably safe distance between them. Her excited smile remained until they had turned the corner and left her line of vision.

"How exciting!" Gabriella gushed. "Today is just filled with awesomeness!"

"Now I just need for my dad to be voted in to have a pie smashed in his face and it'll be the best day ever," Troy said with a laugh.

They walked arm in arm over to where the rest of the Wildcats were congregated. The scene was a little crazy, with an iPod set up in a dock with music playing, and a hackey sack flying throughout a group of people. Kelsi darted over to meet Gabriella and Troy.

"Was that who I thought it was?!" she asked, her voice quiet but the excitement evident.

Gabriella nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

"I knew I should have come over! I want to meet him!" Kelsi pouted.

"He said he's going to come to the game tonight, so I guess you can meet him then," Troy told her.

"Yay!"

He pressed a kiss to Gabriella's cheek before leaving the girls to undoubtedly squeal and for Gabriella to tell Kelsi the details. He was more interested in other things himself.

"Hey Marty! Dude!" Troy called out, spotting the senior football linebacker. "Haven't talked to you in ages man!"

"I already voted for Coach Bolton," Marty said with a smirk. "Danforth is a step ahead of you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryan and Chase were slowly ambling through the halls, sneaking the slightest of glances at one another.

"Um, okay, I don't mean to be rude, but our school has pretty strict rules about non-students being on campus…" Ryan commented.

"It's all good. I have a visitor pass," Chase said with a smile. "I wouldn't wanna get you into trouble."

"How did you get a visitor pass?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"My cousin Penny works at reception here," Chase confessed. "I never told you coz I figured it might come in handy one day. Today's the day it did."

"What are you planning to do? Come with me to my classes?" Ryan asked.

"Ew, God no, I'm not ditching one set of classes to try to attend other ones." Chase shuddered. "I'm gonna leave once your free period is over. I actually have some friends who study at the UNM campus here so I'm going to go hang with them for a bit. And then... I was hoping we could hang out when you get out of your final period, before the game? When does it start?"

"It starts at 7pm, but I think we're meeting here at about 6:30."

"So that gives you a few hours free, right?"

"Yes, yes it does."

"Okay then. In that case, I am going to come back here after school and we can hang." Chase paused, and then added hesitantly, "If you want. Alternatively, you can tell me to get lost and I'll leave right now and just hang with my friends and that is all."

"No!" Ryan said quickly. "You can… come back. I want to hang."

"You sure?" Chase asked.

Ryan nodded. "Yes. If I didn't want to hang I could make up a story about how I have to help set up something for the game or… something or other."

Chase grinned. "Fair enough then."

"Um… do you… can you come with me somewhere now?" Ryan asked a little hesitantly. "I want to introduce you to someone."

"Do I get to meet the infamous Sharpay?" Chase asked, his eyes brightening a little.

"If you want to."

"Oh I do. She sounds fabulous."

"Excellent. Since I was already leading you in that direction." He paused, shaking his head in amazement, the side smile on his face indicative of his happiness. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Yeah it was um… a pretty spontaneous decision. I felt like talking to you… so I thought I may as well come and visit," Chase explained.

"You could have called…"

"You would have made an excuse to get off the phone."

Ryan shrugged sheepishly. "Um... maybe."

"The question is why…"

"It's not about you, or how I… you know… feel," Ryan said quietly, avoiding his eye contact. "It's all pretty messed up, my life in general right now. Guess I didn't want to bring you down."

Chase shook his head. "That's bull shit, Ry. You're scared. And that's cool. I get that. And I'm okay with being patient."

"You are?"

Chase nodded. "Yes."

"Like… really slow?"

"Well just how slow are we talking here?" Chase asked, an eyebrow raised.

Ryan smirked. "Well we can't erase developments from last time we met so… not _that_ slow."

In a sudden momentary whim, Ryan glanced around their immediate surroundings, spotting the very thing he wanted to see – an empty classroom. Ryan tested the door handle, proving that it was unlocked. A quick glance around the room confirmed that it was empty and even better, that the window shades were drawn. Ryan entered the room, Chase curiously following behind him. Ryan closed the door behind them, pulled the cord of the drape that covered the window in the door, and grabbed onto Chase's red and white plaid shirt and pulled him closer.

"Hey, careful with the shirt, didn't you hear my story about the lack of a spare button," Chase murmured teasingly.

Chase was already leaning down in anticipation, lips tantalisingly close, the breath of one tickling against the other. It was Chase who bridged the gap between them, the intent genuinely being to initiate a sweet, soft, relatively innocent kiss. But it was Ryan who deepened it, whose warm hand firmly but gently clasped at the nape of Chase's neck and nudged lips to part and began the entwining of tongues.

Kissing wasn't new to them – it had taken about an hour of conversation the first time they'd met before Chase had taken the plunge and initiated their first kiss. However kissing within the context of their second meeting had connotation. They'd had time to contemplate feelings as a result of having finally met each other. And those contemplations had led both young men to the conclusion that they wanted more. The minute that they'd seen each other just ten minutes or so earlier, it had felt so intrinsically natural to greet in that way. It just took the uncovering of a semi private location for the instinctive kiss to be able to take place.

It was Chase who pulled away – not through want, but rather through awareness of the necessitation.

"Okay, I didn't come here to get you in trouble. Can you imagine the scandal if the class president of a high school was caught making out with his male counterpart who was somewhat illegitimately on campus…" Chase murmured.

Ryan smirked. "About the same as the scandal if people find out about me not living at home because my fag hating father disapproves of my lifestyle." He carefully pulled the drape of the window back up and peered out into the corridor. "Come on. The music room is just up here. I bet Sharpay is rehearsing for her Juilliard audition."

Ryan confirmed that the coast was clear and the boys exited the room into the corridor, again separating to be a safe distance apart from one another.

"In the music room rehearsing?" Chase repeated questiongly. "I thought she was auditioning for the drama department?"

"Yeah, they tell the drama applicants to have a song prepared just in case. They may or may not be asked to use it," Ryan explained.

Chase nodded. "Fair enough."

As they turned the hallway to where Ryan was suspecting his sister was, it was confirmed by the sound of her crystal clear voice emanating outside the music room she had inhabited, the soundproof room currently being utilised with a freshman music class.

_I'm through accepting limits coz someone says they're so_

_Some things I cannot change but til I try I'll never know…_

Sharpay had paused singing, staring at the sheet music in front of her intently. Ryan peered through the window and took the opportunity to rap lightly. Sharpay glanced up, seeing her brother. She motioned that it was fine for him to enter. Ryan opened the door.

"Hey sis," he greeted her. "Sounding good."

Her usual response of 'I know' or 'Of course' was replaced with "You think?" her teeth gnawing lightly on her lower lip as she asked. This audition was the most important audition of her life, and despite her outward confidence about the matter, even Sharpay knew that every morsel of feedback she could gain was going to be beneficial to her cause.

"I do think. Helps that you listen to the Wicked soundtrack over and over and over and…"

"Yeah yeah," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "I'm still not sure what monologue to do… I should have decided by now. Actually, do you think you could help me decide this afternoon? Are we still going to hang out before the game?"

Ryan hesitated. "Um... actually. About that."

Sharpay's expression hardened. "You're bailing on me? Let me guess, some meeting with Gabriella?"

Ryan cleared his throat. "I am bailing on you but _not_ for Gabriella. I think you'll approve of my reason."

"Whatever," Sharpay scoffed, attempting to appear aloof however the hurt emanated through her eyes and tone.

"There's someone I want you to meet."

Ryan took a step back outside the room and nodded to Chase, gesturing for him to enter the room. The tall, dark haired, green eyed boy entered – and immediately, Sharpay knew who he was and did a double take.

"Sharpay this is Chase… Chase… this is Sharpay."

This was more important than the meeting between Gabriella and Chase, more important than what either of his parents thought. Ryan may have grown more independent of his sister but he nevertheless continued to wholeheartedly desire her approval. If she didn't like Chase – there would be a problem.

"Hey, it's really great to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you – all good I note," Chase said, holding out his hand to Sharpay.

She took it a little warily, sizing him up and down. "Nice to meet you too," she said, keeping her tone aloof. "So what you just… drove up here? Is this what you two do, just randomly drive to see each other without making plans?"

"Maybe we'll plan meeting number three," Chase said with a laugh, poking Ryan in the side.

"Eh, who needs to plan when you can be spontaneous and gatecrash peoples lives," Ryan joked.

"I also have some friends from high school who study at the UNM campus here so I figured I would come and visit them and surprise your brother and if he told me to get lost then I could just go back and hang out with my friends. But since he hasn't told me to get lost I sorta asked if he wanted to hang out this afternoon before the big game tonight. But if you guys had plans…"

"Um, no, it's okay," Sharpay said – surprising herself with just how genuine she was in saying that. "You guys should hang out."

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay nodded. "That's fine really, I have heaps of stuff to do and, you know, I live in Albuquerque so I can see Ryan all the time."

"Are you coming to this big game tonight?" Chase asked her.

"Yeah. I'm not really into basketball but I figure I should make an appearance, it is an important game and all."

"Maybe the three of us could go grab a bite to eat before the game?" Chase suggested.

Ryan looked hopefully to Sharpay. She nodded slowly. "Okay… that sounds good."

* * *

"JUUUN-NIORS! JUUUN-NIORS! JUUUN-NIORS!"

"FRE-ESH-MEN! FRE-ESH-MEN! FRE-ESH-MEN!"

"SO-PHO-MORES! SO-PHO-MORES! SO-PHO-MORES!"

"SEEEN-NIORS!! SEEEN-NIORS! SEEEN-NIORS!"

Any residents who lived in the immediate area surrounding East High who were at home that Friday lunch may have been regretting not having some sort of business or social engagement to be at, preferably on the other side of town – but not too close to West High, because it could be predicted that a similar display was taking place over there. It was a competition to see which year level could lose their voices the fastest in the ultimate of chant offs.

The pep rally had been moved from its usual location to the school oval. Almost every East High student was present, giving up their lunch hour and participating in the hour of frivolity. There was popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, and slushies for sale at a various stands being run. A cheerleader display had begun the festivities, and after the basketball team had been introduced the chant off had been initiated. Members of both the varsity and junior varsity basketball teams had joined the cheerleaders out the front, cheering on their various year levels with the simultaneous chants. Even with the fine tuned bellow of Chad, Jason, Zeke and Troy, at present the sophomores appeared to have the upper hand.

And at the back of the entire group, Gabriella, Ryan and Kelsi were seated around a desk which Troy and Chad had dragged onto the oval for them, on chairs which Jason and Zeke had carried for them. Sitting on the desk was the infamous ballot box. Paula had asked whether they would mind doing the count while the cheerleaders ran the events, knowing that Gabriella would be able to whiz on through. Of course Troy had pestered her about rigging the vote, and she'd merely slapped him away and told him to go and run around and chant and let her work. Ryan and Kelsi were meant to be helping, but Ryan was somewhat distracted.

"I still can't believe he's here," Ryan said in disbelief, feeling a little giddy. "In Albuquerque. I saw him. And… he's not mad at me."

"He obviously really likes you," Kelsi said encouragingly.

"Yeah… he kinda said that," Ryan said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Practically the whole school was standing just twenty feet away, and yet Ryan was able to talk about it openly, the decibel of the chants drowning out the conversation.

"So is he going to hang around all weekend?"

Ryan nodded. "I think so. He said he can crash at his friend's dorm at UNM if he does. So… yeah."

"I can't believe how happy I am for you!" Kelsi said, spontaneously throwing her arms around Ryan and hugging him.

"I just feel stupid for ignoring him now," Ryan confessed. "We talked about it really briefly and agreed to talk about it more after school. But it all just seems silly now."

"That's another 12 for Coach Bolton, 2 for Miss. Jacobs, 3 for Mr. Stephenson and 3 for Mr. Davis. Wow. Who would want to pie Mr. Davis? He's such a nice guy," Gabriella commented.

"He's probably just seen as an evil math teacher to the freshman," Ryan pointed out. "Anyway, why are you bothering to keep counting? You've done three quarters of the votes and it's Coach Bolton by a landslide. Even if every other vote remaining was for Mr. Stephenson it wouldn't change it."

"It's just proper etiquette. And besides, every student who voted for him then goes into the running to be pulled out of the box to be the one to be in charge of the pies. So I have to sort through them anyway," Gabriella answered. As she explained she continued to sort – her process was to sort through a short pile of ballots, then tally the number for each of the nominated teachers. Sort then count. Sort then count.

All at once, the members of the basketball and cheer squads changed their chants – changing from the respective year level groupings to a simultaneous 'WHAT TEAM?!' chant.

Gabriella proceeded with her count, Ryan and Kelsi now helping out with the sorting so that she could focus on the counting. Working together as a team made it much faster. After the Wildcat chant and subsequent cheering had died down, Coach Bolton took the microphone which was attached to the portable speaker to give the first of what would be a handful of motivational sermons that day. Paula darted over as the speech was taking place.

"You finished yet?" she asked urgently.

Gabriella held a finger up, silencing her, as she counted the last set of votes in front of her. She promptly filled in the numbers onto the chart, placed the 'Coach Bolton' votes back into the box and handed over the folded over sheet of paper that Ryan had already prepared with the result.

"Done," Gabriella said triumphantly.

Paula triumphantly took the envelope and the box of ballots to the stage. When Jack Bolton was announced as the 'lucky' recipient of 'a special dessert' he merely rolled his eyes – having already heard about his son leading his team not only in their preparation for the championships but in that days whirlwind campaign. He had come prepared, having changed into an old, tatty East High sweatshirt that had been in his office.

Principal Matsui was asked to draw the name of the student who would be cast with the weight of the entire student body and armed with the pie – if they were to miss, to be scorned in public forevermore.

"Lizzie Connelly. Do we have a Lizzie Connelly present?" Principal Matsui announced.

A few squeals sounded from a group of girls in the middle.

"That's me!" a small, red headed sophomore called, waving her arm around madly as she stepped forward from the crowd.

"SO-PHO-MORES! SO-PHO-MORES! SO-PHO-MORES" The chant rang out for a minute, before Paula held her hands up to quieten the crowd.

Chad stepped forward, wanting to provide some words of wisdom about pie throwing technique. "Okay, Lizzie, as a pitcher, my best piece of advice to you is…"

"Chad?" Lizzie interrupted him. "I'm pitcher for the junior varsity softball team."

Chad grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Excellent."

The pie was handed over to Lizzie, and then before Jack Bolton could even blink, it sailed cleanly through the air with a perfect hit straight to the face.

The cheers went off the Richter scale as Coach was left to scoop as much of the pie off his face as he could.

"May I ask why you voted for me?" Coach Bolton asked Lizzie.

She paused for a moment before answering, "Because Troy asked us nicely if we would."

And then Coach Bolton responded in the only mature, respectable way that a teacher and father could.

He threw the remnants of the pie which was heaped within the palms of his hands directly at Troy, and then ran away – leaving his son among his laughing peers.

Troy was handed a towel to clean up with, and after one final reminder of the time that the game was beginning and a 'what team' chant, the officialties of the rally were completed. All that remained was for people to run around socialising and enjoying the food for sale.

After searching through the crowd for five minutes, Gabriella approached Chad from behind, giving him a small squeeze of a hug as she stood on tip toe and asked close to his ear, "Have you seen Troy?"

Chad glanced around – the last he'd checked Troy hadn't been far away at all. He frowned and shrugged.

"He was here. Maybe he went to wash off the pie and shit?" he suggested.

She nodded and did one final circuit among the throngs of people before concluding that Troy had disappeared. She suspected that he wasn't cleaning up as Chad had predicted. She abandoned the pep rally and immediately headed to the rooftop garden.

The rooftop garden, for Troy and Gabriella, had been a place of many meanings and occurrences. It had been a place of deep and meaningful conversations; of escape from the world; of passionate make outs. For Troy, it had often been a place of escaping from his role at East High as the 'playmaker dude'. And yet as Gabriella ascended the stairs, she heard what had become the all too familiar sound of bouncing. Specifically, a ball bouncing. Troy was pacing around the rooftop, basketball in hand, lazily bouncing. The sound of the ball rebounding from the ground was somewhat comforting. As a child, Troy had sent the neighbours crazy, just bouncing the ball repetitively for hours. Now, as he was only a few months from being an adult and only hours from the most important basketball game of his life, there was something comforting about the consistent sound of the ball bouncing over and over and over.

Gabriella stood at the top of the stairwell, staring out into the wide span of uncovered garden beds, watching Troy in silence. He'd heard her arrive – the light click clack of her shoes had given her away, followed by his ability to merely sense her presence. He waited a moment before shooting a small smile in her direction.

"Hey you," Gabriella greeted him.

"Hey." Troy paused his bouncing pattern, the couple bridging the gap between them to meet mid way, taking a seat along the edge of one of the garden beds. "Did people get annoyed that I disappeared?"

Gabriella shook her head. "In that horde of people I don't think anyone really noticed."

"That's what I hoped."

"So didn't the pie throwing work as intended to relieve the pressure?"

"Oh it did, it worked brilliantly. Right up until after it was over and then people were coming up and saying things like 'good luck – not that you need it!' and 'bring home that trophy'."

"Suddenly there was no pie throwing prospect to mask the stress?"

"Something like that," Troy admitted, as usual finding himself amazed at his girlfriend's ability to read his every thought and emotion.

"Not that you were embarrassed about being pied yourself?" she teased.

Troy laughed. "Nah. That was funny. Good to see dad letting loose himself. I think the only person who is more stressed about tonight than me is him."

"You still have a bit here," Gabriella said, reaching out with her thumb to gently wipe at a stray bit of cream on the crook of his neck.

"Thanks. I stopped by the locker room briefly and splashed water on myself but obviously didn't take long enough."

"I think Ms. Darbus is planning on doing some theatre sports this afternoon in drama. That should be nice and distracting," Gabriella said.

"Good. I like theatre sports."

"I know you do."

"I bet my English class is going to be like, the longest period of my life," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "I just want it to be tonight already. I wish the game was straight after school again. I feel ready for this, and it's like every second I sit around waiting, I feel that little bit less ready."

"That's just a feeling though, it's not actually related to how ready you are."

"Yeah I know," Troy said with a sigh.

"So what's the plan for after school then?"

"What, other than sitting around twiddling my thumbs? Well, I was thinking about watching the grass grow, but do you have something better in mind?"

Gabriella giggled. "That I do. Just don't run away from me after drama."

"Can't say I was planning to."

* * *

True to his word, Troy turned to Gabriella expectantly as soon as they were dismissed from class after a half a lesson of theory and a half a lesson of theatre sports.

"Do you need to get stuff from your locker?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "Yup."

"Meet me at my locker once you're finished, okay?"

"Should I be scared?" Troy asked teasingly.

Gabriella shook her head. "Just… think about what we were doing this time a year ago," she said mysteriously. "Okay go on! I'll see you soon."

And with that Gabriella disappeared around the corner, leaving Troy to wonder exactly what it was that Gabriella had planned to distract him that afternoon.

* * *


	29. Chapter 29

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN –** I broke 1500 reviews last chapter and I feel beyond guilty for not having responded to peoples reviews like I intended to. I love you guys, I feel so humbled and blessed to have such wonderful and loyal readers and reviewers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

* * *

**Chapter 29**

_Life is real, don't you fake it  
The future no one can see  
So step aside and let it be  
Tomorrow may wash away  
Don't put off what you do today  
Take advantage while you are here  
Cause this moment is all there is_

**Lenny Kravitz 'This Moment Is All There Is'**

* * *

A year earlier, the final bell ringing on Championship afternoon had caused an instant buzz – with three important school events about to take place simultaneously. However the drama club talent showcase auditions were done and dusted, the decathlon was operating under a different schedule and the basketball game was shifted back a few hours to a 7pm start. Troy felt like he should be somewhere – that final bell ringing and his instinct being that he needed to grab his books and make a dash for the gym. However he had time up his sleeve – he would eat a small dinner at around 5pm, but until then, the time was his own. Fortunately his girlfriend had some conniving plan up her sleeve, so he'd followed her instructions and met her back at her locker after stopping by his own.

She was waiting for him, a slight smile upon her face. "Come with me," Gabriella prompted softly, her delicate hand grasping onto Troy's bicep.

Troy was agreeable and he trusted her unequivocally, so he allowed Gabriella to lead him through the corridors. At first he assumed she was taking him back up to the rooftop, but she took a different turn and Troy found himself being led into the soundproof music room.

"Um, are you taking me here so we can have really loud sex without being detected? Because as much as I appreciate the offer, that's actually not something I can do this afternoon. This might sound dumb but I can't exactly change something drastic about my routine before a game and I've never tried having sex before a game and so..."

Gabriella smiled and interjected. "No, that's not why we're here. Sit down, I'll just be a minute."

Troy perched himself onto the stool that Gabriella had indicated. She made quick work of plugging in some cords and slipping a disc into the CD player. A minute later she handed him a microphone.

"Let's sing," she said simply.

"Sing?" Troy repeated.

Gabriella nodded. "Just for a little while. Do something fun that relaxes you, and has absolutely nothing to do with basketball. That is… if you want to. If you don't, we can leave right now, no hard feelings at all."

It took Troy about two seconds to contemplate her suggestion. The year before, his championship game had been interrupted to do the audition for Twinkle Towne. Singing with Gabriella had some sort of a powerful impact upon his overall aura, an impact that allowed him to go back to the game after the interruption with a brand new fire, a vigour, a determination.

"Let's do it. But… is there a purpose to this? So I feel like I'm actually doing something productive."

"I guess we could say it's a potential understudy number for the talent show?"

Troy nodded. "That's enough of a reason for me. So what songs have you got?" Gabriella handed him a print out of a list of songs that she'd put onto the CD, which he began to scan down. "You were really prepared with this, when did you do all this?"

"I burnt it last night. I thought you might need distracting at some point today. So I asked Kelsi and Ryan about getting access to this room and… here we are."

Troy stood up from the stool and bent over by the CD player, flipping through the tracks.

"What song are you picking?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"You'll find out shortly. You will need your microphone though."

Some of the songs she'd picked were duets, some solos for him to sing on her own – she was feeling a bit self indulgent when she'd made the playlist, as much as she adored singing with Troy she even more so loved to sit back and listen to his voice.

Gabriella picked up her microphone and settled onto the stool to Troy's right. He grasped the microphone in his left hand, his right hand reaching over to nudge against hers, fingers entwining as the opening chords of the song began to play and the realisation dawned over Gabriella.

_We're soarin', flyin, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach…_

* * *

"I really like your room," Jason said, glancing around at the surroundings as he loafed on his girlfriend's bed. Kelsi's room was a unique mix of being girly and cool. The colours were all matching - there was a navy feature wall, the other walls a pale blue. The bedspread was a striped pattern with navy as the base with different shades of blue, teal and green for the stripes. The walls were adorned with posters of Kelsi's favourite musicians.

"You've seen my room before," Kelsi said, sitting cross legged beside him.

"Like once. We're always at my place. Or here but hanging out super platonically in the living room."

"Well… you know why," Kelsi said.

"Coz you haven't told your parents that you're going out with me?" Jason supplied.

"Yes."

"Why haven't you again?"

Kelsi sighed. "You just… don't get it. My mom is… she's weird with this stuff, she really _really_ is. I just… I don't think it's the right time to tell her."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Kels, I think you should give your mom more credit. I bet she already thinks we're going out and she just wants you to tell her. We've been seeing each other for a few months now, we're exclusive."

"What am I supposed to do, say 'mom, Jason is my boyfriend.'?"

"That would probably work."

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "Something tells me if I announced it like that, she'd have a heart attack."

"Kelsi, you're seventeen. And I'm almost eighteen. It's not like you're a kid any more, you're almost an adult. I get that your mom is strict but… I dunno… the fact that you haven't told her makes me think that maybe it's not that you have a boyfriend that is a problem but rather that you don't want to tell her that it's me that you're going out with." Jason's eyes were downcast as he spoke the words.

"What?!" Kelsi exclaimed, her hands immediately grasping onto his arm. "No! No, not in the slightest."

"I mean, you tell her we're seeing each other and then she'll want me to come over for dinner and I'll have to meet your dad and… that's all kinda scary and I'm not too good with the parent thing but I'll do it if it makes things easier for you. I can even get Bolton to train me, if you wanted."

"Jase, it's not about you. If anything my mom will be shocked that someone like you would actually be interested in me."

"Someone like me?" Jason repeated, an eyebrow cocked.

"Someone popular and attractive and athletic."

"Okay… um… are you confusing me with someone?"

"No."

"Popular and attractive and athletic?"

"Jason, people were like, chanting your name today. Your team is in the championships tonight. And… hello! Look in the mirror."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. And that's ridiculous. She will probably think you're an idiot for going out with a moron like me."

"Don't call yourself a moron! You're not a moron!" Kelsi protested.

She shuffled over a little closer to him. She pressed her lips to his, lightly at first and then the kiss naturally deepening. Her hand snaked round the back of his head, fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck whilst his hands came to rest protectively upon her waist. As the kisses deepened and the pace picked up, Jason's body instinctively moved into the dominant position, guiding Kelsi to lie back. She had no objection, merely allowing him to continue kissing her, her fingers raking through his hair. Jason's hands moved from their position on her waist, gliding up the sides of her slim frame and gradually moving inward, firstly just his thumbs grazing over her breasts but then lightly, delicately, as though consciously aware that he needed to take it slow, both hands squeezing slightly at her small mounds, before diverting back to her waist. It wasn't the first time he'd touched her there, but it was a rare occurrence and each and every time he would tread lightly, and generally the encounter would be stopped by one thing or another – a car in the driveway, a friend bursting into the room.

This time however, there was nothing impeding the forward momentum, and no part of Jason's brain was about to stop it. He'd been dating this girl for months, crushing on her for months before that. They'd kissed and cuddled and he'd held her beautiful, slim body oh so close to his time and time again, feeling that stir in his pants. And now as they were kissing harder, longer, more passionately than ever before. His hands were becoming more liberal, taking their time to not only graze over but to feel the flesh of her breasts as they ran over her t-shirt.

Kelsi wasn't stopping him either – if anything, she was quite liking the feel of his hands. They were large and warm and firm; yet they were tender and caring. He wasn't groping uncontrollably, rather it was as though his hands were worshipping her body, taking their time to feel as much as she would allow him to.

One hand travelled down her side, slipping beneath her t-shirt and began to stroke lightly at the soft skin of her lower abdomen, fingers edging beneath the waistband of her jeans. It wasn't that she didn't want them there – but it jolted her back into a state of awareness, shocked not that she _wasn't_ comfortable with him there, but rather, internally wishing that he would just do it, that he'd make the move, finding herself craving his touch.

In that momentary realisation, Kelsi's lips stopped moving at the same pace as Jason's, and he mistook it for discomfort, abruptly wrenching himself away and lying back on the bed, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply, trying to regain control of himself.

"Sorry," he murmured apologetically.

Kelsi shifted over onto her side, leaning over to rest her hand upon his chest and rub comfortingly. "No… don't be sorry. It's fine. I'm fine," she assured him.

Jason glanced at her. "Really?" he asked, his eyebrow cocked.

"Really," Kelsi assured him. She bit her lip, and said quietly, "It's not that I… you know… didn't like… or… didn't want. But just… my mom will be home soon. And you have to get home to have an early dinner and be ready for the game tonight and…"

"It's cool," Jason said, smiling genuinely. "I understand."

"Maybe I'll wait to tell my mom til after your party. Just in case she flips out… I don't want her to say I can't go."

"So when are you going to tell her by?"

"By the end of January."

"Definitely?"

"Yes?" Kelsi said, the questioning upward inflection indicative of the lack of confidence in her own response.

Jason smirked. "Kelsi… Albuquerque is a big city but our part is kinda like a small town. A lot of our parents seem to talk to each other around the place. And a few of your friends talk to their parents about like everything. Just get it over with and whatever she says, we'll deal with it, okay?"

It was moments like those when Jason was full of surprises. On the whole he was a simple guy. He would say the first thing that popped into his head, before thinking through the lack of logic to the remark. But he was also a genuinely decent guy, and sometimes that instant first thing that came to his mind would be something very genuine, very sweet, and very mature. Kelsi cocked her head, a small smile filling her face.

"_We'll_ deal with it?" she repeated, with emphasis upon the first word.

Jason nodded. "Yeah. _We'll_."

* * *

Ryan and his surprise visitor Chase had met out the front of East High as planned. They'd quickly decided that Chase was to leave his car at East High and come for a ride with Ryan. They talked easily and freely as they cruised around, Ryan driving via his dance studios and then heading back to a very familiar neighbourhood. Chase was already in awe as they entered the glamorous community. Ryan then pulled over, leaving the engine running.

"So this is where I used to live," Ryan said simply.

Chase stared up at the lavish property in awe. "It's a bit fancier than my dorm building."

Ryan chuckled. "Yeah. Some of it's family money… but both my parents earn a great living so… yeah."

"No shit. I mean, I knew that you drove an Audi and had like, your iPhone and laptop and all that stuff provided for you no questions but…"

"It's not _that_ big."

Chase smirked. "Any house with a scary ass security fence with a fountain just beyond it is seriously fancy shit."

"Well I don't live there any more anyway," Ryan pointed out, somewhat darkly.

Chase smiled tightly at him before saying, "I bet where you live now is nice. Do I get to see?"

"That's next on the agenda."

Ryan promptly shifted the car into gear and glanced in his rear vision mirror before executing a three point turn, and driving back in the direction they'd come from.

"So have you talked to your dad lately?" Chase asked as they drove along.

"Um, not since last weekend," Ryan said truthfully. "When we all played tennis. It was… okay. A little awkward. But okay. I mean, it's not like he and I were really close before. But assuming he was in town and not away on business, we'd at least talk every day."

"But you've still been talking to your mom?"

"All the time. We talk on the phone. And she's come around to the Montez's for coffee one afternoon."

"And how are you with it all?"

Ryan shrugged, shifting uneasily in the driver's seat and clutching a little harder to the wheel. "Okay."

"Ryan…"

"No really, I'm okay," Ryan said, truthfully. "It kinda all… it all balances everything out. It's awkward not living at home, but I'm really grateful for Gabriella and her mom for taking me in. I'm also having lots of fun there, and I think Sharpay and I so far have been closer than ever – it's like now that we consciously have been making the effort to spend time together, that time we do hang out is more quality time. I sometimes look around at my friends and feel just really happy that they were so accepting, but other times I'll say something and be paranoid that they're thinking badly of something I've said, finding it weird. Telling people means dealing with it all myself, internally – which is good, I needed that push. But it's also hella scary. So all in all… it's okay. Some stuff is scary, some is shit, some is actually really great."

"I guess you just have to embrace and channel the positives from it all."

"Exactly," Ryan said with a nod.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, the sounds of the John Mayer CD that was in the player washing through the vehicle. Chase knew Albuquerque reasonably well, he recognised particular sights and had a general sense of direction in the area so he knew that Ryan was heading back toward East High, his old neighbourhood having been further away in the far suburbs of the city. Before he knew it, Ryan had turned into a nice suburban street and had pulled over outside of a nice, two storey, house.

"And this is the Montez Casa… also known as where I currently live."

"And this is also nicer than my dorm building," Chase remarked.

"It looks bigger on the outside than it is inside. The rooms are all really big, the master bedroom is like the size of two large bedrooms."

Chase noted that Ryan had cut the engine this time, rather than just sitting with the engine running.

"So uh… so do I get to come inside?" Chase asked. He noticed the flash of hesitance on Ryan's face and immediately said, "And I just mean to hang. Not to… you know. Because if you'd rather I don't come in since it's not your house and stuff, that's totally fine. We can just like, go to the mall and chill or whatever you want."

"Um, no, you can come in," Ryan said slowly. "That should be fine. Anyway, Ms. Montez is at work."

Ryan pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the car door, Chase following suit and the boys heading across the front lawn. Ryan was leading Chase toward the side gate.

"I just go in this way usually… don't know why. It's the way Gabriella comes in, I guess."

They moved through the side gate, Chase glancing around at the little table and chairs and the hammock.

"Aww, a hammock!"

Ryan smirked. "I hate hammocks. I was in one once and it fell and I hit my head really, really, _really_ hard. They freak me out."

"Obviously it wasn't put up properly," Chase pointed out.

"Come on, I'll show you round inside."

Ryan took Chase's hand and led him inside the Montez house, pointing out the kitchen, dining room, the ridiculously oversized living room and Elena Montez's study; before leading him toward the staircase.

"Gabriella was so cute when she was little," Chase remarked, admiring the photos along the walls as they traversed upstairs.

"You say that like she's not cute now," Ryan remarked.

"Course she's cute now. I could go as far as to say that she's _hot_ now," Chase replied.

Ryan glanced back at him. "Should I be jealous?"

Chase smirked. "Not in the slightest. See, despite my visual observation, she just doesn't do it for me… her housemate however is a different matter."

Ryan blushed, purposefully avoiding responding to Chase's comment. On a certain level the flirtation felt natural, but there was still that part of him which was growing accustomed to being the recipient of that sort of remark.

"Okay, well upstairs is pretty boring, Ms. Montez's room is through there, there's a guest bedroom there, this is Gabriella's room, and the other guest bedroom – or what is now my room, is here." Ryan opened the door and Chase followed him inside. "Sorry it's a bit messy…"

Chase laughed, noting the jacket that was strewn over a chair and a neat pile of books on the floor.

"If this is what you consider messy, I hate to think what you thought of my dorm room."

"It doesn't bother me when other people aren't tidy, I just like my own space to be clean," Ryan said.

Chase grinned, and sat down on the edge of Ryan's bed. "So, how is the room next door to Gabriella's working out for you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes, sitting next to Chase. "When I picked this room rather than the one across the hallway, I was looking at the room itself and the view of the backyard. I never thought about the consequences of being next door to her."

"Does Troy come over all the time?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not these days. Just the once I've been subjected to manly groans and that was the other night when Ms. Montez was away on business. I was mortified, I like rushed downstairs and turned the TV up way loud."

"College should be an interesting experience for you then. The guys in the room next door to mine, I swear they have 'visitors' on a nightly basis. I used to need complete silence to sleep – now I have learned to sleep with my iPod up really, really loud."

Ryan wrinkled up his nose. "Well, hopefully I get into Juilliard and hopefully Juilliard doesn't quite have that same environment."

Chase shrugged. "You kinda get used to it. Put a bunch of young people and beer and jungle juice and hormones into the same vicinity… it's bound to happen."

"So, do visitors come to your dorm?" Ryan was toying with his bedspread as he asked this question, avoiding looking directly at Chase.

"When you say visitors you mean…"

"_Visitors._" Ryan's inflection gave away the innuendo he had intended.

"Not since you and I have been talking. Which has pretty much been for most of my time at college," Chase said.

Ryan would have been lying if he'd said that this didn't make him feel good – but it did make his brain start ticking and wondering what exactly that meant.

"Um, so, have you just not met anyone recently?" he asked, eyes still avoiding Chase's.

"There's some nice guys from GALA who I go out with sometimes," Chase said, referring to the Gay and Lesbian Association he was a member of. "Like out to clubs and bars…"

"You have a fake ID?" Ryan interrupted.

Chase nodded. "Yeah… I do. But anyway yeah… they're nice and good looking and a couple of them have shown interest in me. But um… yeah. Just… didn't feel right."

"Didn't feel right because… you were talking to me?" Ryan ventured boldly, finally glancing up and allowing their stares to meet.

Chase gave a small smile. "Yeah." Both of the pair fell silent for a moment, contemplating what had just been effectively said. It was Chase who broke the silence, asking quietly, "Do I sense a 'what _is_ this between us?' conversation coming on?"

"Maybe," Ryan said quietly. "If… if you want to have that conversation."

"I only wanna have it if you think you're ready to have it," Chase said truthfully.

Ryan narrowed his eyes a little. "Why would you think I'm not ready to have it?"

"What, other than the fact that I've hardly heard from you over the last two weeks? When if anything, I would have thought you could maybe use me to vent to about this stuff because if anyone gets it, it's me?"

"Your parents were totally cool with you coming out, though," Ryan pointed out.

"Yeah but the other stuff… your friends knowing, just finally coming to terms with it yourself… I've done all that. I've been there. Hell, I think I'm still going through it."

Ryan sighed. "I guess… I guess I didn't want to be highlighting to you that I'm at a different place, in terms of dealing with it all. I thought that maybe if all you were hearing about was this stuff, then you'd be thinking about how you want to move on from that place, not be dragged back down into it."

"I don't think of it as being dragged down back into it. I think of it as being there for someone and helping them to move through it."

"Is that a line or the truth?" Ryan asked, cracking a smile.

"It's both," Chase confessed, smiling a little. "Ryan… I'm here, aren't I? I came up here to see you. I didn't come to see my friends at UNM, that's just the thing that I used to cover up to make this sound more casual just in case you weren't interested. Because, let's face it – you drove down, met me, and then I didn't hear from you for two weeks. I knew that it wasn't me, the chemistry between us was obvious and I knew that you just had shit going on. But there was that insecure person that exists inside everyone that was worried that you'd met me and didn't like something and so you were giving me the brush off."

"No!" Ryan exclaimed vehemently, shocked at the mere insinuation. He reached out, squeezing Chase's thigh. "No, that's not it at all. It is really like I told you."

Chase nodded. "Okay… so… cards on the table. I really like you. I think this could be something awesome. Obviously we have barriers, life issues, a three hour drive apart. But I'm willing to work with that. For now, I would love to spend more time with you, get to know each other better – in person. And if it goes well like I really think it's going to… then I'd like to talk about putting some kind of label to this." He exhaled, looking up hopefully at Ryan. "What do you think?"

Ryan was quiet for a moment, but then smiled. "I think you took the words right out of my mouth."

* * *

Three quarters of a cup of sugar, three quarters of a cup of packed brown sugar, one cup of softened butter, 2 large beaten eggs…

Gabriella could list the periodic table, she could recite 'pi' beyond fifty decimal places. Kelsi could recite the musical notation for some of her favourite songs which she had rote learned to play without sheet music.

Zeke knew the recipe for chocolate chip cookies off the top of his head. No need to consult with a list of ingredients. He could just toss the ingredients in without paying the slightest bit of attention. And so with three hours and fifteen minutes until game time, that was what Zeke was doing – something familiar and comforting. He'd gotten permission to stay back in the hospitality wing, he had his iPod turned up, music blasting through his earphones, as he mixed the ingredients and whipped the batter.

The music was so loud and he was so immersed within his batch that he didn't notice the door open behind him, he didn't see the blonde enter the room, he didn't hear her as she said his name. His first notification that she was present was her delicate hand gently grasping him by the bicep – causing Zeke to jump a little as he whipped around, mixing bowl and wooden spoon in hand.

A smile toyed on Sharpay's lips seeing the look of shock on Zeke's face. He dropped the spoon into the bowl and pulled his earphones out of his ears.

"Holy crap you scared me," he exclaimed.

"Yes, so I noticed when you jumped and shrieked," Sharpay said with a slight laugh.

"I did _not_ shriek," Zeke said defensively, standing a little taller and subconsciously puffing out his chest.

"Oh no, not at all," Sharpay said in a teasing, patronising tone. "It wasn't a shriek. It more like a… yelpy gasp."

Sharpay attempted to imitate him and found herself laughing. Zeke faked appearing a little dented but was taking it in good humour.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Um, I was just wandering by and I saw you in here and thought I'd come say hi," Sharpay said truthfully.

"What are you doing wandering around school a half hour after we got out of class?" Zeke asked.

"Well I was going to hang out with Ryan for a while but since Chase is here I let him take a raincheck. But I'm actually going to get an early dinner with both of them at about 5:30 before we come back for the game. And I just didn't feel like going home quite yet so I… was just walking around."

"You're coming to the game?" Zeke asked.

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah… you know. Wildcat spirit. Go team."

Zeke laughed. "Awesome, I'm glad you're coming."

She looked away and cleared her throat. "It's weird being here after hours and not being at a rehearsal or something."

Zeke nodded. "I like staying back here in the cooking room. Mrs. Geyer is really nice to me, last year after basketball season was over and so we weren't practising like every day, she would let me stay back all the time."

Sharpay sat down at one of the stools beside Zeke while he continued to mix his batter.

"Chocolate chip?" she enquired.

He nodded. "Yup. Just something simple. Something to do, you know?"

"Yeah. Troy is singing in the music room."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I went there first, I was going to do some singing myself. But I saw Gabriella and Troy through the window."

"I'm surprised you didn't kick them out," Zeke said.

Sharpay shrugged. "If it wasn't the big game tonight I might have. But I get that Troy wants to distract himself, same as you are. When I get nervous before a big show that's what I do, I'll go shopping or something to fill in time."

"You get nervous before a big show?" Zeke asked, surprised. "Here I was thinking you're totally calm and collected."

"I never used to get nervous, when I was younger. Lately it's been a little more nerve wracking. _Once Upon A Time_ was different because I wasn't playing directly across from Ryan. And I had to sing on my own – totally on my own. I hardly ever do that."

"Good practice for your Juilliard audition, I guess," Zeke said.

Sharpay shrugged. "Yeah… that's going to be weird."

"When do you go?"

"Next week. It's in New York City." Sharpay pulled the star cutter back, admiring the shape she'd created. She placed the star down again to begin to make another cookie.

"Are your parents going with you?"

"I'm not sure what's going on. I want Ryan to come with me, he loves New York City. But I think daddy wanted to come. But… yes. That's an issue now."

"Either way, the important thing is your audition."

"Yeah."

He pulled out a tray with a sheet of baking paper over it and a series of cookie cutters. Without speaking or asking permission, Sharpay pulled the tray over toward her and carefully placed the star cookie cutter down and used the wooden spoon to scoop up batter to pat down within the metal outline.

"That's… not quite how you do it," Zeke said tactfully.

"Really?"

He shook his head. "Firstly, you need a rolling pin. You have to put the dough down on the cutting board, roll it out, and then you put the cutter on and literally cut down." As he spoke, he demonstrated. "And then you pull away the excess dough, put the cookie onto the tray, and then you repeat. Dough down, roll, cut, excess dough away, cookie to tray."

Sharpay nodded. "Okay." She followed his instructions, carefully rolling down the dough and then picking up the heart shaped cutter and carefully placing it down and pushing it into the mix.

"Wait! Before you touch the dough, you need to wash your hands," Zeke requested.

"Are you implying I have dirty hands?" Sharpay demanded.

"No, but it's just good hygiene practice. Would you let someone put make up on you for a show if they hadn't just washed their hands?"

"Ew, no."

"So you don't touch my cookie dough without having washed your hands."

Sharpay rolled her eyes but nevertheless made her way over to the small sink in the corner. "Can I lick the bowl when you're finished?"

"Are you serious?" Zeke asked with a wide grin.

Sharpay nodded. "Yes! That's the best part. In fact, I think you should just not make cookies, and I can just eat the dough."

"Who said I was making the cookies for you?" Zeke asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, you would have let me have one, wouldn't you?" she asked, as she came back over and repositioned herself on her stool cross legged, and delicately began to pull away the dough. At first her nose was wrinkled as her hands got a bit dirty from the dough, but as she picked up her heart shaped cookie and placed it onto the tray, a look of satisfaction came over Sharpay's face.

"Perfect," Zeke declared. "That is one fine heart."

Sharpay laughed. "Thanks." She picked up a diamond shaped cookie cutter, but then set it back down. "I'm totally taking over, aren't I? Do you want me to go? I don't want to like, ruin your pre-match ritual."

Zeke shook his head. "Not at all. There is no ritual. In fact… I like having you here."

Sharpay smiled. "Good."

* * *

When Chad had suggested to Taylor that he come over to her place for a while so they could study before the big game, not for one moment had Taylor actually thought that they'd be studying. She was so certain that no studying would take place that the moment they'd reached her house, she'd excused herself to dash to her room, retrieve clean, sexy underwear from her drawers and dart to the bathroom to change and toss her crappy underwear into the laundry hamper.

Taylor's suspicions were right.

They hadn't even gotten so far as to lay out some school books before Chad had kissed her, and it wasn't a simple sweet kiss, it was a kiss that was evidently leading to a place of more than kissing. And before she knew it, every item of clothing they'd both been wearing was scattered over the plush carpet of her bedroom floor, except for the lacy lilac boy shorts she'd retrieved.

"Chad, what time do you need to be home by?" Taylor gasped in between kisses.

Chad proved the female race wrong by multitasking, reinitiating the kiss as he did the math in his brain of how much time he'd need to allow to have dinner, get ready and be at East High on time.

"Five," he grunted out, his hands squeezing liberally at the swells of Taylor's breasts.

As Chad's lips and tongue suckled and teased at her right breast, Taylor reached out for her alarm clock, quickly managing to set it for 4:30pm. She was fine with being used as a distraction tool, knowing that the pressure was on and that the afternoon could be one of nail biting anticipation or be filled with other pleasurable activities – but she did not want to be responsible for the co-captain being late.

The couple had spent a good chunk of time both in the bedroom and in the backseat of various vehicles exploring various aspects of their physical relationship. Taylor had felt attracted to Chad, she'd felt a need to feel him and touch him, she'd felt that burning desire to have that desperate ache in the pit of her abdomen to be satiated through the ministrations of his talented tongue and roaming hands. But in that moment, she felt a desire that ran deeper – a desire that she knew that his tongue and hands alone could not quell no matter how skilled they were.

"Chad," Taylor gasped out, wrenching her lips from his. Chad's lips immediately re-sought contact, choosing instead to focus on the warm skin of her neck.

"Mmm?" he murmured.

"Chad?" she said once more, before letting out a slight moan as his thumb dipped beneath the waistband of her panties. She wanted his attention but in a different way. Her hands ran up the smooth contours of his muscular back before lightly gripping to his cheeks, attempting to nudge his face to lift and look at her.

"Tay?" Chad said softly, finally looking at her.

There was a lustful hunger in her eyes that he had never seen before. Even as he was looking at her, he wasn't desisting from the gentle strokes of his hands, one fixated upon her breast with his thumb flicking across her nipple; the other teasing at her inner thigh, grazing over the slick material of her underwear.

"Chad…" Taylor said, swallowing. "I… I want…"

"What do you want baby?"

"I want you," she said breathily, her gaze boring straight into his eyes.

Chad's hands froze in place, his eyes widening as he interpreted her meaning. "You… You want…"

Taylor nodded. "Yes."

Her hands snaked to the back of his neck, gently pulling him down and initiating a long, intense, probing, passionate kiss; a kiss to rival all kisses. Which didn't help Chad with being able to formulate his response. Her hand grasped his already hardened member, stroking, pumping, teasing. Chad groaned. She was trying to make this impossible.

"Fuck Tay…" he groaned.

"Well?" Taylor asked, smiling alluringly.

Chad swallowed. "Tay… shit… you know I want you baby."

Her hand immediately halted its movements. "I'm sensing a but…" she said quietly.

"I want you and I want this… but not today, not like this. Not when I'm just wanting to have stress relieved. We're trying to do this right this time, aren't we?"

Taylor sighed. "We are, but… I really want this."

"Me too. But I wanna do it right. If we do it right now, it won't be for the right reasons. It'll happen and then I'll give you a kiss and have to rush home. That's not… we've waited too long for it to be like that."

She bit her lip. "I hate it when you're right."

Chad grinned. "Come here. We've still got plenty of fun to be had."

* * *

East High was known not only for its athletic prowess, but also for being fair and just. They'd extended the invitation to the Knights to come in early to have the chance to warm up on court. The last chance warm up in the few minutes before the game was hardly enough to completely familiarise yourself with the surroundings. A decent warm up on court gave the chance to acclimatise the body to that evening's humidity and temperature. The Knights had declined the offer, and the Wildcats were determined to capitalise upon the home team advantage they'd gained by going into the championships with the best win/loss record for the season. So the red and whites had met at school at promptly 6:15pm. The game was scheduled to begin at 7:30, with the doors opening at 7:00 for spectators to arrive. This allowed enough time for a nice and easy warm up on court; after which the team were designated fifteen minutes to officially suit up ready for the game before they were due to meet back in the locker room for the final team talk.

By now, the Wildcats had played together for long enough to be aware of how each of them went about last minute personal preparations. Chad could be found bouncing around in the corner, Jason would be tuning out with his iPod, Xavier would be watching Family Guy on his iPhone.

Troy was a pacer and a deep breather. He would enter the locker room as late as he could, preferring to keep himself segregated from the nerves and distractions that were intrinsic to being surrounded by the rest of his team. Dressed in his kit with his warm up track suit over the top, Troy was pacing along the corridor passing the locker areas on one side and the offices of the PE faculty staff on the other side. The chanting and shouting of the spectators gathering in the gym area just feet away through a wall could be heard from where Troy was pacing. It was working well, allowing him to experience a gradual build of adrenaline.

The Wildcats coaching staff were holed in Coach Bolton's office, last minute discussions taking place. Troy looked up as the door swung open, the men heading for last minute bathroom trips and cigarette breaks. He then saw his father poke his head out the door.

"Troy?"

"Yes Coach?"

"Can you come in here for a minute?" Coach Bolton asked, before turning and immediately heading back to sit in his high backed desk chair, not giving Troy the opportunity to protest.

Troy knew it was coming and he was actually grateful that his dad was getting it over with now rather than waiting until the minute before running on court. Most of the time, the lines between their coach/player and father/son relationships were clear, however there were times when it became murky, when Troy would speak to his Coach in a way that he wouldn't necessarily speak to someone he wasn't related to; and when the coachly advice imparted by Jack was influenced with a fatherly flavour.

Troy walked up the corridor and into his father's office, closing the door behind him.

"What's up Coach?"

"Take a seat, son," Jack said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

And with that one word – son – the boundary between Coach and Father was officially tossed away.

"So? What are your words of wisdom today?" Troy asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

Jack smiled. "Am I that consistent?"

Troy nodded. "Pretty much." He picked up the basketball stress ball that was on his father's desk and began to fiddle with it.

"Last year I told you to go out there and have fun and just embrace that you love the game… this year I'm not worried about that. I didn't see the love in your eyes for a while there, but it's back, I see that passion. And so… my 'words of wisdom' are pretty simple – and it's just to play the very best that you can."

Troy hesitated, his eyes staring down at his fathers desk, before looking straight into his eyes and asking quietly, "What if my best isn't good enough?"

Jack paused. "I'd like to be inspirational and tell you that in life when you want something bad enough and you try your best then you'll get it. But that's a lie, sometimes you don't get it, sometimes it's not enough. Sometimes other things happen, sometimes luck comes into play. All you can do is play to the very best of your ability, set that example for the team so that they too play to their maximum potential. If you can walk away knowing that there's nothing more you could have done, then that's it, you've done enough. One game doesn't define who you are; and if you go out there thinking that it does then you're bound to buckle under the pressure."

Advice from Jack Bolton was at times a little suspect, but other times it was directly spot on. Troy knew his father was right, and he appreciated being told the brutal honest truth. Most importantly, Troy knew that he had in fact done everything he possibly could to prepare for the game. His preparation had been flawless, he was in his best physical shape ever, and as Jack had correctly identified, Troy's mental approach to the game was at a positive place. There was no doubt about his role in the game, about the purpose for all of his preparation and dedication.

Troy nodded as he mused his father's thoughts. Coach Bolton cleared his throat and stood up from his chair, reaching out for the suit bag which he had propped up and hanging from a hook behind him.

"You can stay in here if you want a minute to… think. Or whatever. I'm just quickly getting changed, I'll be two minutes, and then we'll be ready for our team meeting. If you need to pee, do it now."

Troy smirked. "Yes, dad."

Jack turned back to look at his son. "Oh and Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck son. And… I love you."

Troy gave him a small smile, a little awkward, but on the whole appreciative. They were words seldom spoken, but always known.

"Thanks. And… love you too. Now go on, and hurry up with getting ready! We have a team to rev up."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm this nervous. I think my heart is beating really fast. Is my heart beating really fast?" Kelsi asked. Her speech was accelerated and her voice louder than usual speaking volume to be heard over the cheering and chanting that had began about ten minutes earlier. The cheer squads had come out early, both the red and white and the blue and yellow teams on opposite sides of the gym warming up their supporters.

Gabriella picked up Kelsi's wrist, pressing her middle and index fingers to her pulse point. "Yes, yes it is. It's just excitement, adrenaline."

"How much longer do you think we'll be able to save these seats?" Martha asked. They'd draped their coats and purses across three seats on the other side of Gabriella for Ryan, Sharpay and Chase, who had texted saying they were on their way.

"It's fine," Gabriella said dismissively. "I can hold them."

"I'm really excited about being introduced to Chase properly," Martha said with a wide smile.

"Me too!" Kelsi chimed in.

"You don't think we're gonna have to see them… you know… doing anything?" Taylor asked, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"Well given the secrecy of the whole thing… I'd go with no," Gabriella said, as though it were obvious. "But would it be so bad?"

"I think it's great that Ryan is… you know… happy with everything. But I don't need to see the evidence."

Gabriella's cell phone vibrated with a text in her pocket, and she pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

"Is that Ryan?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "It's my mom." The text read 'look up here.' She turned around to where her mother was sitting with Troy's mom, Chad's mom and Chad's younger sister a few rows back. Lucille began to gesture down toward an area which had been reserved by the entrance. Principal Matsui had just entered, accompanying a pair of men wearing suits.

'Scouts,' Lucille mouthed.

Gabriella nodded, and then turned back and leaned over Kelsi. "Tay, don't look now but Matsui just brought some scouts in to sit in the VIP area."

As all people who are told to not look now do, Taylor immediately looked, glancing toward the segregated area.

"They look familiar, have I seen them before?" she mused.

"I think they're from U of A…" Gabriella said slowly, looking at them carefully.

Taylor brightened up. "Oh, Chad will be glad they're back! They can't be here for Troy, they've already made him their offer and he's good as rejected it."

"They could be here to check out someone from West High," Kelsi pointed out.

"Don't say that, I'm being positive," Taylor said, frowning.

"You want Chad to go to U of A?" Martha asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I want him to have the option to go there if he should choose to," Taylor said honestly.

"Hey guys!" Ryan's bright and cheery voice called as he, Sharpay and Chase climbed up the stairs. The boys were laden with popcorn and cans of soft drink. Gabriella immediately reached over to remove the coats and purses from the chairs.

Chase immediately scooched down to take the seat closest to Gabriella, Ryan then taking the next seat and Sharpay sitting on the end.

"Girls, this is my… friend… Chase," Ryan said, rolling his eyes slightly as he forced friend out of his mouth. "Chase, this is Taylor, Martha, Kelsi, and you remember Gabriella."

The girls each waved as Ryan had introduced them. "I'm so excited to meet you!" Kelsi said brightly. "I've heard so much about you!"

"All good I hope," Chase said with a grin.

"Nah, all I do is slag you off," Ryan joked.

The new arrivals settled into their seats, taking in the dynamic atmosphere.

"I'm just going to quickly go buy a drink, does anyone want anything?" Taylor asked.

The others all shook their heads and turned down the offer, Martha now putting her jacket down to save Taylor's seat. Maintaining a conversation with a group of people sitting along a row can be problematic, hence that three individual conversations emerged. Chase and Gabriella chatted and exchanged the basic self introductions; and Ryan and Sharpay exchanged a mainly quiet conversation consisting of Ryan jerking his head toward Chase and raising his eyebrows and Sharpay smiling and nodding slightly in approval.

Meanwhile, Kelsi clutched onto Martha's arm, leaning in a little closer and saying quietly, "Jason was at my place this afternoon."

"Oh?" Martha said, raising an eyebrow.

Kelsi nodded, and glanced around for a moment before whispering in an even lower voice. "I think I um… I think I gave him permission… to um… to try um… that it's okay to um… you know… touch me?"

Martha swallowed, doing her best to mask the immediate reaction she had – envy, with a touch of disgust. It was hard enough watching Jason and Kelsi when they would break off into a private conversation. Seeing them kiss made her heart wrench. But the thought of the relationship becoming more serious made her feel ill. Firstly, ill at the thought; and then as a follow on angry at herself for reacting in such a way.

"Oh really?" Martha said. "And… is that okay with you?"

Kelsi shrugged. "Um… yeah. I think so. Up until today I thought I wasn't quite ready but… it felt okay. If it wasn't such a huge day for Jason and if my mom hadn't been due home soon, I might have… I don't know. I don't know what I might have done. But it might have been different."

"That's… good? Martha offered. "That it's progressing. That you're feeling more comfortable with him."

"Yeah, yeah it is." The small smile on Kelsi's face was enough to indicate that she was happy with the potential for development in that area.

"Kels?"

"Yeah?"

Martha took a breath. "You're happy with Jason, aren't you?"

Kelsi nodded enthusiastically. "Happier than I ever thought I could be. I had a crush on him for so long, but I never really thought about what that meant, you know? I just liked him. And now it's… I mean we're taking it slowly and just having fun hanging out. But it feels like it's at that point where it could develop into something more… real and serious. And I'm so happy with that. It's new and it's scary but it's also exciting and wonderful."

Martha was watching her friend as she spoke, watching the smile grow on her face, watching as she glowed, flush with happiness. And her response was entirely truthful.

"I'm glad you are happy."

The smile on Kelsi's face remained, but it shifted from a smile of love struck giddiness to a look of genuine appreciation. The petite girl threw her arms around Martha, embracing her friend in a tight hug. "Thank you."

Taylor shuffled back into their row with a can of pop in her hand, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh, who knew that would take so long? What did I miss?"

Martha pulled away. "Nothing really."

"Just Martha being an amazing friend," Kelsi said with a smile.

"That she is," Taylor agreed with a nod, putting her arm around Martha and squeezing gently.

"Ooh! It's going to begin! Look!" Gabriella cried, gesturing down to where the cheerleaders were moving into formation, a line on either side of the locker room entry.

The announcer came over the loud speaker, welcoming teachers, friends and parents to the occasion. The specs of the game were listed – how long it would go for, the breaks, an introduction of the referee. And then the runners-up from the last years championship were introduced – the blue and yellow side of the auditorium exploding into cheers and screams.

"And now, I'd like to welcome to the arena our defending champions, the East High Wildcats!"

The boys came running out in their warm up suits, Troy and Chad at the helm, Chad turning around to throw his hands in the air to further rev up the crowd. When the Knights had been introduced the Wildcat supporters had simply sat quietly and watched. As the wild, frantic, frenzy of East High supporters showed their appreciation for the boys in red and white, a series of boo's came from the opposite side of the room, the ultimate show of a lack of sportsmanship.

Gabriella was trying to read Troy, watching every move of his last minute warm up in an attempt to determine whether his head was, in fact, in the game. So far so good, for the whole team – the passes were clean, the footwork was precise, the shots were going in.

"Gabriella, I hope you're not offended by what I'm about to say, but your boyfriend is a luscious hunk of boy beef," Chase remarked lowly.

"You hope _Gabriella_ isn't offended?" Ryan repeated, an eyebrow cocked.

Chase rolled his eyes. "I'm not blind, and I know you're not either. You might be discreet about your opinions of these boys because they are your friends. But at the moment I am perfectly at liberty to express my… approval."

Gabriella giggled, blushing slightly. "I'm not sure if I would have used the phrase 'luscious hunk of boy beef' but I agree with the sentiment."

The sharp, shrill whistle from the ref indicated that the warm up was over and the teams trotted back to their respective benches. Troy glanced up into the crowd, his eyes scanning the crowd which was more packed than ever before. He'd already seen the scouts in the VIP area, he'd even noticed a couple more arriving during the warm up. But the scouts weren't who he was looking for. He spotted his mom, and although her presence and support was comforting – it was the girl he spotted a few rows in front of his mom who mattered.

Gabriella had seen him searching, knowing he was looking for her. Finally, their gazes met, Gabriella's warm smile and the blow of a kiss eliciting a smile in return on Troy's face. He merely winked before tearing his eyes away and returning to his team at the bench. A quick sip of liquid hydration, and then the staring five all pulled off their warm up suits before joining the group huddle that was being formed.

"All right boys. I've said all my fancy words," Coach Bolton said solemnly. "Right now it's about one thing and one thing only – execution. Every movement of every muscle of your body – execution. Play strong, play hard, play fair."

The one minute until the game was beginning was announced, and Troy glanced at Chad, nodding slightly.

Chad swallowed and cleared his throat, preparing himself for the biggest, loudest, most passionate call of his Wildcat basketball career.

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WILDCATS!"

"GET'CHA HEAD IN THE GAME!"

The cheers and applause was close to deafening, feet stomping against the bleachers, members of the marching band playing, cheerleaders leading a "Gimme a E" chant. The starting five made their way out on court and into position. Troy boldly made his way over to the West High captain, extending his hand.

"Good luck," Troy said simply.

The West High captain narrowed his eyes for a moment before relenting and responding gruffly, "Thanks. You too." For Troy it was real, for the Knight it was a show.

But once that whistle blew, it didn't matter any more – let the game begin.

And may the best team win.

* * *

The Wildcats were on fire, each and every team member playing the best basketball he'd ever played. The statistics were going through the roof.

Problem – the Knights were also on fire.

Both teams were executing high level offensive tactics, both teams were on the ball defensively. It was a constant tussle through the entire game, Wildcats lead by 2, Knights lead by 1, Wildcats lead by 1, Knights by 2, scores even. The Knights had always played rough, a tactic which the Wildcats never stooped to. Sometimes it worked in the Knights favour but it was evened out with the times when they'd be called on it and the ball would either be turned over to the Wildcats or free throws would be awarded.

For the basketball oriented observer, it was visually exciting. It was intricate, it was high skilled. Of course there were stand out players from each team, the seniors who were in the process of being recruited onto college teams and the juniors who one could anticipate would take that step in the following year. But every member of both teams was stepping up and performing a pivotal role as the member of a cohesive unit.

* * *

In a neck and neck basketball game, it takes one moment. An opponent out of position by just a fraction, the ball being held a little lower than the chin, a momentary distraction causing a seconds delay in reaction. One split second in time when just one of the ten players on court seizes an opportunity. A win after a game like this isn't necessarily indicative of any superior skill. When it comes down to it the team that emerges victorious is the team that had the stroke of luck at the right moment, not the team who played better on the day.

As the clock counted down with a mere minute remaining, the Wildcats were leading by one point, one single solitary point. One moment, the play was being executed perfectly. As had occurred throughout almost every pivotal point of the game, Troy was being double teamed. The Wildcats had used this to their advantage, they'd prepared for this likelihood and were using their player who was being left undefended. Danforth to Baylor, Baylor to Kennedy, Kennedy fakes to Danforth then passes to Bolton – who has used that split second diversion to shake his defenders.

Fourteen seconds on the clock.

It'd be nice to make that score have a margin of three or four points, rather than one.

Bolton immediately snaps the ball out wide to Danforth.

In neck and neck basketball it takes one moment.

One moment where Troy can do nothing but watch in horror as the Knights defender intercepts the pass mid air and makes a run for it. There's no time to pause and wait for his team mates to catch up, allowing his team mates to catch up would also allow the Wildcats to catch up. Troy was first to react, immediately tearing down court, but there wasn't enough time to prevent the Knights point guard from making a sleek three point shot which barely grazed the net as it fell through.

Knights lead by two points.

Six seconds on the clock.

Divine intervention left the ball in bounds on the ground and Troy scooped it up, two defenders right on his tail. He immediately passed it to Zeke, darting away getting himself somewhere that resembled some sort of a position that maybe, just maybe, would breathe some sort of hope back into the dwindling dream. The ball came straight back at him, Troy catching the pass on the fly.

Two seconds remaining.

The upside was that there was no one around him and he'd have a clear shot.

The downside was that he was about half way between the half court division line and the three point arc – but out wide.

It wasn't impossible.

He'd done it in practice.

He'd done it during games when it didn't matter, when the Wildcats were miles in front and when he was simply trying to further the lead with just seconds remaining on the clock.

It was now or never.

* * *


	30. Chapter 30

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

_Rise up and heal them  
Rise up and care for them  
Rise up to the love in our hearts  
Rise up for the creatures  
Make this moment last..._

**Maria Daines – 'Rise Up (Make This Moment Last)'**

**

* * *

**

In neck and neck basketball it takes one moment.

One moment where Troy can do nothing but watch in horror as the Knights defender intercepts the pass mid air and makes a run for it. There's no time to pause and wait for his team mates to catch up, allowing his team mates to catch up would also allow the Wildcats to catch up. Troy was first to react, immediately tearing down court, but there wasn't enough time to prevent the Knights point guard from making a sleek three point shot which barely grazed the net as it fell through.

Knights lead by two points.

Six seconds on the clock.

Divine intervention left the ball in bounds on the ground and Troy scooped it up, two defenders right on his tail. He immediately passed it to Zeke, darting away getting himself somewhere that resembled some sort of a position that maybe, just maybe, would breathe some sort of hope back into the dwindling dream. The ball came straight back at him, Troy catching the pass on the fly.

Two seconds remaining.

The upside was that there was no one around him and he'd have a clear shot.

The downside was that he was about half way between the half court division line and the three point arc – but out wide.

It wasn't impossible.

He'd done it in practice.

He'd done it during games when it didn't matter, when the Wildcats were miles in front and when he was simply trying to further the lead with just seconds remaining on the clock.

It was now or never.

In that moment it was about executing technique, technique he could recite in his sleep. Elbow tucked, wrist completely back allowing maximum power, jump going straight up and down, and on the follow through the shooting arm straight, with the wrist down at completion of the shot.

The final buzzer went off a moment after the ball had escaped from Troy's hand, every pair of eyes in the room fixed on the ball as it sailed toward its desired destination.

The execution was there; now, it was all about a little bit of luck. So far so good – the line was perfect, there was enough propulsion. The ball snared the back of the shiny orange rim of the hoop, circling once, twice.

And then falling.

Falling out.

"AND THE WEST HIGH KNIGHTS TAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!"

The announcement over the loudspeakers was dim among the eruption among the blue and yellow half of the gym. Meanwhile the Wildcats supporters remained still, in a stunned silence.

For the players, the next ten minutes were a blur. After politely wandering around and gruffly shaking the hands of their opponents and mumbling out a 'congratulations', the Wildcats slunk to their bench, collapsing into their requisite seats, as the East High gym was taken over by a sea of blue and yellow supporters celebrating their victorious players. The coveted trophy which had been proudly on display in the glass cabinet at East High for the last twelve months had been seized, the Knights captain and point guard who had made the expert three point shot being hoisted from the ground by his team mates.

One moment, a bit of execution and a bit of luck – and the situation could have been entirely reversed.

In the bleachers, Gabriella clutched to Kelsi's hand. Watching Troy throughout the process was painful, but looking away was unfathomable. He sat with his legs wide apart, elbows on his thighs and head slumped onto his hands, his eyes closed tightly as he went through the final minute of the game over and over and over. And Gabriella couldn't bear to look away – she didn't think he would look up, but if he did even for a split second, she wanted to be looking right back at him.

"Oh my God… oh my God… oh my God…" Gabriella breathed, not even realising that she was holding onto Kelsi's hand even tighter and tighter. Kelsi's free hand enclosed over their adjoined ones, squeezing tight.

"It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine," Kelsi murmured.

It was considered poor form to use terms like 'when' we win the championships – they'd politely said 'if' we win, there will be an after party hosted at the Bolton household. But the truth was that none of them had really contemplated the alternative to winning.

Losing.

The crowds were asked to return to their seats to make way for the official ceremony to take place. A representative of the local school board committee responsible for the administration of the high schools sporting contest was master of ceremonies, and he began the presentation with a small speech. The mayor of Albuquerque, Martin Chávez, was present to hand over individual medals to the members of the runner up team; individual trophies to the winners; as well as to officially hand over the championship trophy.

After the Wildcats had received their medals, per protocol Troy had stepped up the microphone to give a small speech. He was on autopilot, not really contemplating the words he was saying. It was a stock standard speech, thanking the school and the coaching staff, a congratulations to the opposition on great game, thanking his team mates and co-captain, thanking the supporters for coming out every week to both home and away games. There was a standing ovation and thunderous applause from the East High supporters, as well as a polite, respectful applause from the West High side of the room.

Before the MC took back over, Chad interjected to lead his team mates and their supporters in one final Wildcat chant in the varsity basketball contest. His arm slung around his captain's shoulder, Chad's head threw back as he led the chant with all of his heart and soul.

For those sitting up in the bleachers, it was heartbreaking. Some of the guys in the team literally lived and breathed their training. It wasn't only Troy who was insanely dedicated to the sport – Chad was equally as dedicated, although he wasn't quite as vocal about it; and quite a few of the younger members of the squad were incredibly dedicated to the sport. The whole team had put one hundred percent of their efforts into the last few weeks of training, they'd altered their lifestyles and their diets, all to enhance the potential winning ability of the Wildcats squad.

And in one moment – in one moment, it had all been torn away.

* * *

The Knights were quick to leave, trooping back onto their team bus to attend a blue and yellow themed victory party being held in their school gym. Meanwhile the Wildcats had trooped back into the locker rooms in silence, and their supporters had filed out of the gym. The closest friends and family members of the team remained huddled in small groups just outside. Gabriella had fallen into her mothers arms, and then turned to Lucille Bolton, seeing a similar look of commiseration in her eyes. Gabriella and Lucille met in a long, tight hug, finally pulling away and Gabriella's arms wrapping around herself, clutching to her abdomen.

"I don't know what to say to him," Gabriella whispered.

For a brief split second in her brain, she experienced a flashback to people saying 'I'm sorry' to her after the passing of her father. Obviously it was a tragedy on a whole different magnitude and the situations couldn't be compared. But it was the same in that she didn't know what she could say to Troy. Saying nothing wasn't right. 'I'm sorry' was hollow, but what else was there to say?

"Sometimes there is no right thing to say. Sometimes all you can do is be there for someone. Saying sorry isn't about the words or their meaning; it's about showing that you care, showing support," Lucille advised quietly. Elena nodded in agreement, her arm wrapping around her daughters side and giving her a half hug. "This isn't the first time that the boys have lost a game, and for those of them who are going to continue playing, it's not going to be the last."

"But this isn't just any other game, not to them, is it?"

Gabriella was right. On a certain level, she could justify it by saying that it was just a game, that it wasn't a big deal. But of all people, Gabriella understood the pressure that people put on Troy and that he put on himself. It was more than just a game.

Lucille was contemplating how to respond when a shrill ringing noise sounded within her purse; she reached in to retrieve her cell phone, frowning as she read the caller ID. "It's Jack," she informed the Montez women quietly, before pressing the green answer button. "Hello?... yes, I'm outside… no I haven't seen him… she's here, I'll just check, hang on…" Lucille faced Gabriella. "Can you check your cell phone, sweetheart? Do you have any texts or missed calls?" Gabriella obediently reached into her purse, pulling out her phone and holding it up to show the blank screen. "No, there's nothing on her phone. I'll let you know if I hear anything. I wouldn't worry Jack, he's probably just left without telling anyone, you know what he's like… Okay… see you soon, bye."

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"Evidently Troy has left, and there is a scout that wants to talk to him," Lucille explained. "Jack wanted to know if I'd seen him."

The moment after Lucille had spoken the words 'evidently Troy has left', Gabriella had dialled her boyfriends number, waiting impatiently as she listened to the ring tone.

"No answer," she said quietly. "Um… I might go look. There's a few places he might be here at school."

Lucille and Elena nodded. "We'll let you know if he turns up," Elena said.

* * *

So many hours of Troy's life had been spent on this very court. The grubby old dreaded outdoor court which his team hated to have actual practices on. The old faithful court which would nearly always be available at any time where Troy felt the need to just come and shoot some hoops on his own. In elementary school and junior high, sometimes he would catch the bus not from school to home but rather from school to the high school, and he'd remain out on the basketball court until his father finished with his after school responsibilities – training a team, grading papers, attending a staff meeting.

If the gym was his second home, then the outdoor court was his third home.

Troy had trooped back into the locker room with his team mates after the presentation but the silence had been deafening. Coach Bolton had requested that the team meet after school on Monday so they could have a final debrief, and after that, it had been completely silent. No noise other than water running from showers, lockers being slammed, the rustles of clothing being pulled on. Troy couldn't bring himself to do any of the above, instead he'd just sat. He'd sat on a bench and stared at the floor. He simply didn't have the energy to drag himself to his feet and into the showers.

"Hoops?" Chad had said quietly.

It was the first word that had been spoken since Coach Bolton's gruff words about their Monday afternoon debrief. Despite the almost whisper of Chad's tone, it sliced through the air, almost more deafening than the silence itself. Troy didn't look up, but he did wince at the sound of the nickname. Hoops. Perhaps now he should be named 'Sometimes Hoops' or 'Not Hoops.'

And with that, Troy rose to his feet and left the locker room. He paused only by the equipment room, snagging a basketball and marched his way straight through the back exit from the locker rooms, emerging into the fresh night air, and continuing toward the outdoor court by the wide span of playing fields.

A lot of Troy's basketball skills had been developed as a result of repetition. In his life time, he would have practised his free throw thousands of times. If you perform a move over and over enough times, your body becomes trained into executing it perfectly.

And if there was one shot that Troy would never, ever get wrong again – it was going to be a three pointer out wide to the left.

Still in his kit, Troy dribbled the ball a few times, before preparing for his entry into the shot. Mimicking exactly what had happened in those last seconds of the game. There was nothing fundamentally different about the technique he was using out on the outdoor court as he had been not so long ago in that moment where it had counted.

It takes two things to win a game of neck and neck basketball.

Execution, and a little bit of luck. The latter hadn't been so kind to him.

Troy sensed a presence behind him, it could have been one of several people, but he didn't feel inclined to turn around and check until he'd sunk the shot.

Elbow tucked, wrist completely back allowing maximum power, jump going straight up and down, and on the follow through the shooting arm straight, with the wrist down at completion of the shot.

Perfect.

A light applause surrounded from his observer and Troy slowly turned around, his eyes staring down. He'd expected Gabriella, Chad, either of his parents.

But it wasn't any one who Troy would expect.

Instead, his eyes fell upon a pair of white sandals, baggy white linen pants, a crazy red and white tiger print blouse, red and white beaded jewellery and a mini red top hat with a white bow.

"Oh. Hi," he said, allowing his surprise at his audience member to emanate through his tone.

She smiled. "Well, Mr. Bolton, you certainly have a few people in a frenzy back there at the gym in search of you. They're all phoning each other and contemplating whether you've just gone home or are hurtling yourself from one of the Sandia Mountains. I can't believe that I'm the one who had the intelligence to think that this is where you'd be."

Troy managed a small grin and a playful tone – but it was a tone tainted in sadness. "Well, Ms. D, seems that the eighteen months of teaching me has paid off."

"Perhaps. It just seemed obvious to me that a perfectionist like you would be here doing this."

She took a few steps forward to where the basketball was now rolling around haphazardly on the court, picking up the orange sphere and examining it a little as though it were a foreign object. She awkwardly tossed it over to him, Troy catching the ball and Ms. Darbus gesturing for him to go ahead and take another shot. Troy obliged, walking away a few steps to once again be in position for his lead in.

"Here I was thinking you'd be telling me to not beat myself up, that it's not my fault," Troy remarked, before dribbling forward with the ball and once again, executing the shot with perfection, the ball going cleanly through the hoop and once again being left rolling around on the ground. Troy shook his head before turning back to the drama teacher.

Ms. Darbus shrugged. "You shouldn't beat yourself up. And I don't know much about basketball, but I personally can think of three or four obvious times when your team mates missed points. Those goals you get to make when the other team does something wrong."

"Free throws," Troy supplied, yet another smile breaking onto his face.

"Yes well, whatever they're called. Anyway, so you _shouldn't_ beat yourself up, but I'm not going to stand here and tell you that because if I were you, I'd be doing exactly what you're doing right now."

"You would be?" he asked, eyebrows cocked.

Ms. Darbus nodded. "The first musical I ever performed in was when I was in high school. Nothing as elaborate as what we've put on here at East High. But the basics are there – singing, dancing, acting. I had this solo section within a song, a whole half a verse to myself. I was ridiculously excited, my first big chance to shine, I'd rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and then rehearsed some more. Show night finally came and you know what happened?"

"What?" Troy said warily.

"I forgot the lyrics."

Troy gave her a sympathetic look. "Seriously? Oh man."

"And you know what I did every night for weeks after that?" Troy shook his head. "I practised that song. Even though our show was finished with, even though I had no reason to know the lyrics any longer. I kept practising. So that's why I understand that no matter what anyone says, you're going to keep working to perfect that shot."

"Every time you would rehearse that song, like before your show, did you get it right?"

Ms. Darbus nodded. "It took a while to learn the lyrics, but once I'd learnt them I got it every time. Except… on that one night when it really mattered."

"You put too much pressure on yourself, I bet," Troy mused.

"As do you."

Troy shrugged. "Maybe. There was a lot riding on this."

"Was? Does the thirty however many minutes before the final shot not count?"

He sighed. "People don't look back on a game and think about the guy that played really well for the losing team. It's just not how it works."

"Well then, should I go and tell that to the gentleman from California who wants to speak with you?"

Troy blinked and shook his head slightly, in disbelief as to what he had just heard. "Say what?"

"Yes. I was talking with Principal Matsui when this nice gentleman approached us. At first I thought he was a Knights supporter because he was wearing a blue and yellow t-shirt. But then as he moved closer toward us, I was able to inspect it closer and noticed that the navy blue shirt had a yellow bear type emblem embroidered onto the breast of the shirt."

Troy's brain was connecting the dots – man from California, navy and yellow shirt, bear.

"We're here chatting about you forgetting lyrics when there someone from _Berkeley_ is here and wanting to talk to me?!" Troy exclaimed, his eyes immediately glancing back toward the gym.

Ms. Darbus gave him a sly smile. "That is right. So feel free to dart back to the gym, don't hang around on my account. I believe Principal Matsui was showing him into one of the offices in the gym while your father was trying to find you."

Troy grinned broadly, and with a spring to his step began to jog away, calling behind him, "Thanks Ms. D!"

She watched as Troy darted away with a smile on her face, before walking over to where Troy had abandoned the basketball, leaving it rolling around the court in the slight breeze. Ms. Darbus picked up the ball and tossed it in the air a little, caught it, and then began the walk back up to the main school grounds.

* * *

Troy managed to avoid the people who were congregating outside the gym by taking the back route he'd taken to avoid them whilst leaving. He burst in through the back entry and immediately spotted his father pacing backwards and forwards in the corridor.

"There you are!" Jack exclaimed. "And you haven't even showered up. Where have you been?"

"Around," Troy said vaguely.

"Well come on, there's someone who wants to meet you." Jack began to walk quickly down the corridor, Troy trailing behind.

"So I heard. Your office?"

"Actually he's in the PE staffroom with Principal Matsui. Chad is in my office with some U of A scouts."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Interesting."

"What's more interesting is who is in here for you just in there," Jack said, and knocked on the staffroom door before creaking it open.

"And we have found the missing man," Jack said with a light laugh, stepping aside to allow Troy to move into the room. Just as Ms. Darbus had said, there was a man wearing a navy and yellow Cal Bears polo shirt sitting across from Principal Matsui.

"Troy Bolton, this is Stewart Nicholson," Principal Matsui said, gesturing to the man. "Stewart, this is Troy Bolton, our point guard and captain."

"Mr. Nicholson, great to meet you," Troy said politely, extending his hand.

"Please, call me Stewart."

Principal Matsui rose from his seat. "Anyway, I'd best be off. You played a great game, Troy," he said, extending his hand which Troy accepted and shook.

"Thanks," Troy replied a little awkwardly.

"I'll see you out," Jack said.

Leaving just Troy and a man who had the ability to change his entire future.

"Just so you know, I'm not actually a scout. I'm on the coaching staff for the team up at Berkeley. I'm here purely for entertainment – my nephew is one of the juniors for the Knights, I was in town visiting my sister and came to the game. I didn't expect to be here talking to any of the players, nonetheless to be talking to someone from the opposition. But here I am."

"Are you sure you've got the right guy?" Troy said lightly, sliding into the chair that Principal Matsui had vacated across from Stewart.

"Yes, yes I do. One shot doesn't define your career. The game wasn't lost in the last seconds. It was lost back just before quarter time when one of your players missed a free throw. It was lost when the ball was stolen from your centre just after half time and the Knights then scored a three pointer."

Troy didn't say anything, he just stared at the table in front of him. Stewart also remained silent, watching the Wildcats captain as he sat quietly.

"I should be like, trying to convince you that I'm really great and that you guys should make me a great offer. But I'm sure you can appreciate that I'm not really in the best of moods," Troy said honestly.

"I do appreciate that," Stewart said, smiling. "Tell me, where were you while your principal and father were hectically trying to find where you'd disappeared to?"

"Out on the old outdoor court behind the gym. Practicing my three pointer."

Stewart's smile widened. "You know what I was doing at half time?"

"What?"

"I was on my iPhone, looking you up online. And I was making a quick phone call. I hear that you've put in an expression of interest to Berkeley."

"I made some calls, trying to talk to the right person. I was pretty much ignored as well."

"Well I don't have a lot to do with the scouting process but I think this year they were waiting to hear the selections for the McDonalds All American."

"That could backfire. All the good picks might have reached verbal agreements with other colleges by then," Troy mused.

"I'm guessing you're in talks with some other schools."

Troy shrugged. "You could say that. I've got some visits coming up to a few places."

Stewart grinned, and then reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and retrieved a business card which he promptly pushed across the table. "I'm here until Monday, back to work on Tuesday. So give me a call Wednesday or Thursday – before you head to wherever you're checking out next weekend. I'll talk to some people… see what we might be able to set up."

Troy accepted the card, picking it up and glancing over it. "Okay. I will."

* * *

Gabriella's cell phone beeped in her hand and she quickly glanced at the screen to see a text from Troy asking if she got home okay. Gabriella frowned and dialled his number to have him answer a minute later. He hadn't even had the chance to say hello when she demanded, "Where are you?!"

"I'm in the locker room about to come out with dad. Literally walking through the hallway right now. So you're home okay?"

"No, I'm outside, waiting for you," Gabriella said. Her tone wasn't one of annoyance – rather it was merely surprise that he genuinely thought she would have gone home. If their situations had been reversed, she had no doubt that Troy would have waited for her outside for hours.

"What?!" Troy exclaimed. "I didn't know that. You should have told me. Why are you still here?"

"Because we were worried about you. And your mom is waiting and just about everyone has left and my mom wanted to wait with your mom and I wanted to wait anyway so… we're all waiting."

"Oh… shit I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Gabriella assured him. "Not a problem at all."

"Hang on I'm nearly there." The phone hung up and Gabriella glanced toward the side exit, surely enough a moment later Troy had appeared, having freshly showered and changed into blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a green plaid button up shirt thrown on over the top, left undone. Coach Bolton was just a few steps behind, Troy having hastened his pace to greet Gabriella.

"Hey!" Gabriella exclaimed, rushing toward him.

"Hey! I can't believe you're still here!" There was lightness to his tone which most people would have just taken on face value, but Gabriella could hear that it was forced. And when they met for a hug, there was something about the way which he gripped onto her, the tightness, the way his body weight was leaning onto hers a little more than usual – which indicated that despite any bravado that he would be putting up, that the hurt existed inside.

"Yeah well… I wanted to see if you were okay," Gabriella asked cautiously as they pulled away from the hug.

"I'm great!" he exclaimed, his voice louder than humanly natural.

The expression on Gabriella's face was enough to tell him that she didn't believe him for a single second. "Troy…"

"Gabriella… don't," Troy said quietly, yet firmly. "I just… go with me here, please baby."

Gabriella swallowed, nodded, and replied simply with, "Okay."

Meanwhile Coach Bolton had walked over to the adults, greeting the women and giving his wife a kiss on the cheek, the trio watching the teens interact.

"Pretending he's fine?" Lucille said quietly.

Jack nodded. "Yup."

"And how are you?"

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? I wasn't the one playing out there," Jack said, a little standoffishly.

Lucille rolled her eyes and glanced over at Elena, the mothers sharing a knowing look. Evidently as far as the repressed emotions were going, it was a case of like father, like son. Everyone who came into contact with Jack Bolton knew that he put a hundred percent of his heart and soul into that team; and consequently this loss wasn't just on the team – it was on Jack as well.

Troy and Gabriella walked arm in arm over to the onlooking parents.

"Hi Ms. Montez," Troy said brightly. "Hi mom."

"Hey Troy," Elena said, smiling softly at him.

Lucille was struggling to know what to say. She didn't like playing along with the act, but at the same time she acknowledged that perhaps it wasn't the best time or place to be trying to push it down – standing just outside the gym itself. Troy sensed his mother's hesitance, that troubled look in her eye. Finally she simply opened her arms. Troy was a little tentative for a moment but then stepped forward and allowed her to hug him.

"Mama," Troy said softly. "It's okay."

Lucille nodded as they hugged. "I know."

The mother and son embrace pulled away and once again the false look of happiness was plastered across Troy's face. "Hey, check out what I just got." He reached into his pocket, fishing out the card that Stewart had left with him. "Stewart Nicholson, he's on the coaching staff at Berkeley, was here tonight coz his nephew plays for the Knights. And what was he doing after the game? Congratulating his nephew? I think not. No, he was talking to me. He wants me to give him a call later in the week after he's back home and he's talked to some people."

"Berkeley? As in the University of California?" Elena confirmed.

Troy nodded, a lazy grin spreading across his face. "That's right."

"Berkeley is an amazing school. I don't know anything about the basketball program but the school itself is… it's right up there as one of the best," Gabriella said, her eyes sparkling a little.

Again Troy nodded enthusiastically. "It is. Basketball wise… they're in a really tough area of the states competing against some great sides, and they haven't been doing that great lately. But there's a lot of promise for next season, they're recruiting a lot of new players and they're in talks with some really great players from around the country. Anyway… it's something else on the cards… Which is great."

"That is really really great," Lucille said, smiling warmly. "I'm proud of you, you played really well so you deserve his attention."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Save the fake pep squad speech, mom."

"I wasn't being fake, I was telling the truth," Lucille responded.

Only the sound of the still of the night, with the occasional cricket chirping and bird cooing filled the air for a moment as a wave of awkwardness washed over the group – completely aware of the forced cheeriness. The news of another opportunity on the horizon was positive but the reality was that Troy could have had a hundred scouts waiting to talk to him and it wouldn't take away the painful sting of the loss.

"Anyway I'm really tired, I think I wanna just go home," Troy said abruptly.

Gabriella understood but she was nevertheless a little hurt. The night was still relatively young with a few hours before curfew; and a part of her had hoped that he was going to suggest they hang out.

"That's understandable, you must be exhausted. I need to get home anyway," Elena said.

Troy smiled gratefully at the woman who really was so much more than just his girlfriend's mother.

"I need to stop and get gas on the way home, so you might want to ride with your mother," Jack informed Troy.

He nodded and with that it was decided, the Montez women farewelling Jack as he moved to where his car was parked in the small staff parking area and the two mothers and their children moving toward the main parking lot at the front of the school. Elena and Lucille had moved ahead of Troy and Gabriella, giving them a little privacy as they lagged behind. Gabriella's hand had nudged against Troy's, and he allowed their fingers to entwine and even absentmindedly picked up her hand to press a kiss to the back of her palm.

"You look really pretty tonight," Troy said. "I should have said that earlier. When I saw you in the stands I thought that."

"Thank you," Gabriella said, glancing down at her white dress.

"Are you cold? This thing can't be very warm," Troy said, gesturing to the white wrap that Gabriella had on around her.

"A little, but I'm okay. We're like a minute from the car," she said. "It's fine."

"Yeah but you've been standing out here waiting for how long?"

"Troy? It's fine. Really. I can't believe you actually thought for a second that I wouldn't be there. Of course I'd want to see that you're okay."

They'd reached the parking lot, Lucille and Elena pausing midway between their cars.

"Well… I do appreciate that you waited. But I am fine, really," Troy said with a smile.

"You are fine?" Gabriella enquired, her hand reaching up and cupping his cheek for a moment, forcing him to look directly at her. His eyes which were usually bright seemed a little duller.

He hesitated, before admitting. "I will be."

She nodded. "That's all I needed."

* * *

Troy had been silent for the entire drive home, having gone with his mother in her car. Jack had stopped at the gas station on the way home and so Troy and Lucille arrived back home first. He dropped his gym bag in the laundry room before going straight into his room, not even bothering to flick the light on before flopping back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments and then closing his eyes.

He didn't feel the slightest bit tired, although in theory he should be. His room was feeling somewhat claustrophobic, but the main area of the house was somewhat even more frightening. His mother would undoubtedly prod and probe at him to talk about his feelings, something that he really didn't want to do. And thanks to the blurry line between Jack's role of father and coach, Troy really wasn't sure what to say to his father.

He needed escape.

He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled a number that he knew off the top of his head, listening patiently to the ring as he waited for it to be picked up. When the ringing stopped, the phone was silent for a moment, almost as though the person at the other end was hesitant to say anything.

"Hey."

Troy smiled slightly, relieved to hear the warm, friendly voice. "Hey."

"How are you?"

"Yeah… I've been better."

"Yeah."

"Umm… I know this is kinda short notice and stuff, and you can totally say no if you want…" Troy swallowed and then took a breath. "But do you think I could crash at yours tonight? I uh… I just sorta… I really don't feel like being at home."

There was silence at the other end of the line for a moment, before finally the response came that Troy wanted. "Course you can. Come whenever you want."

"Okay… I'll be there soon."

* * *

Overnight bag slung over his shoulder, Troy parked his truck and made the long walk to the front door; a door that he knew was always open for him, even when it was physically closed. His feet dragging, eyes cast downward, finally he was standing before the door, his hand reaching up to knock against the smooth wood. Moments later, space in front of him was filled with a comforting figure.

In that instant first moment that Chad saw his friend, he could see the hurt in his eyes. So when Troy plastered on a smile and said brightly, "Hey hey, what's up man?" Chad didn't buy the routine in the slightest.

"Hey man. You know you don't have to knock. Get your butt in here."

Troy grinned at his buddy, stepping in through the threshold of the Danforth townhouse.

"Is that Troy?" Chad's mom's voice wafted from the living room.

"Yeah it's Troy," Chad called back.

Trina Danforth appeared in the living room entry way, smiling broadly. "Hi honey."

There was so much unsaid within her tone, 'I'm sorry' and 'you played great' and 'it's just one game, it isn't a big deal.' But Trina wasn't going to say those words because she knew that they were hollow. And Troy was appreciative that she didn't say them.

"Hi," he replied simply.

"So, what are you boys planning to do?" Trina asked.

Troy and Chad glanced at each other. "Um… how about some 360?" Chad suggested.

"Sounds off the hook."

"Well you can go on upstairs, and I'll bring you up this amazing three layered dip thing that I made earlier," Trina said brightly.

"I'm guessing that was what you had been planning to bring to the barbeque?" Troy said quietly, dropping the bravado slightly.

Trina smiled a little sadly. "Uh… yes."

Troy forced a grin. "All the more for me and Chad, right man?"

Chad nodded. "Totally. Now come on. Let's shoot some bad guys."

The two boys scurried up the stairs to Chad's new room. The grin that emerged onto Troy's face upon entering wasn't fake in the slightest. Chad had moved his bed, shoving it over so it was literally blocking off the closet, and there was a depressed blow up mattress and pump on the floor.

"See. It fits," Chad said proudly. "Sure there's like no room to walk anywhere in the room, but all my shit was on the floor before anyway and so there was no room to walk anyway."

"And where is all your shit now?" Troy asked, surprised that the tiny amount of visible carpet was actually visible and not covered in piles of clothing and school books.

"In the closet. Halo 3 okay?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded and sunk down to sit on the edge of Chad's bed. "Yeah man."

As Chad reached over to flick on the 360 and insert the disc, he cleared his throat. "Um... Hoops…"

"Don't do it, man," Troy interjected quietly. "Let's just… let's not talk about it. At all. Tomorrow I wanna hear about the scouts you were talking to, and I can tell you about the guy I was talking to. But tonight… let's just forget it all. Okay?"

Chad nodded. "Okay." They fell silent as the game loaded. Chad handed over the remote to Troy before saying casually, "Just so you know, I totally plan to kick your ass tonight."

"Yeah, you wish!" Troy scoffed. "I own you in this game, you know it."

A quick glance was exchanged, a knowing glance. Chad understood, and Troy knew he understood, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N – **

Firstly, apologies for being evil with the cliff hanger last time but I so infrequently use them that I feel I'm entitled to do it once in a while. :-) I'm not technically ready to post this chapter but I didn't want to leave you hanging.

In return for me posting this already and not leaving you hanging, I likely won't be able to update again for about two weeks. I've got a couple of major assignments and a mid semester exam, and I'm also just in general behind with my writing. Who knows, I might suddenly be hit with a wind of 'I must write now regardless of life' but I doubt it. So just letting you know in advance.

Thanks everyone for all the awesome feedback, love you guys so much *mwah!*

-Dani xo


	31. Chapter 31

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Disclaimer: **Lyrics quoted belong to Britney Spears.

**AN: **

I just wanted to thank the person who used an anonymous review with the name **CalFan1** for contributing some awesome Berkeley related information. Anything else you ever feel the need to randomly comment on – seriously feel free! It's the random titbits of information like those you offered which I love to portray accurately but that are also relatively difficult for me to research and be aware of those types of nuances.

Thanks everyone for your patience with waiting for this chapter... I got 34 out of 35 for my law mid term exam so something good came out of the mini hiatus! :) Thanks everyone for your really fantastic reviews and PMs and various comments. I'm still insanely busy with essays and research papers but know that I'm still very committed to seeing through this series and that **your feedback means the world to me** :-)

Thank you to Audrey for your awesome feedback and commentary and support.

One final query is that _**anyone who either has been recruited or is in the process of being recruited to a college sports team**_** – **there's a few of you who've spoken up before and been awesome in helping me with various information. I just want to ask who is still around and reading and might have the time for me to harass you with some questions about your experiences with official college visits. It won't be anything complex but if you aren't completely crazily bogged down with life and this is you, could you let me know via review/PM? Thank you. :)

****

* * *

**Chapter 31**

_This moment is you (I'm on my knees again)  
This moment is you (completely helpless)  
This moment is you (can you restore me?)  
This moment is you (bring peace and healing)_

**Matt Wertz 'This Moment'**

* * *

Walking back into one's own house should never feel cumbersome. And yet that is precisely how Troy felt on Saturday morning. He and Chad had been pulled from their slumber by the insistent ringing of his friend's cell phone, receiving a phone call from Smith's asking if he wanted to come in for a shift on the check outs from 12 – 5. The two boys had talked briefly about their encounters with the various scouts the evening before but had not directly discussed the game itself. Chad's mom had asked him if he could drive Jayme to her friend's house on his way to work – which was actually in the opposite direction to where he needed to go. So by 11am, Troy had no choice but to return to his own home.

At the Danforth's, it was an unspoken rule that he didn't want to talk about it yet and Chad was willing to respect that. Troy knew that he wasn't going to be quiet as fortunate at his own house. He could only hope that maybe he would get home and perhaps his parents would have gone out, but he wasn't so lucky. Turning his key in the front door, he immediately could hear the television on inside.

'And Cross steals the ball, snaps it out wide to Bolton, Bolton cuts past and moves into Wildcat territory, he fakes left, he passes behind his back and out to Danforth on the left, and the ball is back with Cross, then to Baylor, Baylor shoots, and he scores!'

And the air became even muggier. The game tape. His dad was already watching the game tape.

"Troy? Is that you?" Lucille's voice called from the kitchen.

"No, it's a burglar using his key to come in the front door," Troy called back, as he kicked off his Converses and left them at the entry way.

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Hey Troy, come in here," Jack called from his place in front of the television which was situated in the open aired family room and kitchen area.

Troy sighed, he would have to go in there if he wanted to escape to the sanctuary of his room. So he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and walked through the hallway and into the room.

"See here, you have to look at this part," Jack said, rewinding the tape.

"Yeah, I'm good, had a nice time at Chad's," Troy said, narrowing his eyes a little. The bubble had officially burst, thanks to none other than his very own father.

"That's good," Jack said, clearly distracted.

Lucille frowned a little as she noted the classic defensive behaviour from Troy – that tone that indicated that Jack was pushing too far and just not realising it, and that Troy was close to exploding.

Jack paused the tape and let it play slowly, frame by frame. "See right here? Knights centre was right on it, just waiting, he's there and _bam!_ Ball stolen."

"Uh huh," Troy said. "Yup."

Lucille stepped out of the kitchen and moved forward to stand next to her son who was watching the television from behind the couch. She put an arm around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "What did you get up to at Chad's?"

"Not much, just hung out. Played some X Box. Watched a movie." _Drank some bourbon…_

"Sounds nice."

"Yeah it was. Jayme got her cast off, did you know?"

"Yes I saw last night at… you know where," Lucille said, a little hesitantly. "She came with Trina."

"Oh right. Of course."

"Okay, son, you have to look at this bit too. This is the eleventh minute, Chad just got the defensive rebound…" Jack had rewound the tape back a little further to another spot he'd noted for Troy to watch.

Troy understood that this was his father's process. As a coach, he needed to break it down and understand where it went wrong. He also needed to prepare for Monday's team debrief. But Troy wasn't really wanting to have any part of it. The night before he'd been okay. He'd focused on the people around him, focused on the scout. But it was now a brand new day and seemingly with that brand new day had come the realisation of what had happened the night before. On Monday, he could deal with it. But he thought it was more than acceptable that he could give himself a day or so to not think about it, to not face it. His hands dug even deeper into his pockets and he somehow managed to look at the screen again.

"What did you do with your overnight bag?" Lucille asked her son abruptly. "Did you leave it in the hallway?"

"Um…maybe?" Troy supplied sheepishly.

"Go get it now, I need your clothes to do the washing," Lucille requested firmly.

Jack knew not to interfere with Lucille when she was on a housework rampage, and didn't say a word about Troy remaining to watch the tape. But Jack remained staring at the screen, watching, taking notes. Troy flashed his mother a grateful smile, knowing that she wasn't particularly excited about doing the laundry and rather she was providing him with an out, a reason to walk away.

"Go on! Now! I don't have all day. And make sure you bring me anything that is lying around in your room."

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Troy said, playing along, and making his escape. It didn't take long to gather the clothes and dump them into the hamper by the washing machine, and he then escaped back into his bedroom and collapsed back onto the familiar bed in the familiar bedroom. The familiar bedroom which was a shrine to Troy's passion.

Basketball.

The basketball theme, the red and white memorabilia, the trophies.

Normally, Troy loved his bedroom. He loved that his parents had allowed him the freedom to fill it with décor of his choice. He loved that it filled him with inspiration, that it was reminded him of memories.

Suddenly it all seemed contrived, fake, even pointless. Sure he'd gotten to talk to some coach from UC Berkeley. But the truth was that to Troy, the championship game hadn't been about playing to get into a good college. Sure, that was icing, an extra benefit. But ultimately, Troy played because he loved the game and he loved to win at the game. Troy's nature was one where he wanted to excel at everything he did. The whole season had been dedicated toward that very moment of defending their championship win from the year before. In some way, almost every moment of Troy's entire life had been all about that game. Decisions about his diet, to not party quite as hard as he would have liked, to forgo social time with his friends and girlfriend, instead choosing to train.

And all that effort for what felt like nothing.

Troy stood up, flicked off the light switch and closed the drapes. He sat at his desk and switched on his laptop, drumming is fingers impatiently as it loaded. Finally he was able to pull up his iTunes, connect the cord to his stereo system and put on his 'loud' play list. As Crawl by Kings of Leon filled the air of his room, he upped the volume a little and then a little more, and collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes.

With his eyes closed, he didn't have to see the basketball stuff around the room, he didn't have to think about it. With no one there to judge him and no one to pick holes at his facade; it was just Troy, and the music, and no one else.

* * *

Ryan and Sharpay were waiting on the comfortable couch in the front hallway the house of their vocal coach. They only had sporadic lessons, typically in the lead up to a specific audition or performance. They'd organised one for that Saturday morning, in lieu of their usual dance duo class. After Ryan had been to his own contemporary lesson and taught his beginners ballet class, he'd met Sharpay at the house of the vocal coach.

"So... we go through our talent show song, our audition song for the community theatre show, and you have one final run through for your Juilliard audition song?" Ryan asked, clarifying the agenda for the lesson.

Sharpay nodded. "Sounds about right. So, are you meeting up with Chase again after we finish today?"

Ryan shrugged non-committedly, but his tone was hopeful. "Uh... yeah I think so. That was the plan, at least."

"And you guys went out for ice cream after the game last night?"

Ryan nodded. "Yes."

"And?" Sharpay said promptly.

"What do you want me to say, Shar?" Ryan asked.

"Well... I want to know what happened!"

"Okay. I ordered chocolate mint chip but then changed my mind to cookie dough and Chase ordered..."

Sharpay sighed exasperatedly. "You know I didn't mean that kind of detail."

Ryan scratched the back of his neck. "Shar... you're my sister. Yes you're fabulous and awesome and I love you but you're my sister. It's _weird_ talking about detail."

"Ew! Ryan! I don't mean _that_ kind of detail!" Sharpay exclaimed, shaking her head in mortification. "I mean... like... are you going out now?"

"Oh!" Ryan blushed. "I thought you meant... something else."

"Ew! No!"

"Right. Okay, I gotcha. Um... I guess you could say we're dating? Sorta. We're... exploring it more seriously. Seeing how it goes given all the issues like the distance and us both being really busy and stuff."

Sharpay nodded. "Okay. That's good. But you're still coming to New York with me next weekend, right?"

Ryan cocked his head. "Um... what does dad think about that?"

"Oh. He can't come anymore," Sharpay said airily. "I don't really care though, I'd rather you were there. So it'll just be you and me and mother. We're booked in at the Marriott, we fly out Friday morning so we'll miss a day of school, and then we fly back on Sunday night. Okay?"

"I don't get any say in this, do I?" Ryan said with a smirk.

"Well you don't _have_ to come," Sharpay said, the hurt written across her face.

"Yeah, I do. Not only do I _have_ to come but I _want_ to come," Ryan said firmly. "I was just teasing."

Sharpay's features softened a little. "Good. Coz you should be there. This is an important weekend for me and you are my brother. Oh, and mother is going to look at getting us tickets to a Broadway show on Saturday night. Any preferences?"

He paused to contemplate this. "I'd like to see Billy Elliot. Oh, and Avenue Q is meant to be really funny. Grease is always a classic. Oh, or the Dirty Dancing revival. Oh, anything really, I don't mind."

"Okay, whatever we can get the best tickets to, then."

Ryan's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, glancing at the text he'd received. The slight smile on his face gave away exactly who the message was from.

"Tell Chase I said hi," she said, rolling her eyes.

He glanced up looking a bit concerned, not sure what to make of his sister's tone. "You said that kinda... strangely. Do you... do you not like him?"

Sharpay shrugged. "He's okay," she said casually.

Eyes widening, Ryan did a double take. "_Okay_? Just okay?"

"Why does it matter what I think?"

"Of course it matters what you think!" Ryan said incredulously. "Just like I know that it matters that I come to New York with you next weekend. Of _course_ it matters what you think!" he repeated emphatically.

"Ryan? Chase makes you happy, right? Like... really happy?"

"Right now... despite that I'm confused and trying to work out how to deal with dad and freaked out about midterms coming up and worried about what'll happen if I don't get into Juilliard... regardless of all that – I'm happier than I've ever been."

Sharpay didn't respond straight away, instead watching her brother, observing the look of content which washed over his features. "Then I like him."

Ryan looked surprised but pleased; however before he could respond the door that led from the living area opened, an elementary school age boy exiting the room.

"Thanks Miss Meaghan," he said to the young woman who had walked him out.

She smiled at Sharpay and Ryan. "I'm just going to make sure Tommy's mom is outside waiting for him and I'll be with you. You guys can go through to the piano room if you like."

Sharpay rose. "Come on. Time to go sing."

* * *

An hour and a half late; Ryan was driving back down the Montez's street. He glanced up the road and did a double take upon seeing a somewhat familiar car parked outside. His heart began to thump, his throat closing up. He thought it had been fairly clear – he would call when he got home, and they would arrange to meet somewhere else. Ryan pulled into his own spot, hoping and praying that it was Gabriella and Gabriella alone who had let Chase into the house. In twenty four hours, Chase had gone from being all his and his alone; to suddenly knowing everyone. Ryan didn't have particular objection to Gabriella's mom meeting him, but it was more so that he had no doubt that if Gabriella's mom met him then there was a good chance that information would be passed along to his own mother. Something which Ryan felt as though he retained the right to allow in his own time, when he felt ready for that.

However the higher powers were seemingly not listening to Ryan's plea, and as he came through the side gate and in through the back door, he was met with the sight of Chase and Gabriella sitting at the breakfast bar, with Elena in the kitchen fussing about.

"Um... hello..." Ryan said slowly, blinking at the site of Chase munching away on a homemade cookie courtesy of Elena.

"Hello Ryan, how was your lesson?" Elena asked.

"Um, it was good. We sorted out next weekend and also finished preparing our audition for that community theatre show I told you about..." Ryan's voice was a little bewildered as he answered the question. "What are you doing here? I thought I was going to call you and we were going to meet somewhere. Somewhere _else,_" he added pointedly.

"I was bored," Chase said sheepishly.

"And he was lurking in his car outside and I happened to observe and ask Gabriella if she knew him since I could see that he was about your age. And long story short, I invited him in and now, we're eating cookies," Elena explained.

Gabriella pulled out the chair on the other side of her, gesturing for Ryan to sit and holding out the Tupperware container of cookies to him. "Take a seat. You want one?"

"Umm... sure," Ryan said. He took a cookie from the container but didn't look down, his eyes, darting between Elena and Chase.

"You are so going to put on weight living here and not eating all that organic soy junk that you say your mom keeps in your parent's house," Chase remarked.

"I'm dancing more now that I am teaching a couple of extra classes," Ryan replied with a grin. "Hopefully that'll make up for it a little."

"Treats in moderation are fine. And I use low fat ingredients," Elena said defensively, and then patted her stomach as she added, "Need to be careful myself."

"Mom, don't be silly," Gabriella admonished, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"So what was decided about next weekend?" Chase asked, directing the question to Ryan.

"Oh. I'm going to New York with Sharpay for her Juilliard audition."

"Oh really?"

Ryan nodded. "Turns out dad can't go with her anyway, he needs to fly to Chicago for something or other. Anyway, so it's me and Sharpay and mom going."

"That should be really nice. And you can't actually be there while she's auditioning, can you? So you and your mom will get some time together," Gabriella pointed out.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda bad timing with midterms coming up and stuff but... eh. What can you do?"

"I'll help you study, you know that."

"You girls are going to have to run some sort of a mass tutorial for all your dumb male friends," Ryan joked.

"You're not dumb! You're just... busy," Gabriella said diplomatically. "And you hardly ever study."

"So what does everyone have planned for the rest of today?" Elena asked.

"I'd know if Troy would reply to my texts," Gabriella said grumpily.

Ryan gave her a half hug. "I'm sure it's not personal. He probably just wants alone time."

"Then why can't he just reply and say that? Don't feel like talking or hanging, sorry, talk to you later. Simple. And would save me a whole lot of worrying."

"He may not even have his phone on. When I really don't feel like talking to anyone, I turn mine off or at least put it on silent," Chase suggested.

"Why don't you call the house phone? You can at least then ask Lucy how he is," Elena suggested.

"Hmm. Maybe," Gabriella mused, pondering the suggestion. "Yes. I think I'll do that."

Elena promptly reached for the downstairs phone extension on the wall and handed it over. "Go on." Gabriella smiled appreciatively and dialled the number as she was leaving the room.

"So what about you boys?" Elena asked.

"We haven't planned anything specific. I was thinking that maybe we'd go for a drive somewhere," Ryan said. "Or something."

"And where are you staying tonight, Chase?" Elena asked.

"Oh, with my friends at UNM I was telling you about. Just crashing in their dorm."

"On the floor?" she asked, an eyebrow cocked.

"Well, yeah. They don't exactly have guest suites in frat houses."

Elena paused contemplatively, looking between the two for a moment before suggesting a little warily, "I do have a guest bedroom here. You could sleep there, if you wanted to. And I do mean in the guest bedroom."

Ryan was affronted. The mere suggestion that he would actually have Chase in his room while other people were home was mortifying.

"Oh, I don't want to impose..."

"You wouldn't be, not at all. Please, I've got Ryan staying here don't I? And it's just for a night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I'll be driving back mid tomorrow afternoon, after lunch time."

"Well, the offer is there to stay here if you like. Since you'll be driving a long way tomorrow you'll want to make sure you get a good night's sleep, surely sleeping on the floor in a noisy frat house isn't exactly conducive to that?"

"No, not really." Chase glanced over at Ryan, trying to read his thoughts, and decided upon responding diplomatically with, "I'll let you know, my friends might want to hang out with me some more while I'm up here anyway."

Elena nodded. "That's fine."

Gabriella came back into the kitchen area, still holding onto the landline telephone but having finished with her phone call.

"Mom, you need to pick something that Mrs. Bolton can borrow."

Elena blinked. "Pardon?"

Gabriella proceeded to explain her conversation with Troy's mom. Lucille had told Gabriella that since coming home from Chad's Troy had holed himself in his room. She'd offered to take the phone into his room but Gabriella hastily had said no, not wanting to force him to talk to her. But she couldn't help but just feel the need to see him with her own eyes – to see that yes, he was hurting, but that ultimately he was going to be okay. Lucille had kindly suggested that Gabriella could come over and bring something that her mom was lending her, providing an excuse to pop by and see Troy. Gabriella immediately latched onto the idea, telling Lucille that she would come by shortly.

"You actually think Troy is going to buy that story?" Ryan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Gabriella sighed. "No. But it makes me feel better at least."

Elena looked at her daughter pityingly. Truthfully Troy's behaviour wasn't that removed from many members of the male species. Life can be a bitch, and so the way to deal with it is via ignorance and shutting people out. However Gabriella was accustomed to Troy's open communicative style, he would normally never shy away from sharing with her in some way or another. And so Elena understood why Gabriella was willing to go to such a drastic and possibly ridiculous length for even a minute of communication with him.

"You can take this recipe book, I suppose," Elena said, as she turned to rifle through the cupboard that was above the refrigerator. She seized the book she wanted and then handed it to Gabriella. "Lucy did actually mention it a while ago."

"When are you going?" Ryan asked.

"Um, in a few minutes?" Gabriella supplied. "Why?"

Ryan glanced at Chase. "Wanna get out of here? I feel like going somewhere."

Chase shrugged. "Sure."

"Wanna lift?" Ryan asked Gabriella. "Even if you are being ridiculous and Troy is just going to think you're crazy for pretending to be bringing over some book when you could have just gone over and asked to see him."

"A ride would be nice, thank you," Gabriella said, ignoring the rest of his statement.

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom before we leave, Ms. Montez?" Chase asked politely.

"Oh no, of course, go for it," Elena said, waving her hand. "It's just through that corridor and to the right.

Chase smiled gratefully and headed in the directions he'd pointed out – he already knew where he bathroom was from being given the tour of the house the night before but Elena Montez didn't know that. He was pulling off the acting job of a life time, 'accidentally' turning the wrong way to have Elena call out and correct him to go the other way.

"He seems lovely," Elena said quietly to Ryan, a small smile upon her face.

"Um yeah... he is..." Ryan said, a little awkwardly, not sure how else to respond. "Um... I didn't know he was coming over. We'd made plans to meet elsewhere."

"I'm glad he came, I wanted to meet him," Elena said.

Ryan had to hold back from saying, 'I bet you did.' Instead he just forced a smile. However Elena Montez was one of those intuitive people, reading Ryan's discomfort.

"Did you not want me to meet him?"

He cleared his throat and shrugged. "Doesn't bother me that _you_ met him but..."

"You think I'm going to report to your mom?"

Ryan conceded sheepishly. "If I was living at home, and thinks weren't all... stuffed up... I wouldn't be introducing Chase to my parents yet. And I know that you feel obliged to let my mom know how I'm going but... if I wanted Chase to meet my mom, I could go do it right now."

"If you don't want me to tell her, I won't," Elena said bluntly. "I can respect that you don't want to do the introductions thing yet."

"Really?"

"Really," she said with an assuring smile. "Just... be home by 1. I know I said I'm not going to parent you but you can consider that as my rule in exchange for my keeping your privacy."

"Hey, living by your house rules was one of the stipulations of me living here anyway, so I expected curfew to be in place anyway. So that is more than fair," Ryan agreed.

Chase reappeared from the bathroom, overhearing the tail end of Ryan's answer. "What is more than fair?"

"Curfew. Have to be back by 1."

"Oh that's fine. When I have to drive for three hours tomorrow, I don't exactly want to be out late!" Chase pointed out. "So where are we going? Do I need to get changed? We taking my car or yours?"

* * *

Ryan's words suggesting that what she was doing was silly were ringing in Gabriella's ears as she stood on the Bolton door step ten minutes later, a shoulder bag over her left shoulder and the recipe book under her right arm. It did seem silly. She was close enough to Troy's mom that she could have just called and asked if she could come over. Or she could have just demanded that she put Troy on the phone. But that was that little part of her that didn't want Troy thinking she was being clingy. If he wanted space, she was willing to give it to him. But she still wanted him to know that when he was ready, she was there. And so by dropping by, she could say hello and then excuse herself if he wasn't inclined to have anything to do with her.

And so head held high, Gabriella rang Troy's doorbell and waited patiently until Lucille Bolton opened it.

"Hi sweetheart, come on in."

"Thanks for inviting me. Is he still in his room?"

Lucille nodded. "I had knocked on Troy's door about twenty minutes before you called and suggested ordering pizza for lunch and he said he's not hungry. Troy is always hungry, and especially for pizza." She stepped back to allow Gabriella to come in, and then closed the door behind her.

Gabriella frowned at this piece of information. "I know I'm being silly but I'm worried and I want to see him but I don't want him to think that I'm forcing him to see me or something. So, I think this is a good idea. Just dropping by while here for something else. Do you agree? Do you think it's a good idea?" Gabriella asked quietly, gnawing her bottom lip.

"You're asking me for advice about the best way of navigating the mind of my son?"

"Yes?" Gabriella said with a shrug. "Anyway, I brought you this. Mom said you actually had asked about it."

Lucille took the book from Gabriella's outstretched hand and flipped through as they headed through the house toward the kitchen. "I actually did ask about this! Excellent."

Gabriella's voice lowered to practically a whisper as they were now in the kitchen just feet away from the entry to Troy's room. "So he came back from Chad's this morning?"

Lucille nodded. "Fairly early, Chad was called and asked to come into work. In reality he hasn't been in there that long. I don't think you've ever even really been around when Troy gets right into a bad mood. Once he was in there for three days. He only came out to use the bathroom and grab food once in a while, if I hadn't brought him some. There was a time when I could just give him a cuddle and make him feel better but... he's growing up. Seems his mother doesn't have that power any more."

"And you think I do?"

"One way to find out," she said with a shrug, gesturing toward Troy's room.

Gabriella took a deep breath and nodded, walking resolutely over to Troy's door. The music was up loud, she'd been able to hear it from the kitchen. She exhaled slowly before knocking firmly, wanting to be sure he heard over the music.

"Mom, I said I'm not hungry," Troy's lifeless tone called back.

"It's not your mom... it's me..." Gabriella called.

He didn't respond but the music did turn down a little, which Gabriella took as somewhat of an invitation to come in. She opened the door, slipping through and stepping down into the room before closing the door behind her, taking it upon herself to decide that the household rule of 'doors open' wasn't in place that day.

Troy was lying on his bed facing toward the door. He'd had the comforter up over him but it was currently strewn around his legs, revealing that he was wearing a white wife beater and a pair of navy sweat pants. His chestnut locks were in a mass of disarray. His eyes were closed and they remained closed even as Gabriella entered the room and stood right before him. She leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hi," Troy responded quietly. At the very least he wasn't ignoring he or ordering her to leave, so that was a start.

"So I was sent to bring over this recipe book thing that your mom wanted to borrow from my mom. And while I was here, I just thought I'd see if you want some company for a while." Troy didn't say anything straight away, and Gabriella quickly added, "If you don't that's totally fine, I can leave. I just hadn't heard from you today so..."

"Yeah I don't even know where my cell is. It might be in my jeans on the floor." Troy finally opened his eye, looking up at the concerned orbs that were staring down at him. Suddenly he felt a wave of guilt come over him – but the guilt wasn't going to change how he was feeling inside.

"I don't mind you being here, but I'm not exactly in a sociable mood," Troy conceded. "I just... kinda want to do what I'm doing. Chillaxing, you know?"

"That's okay," Gabriella said quietly. "However, if you're trying to relax, you're going about this a bit wrong."

She took it upon herself to move over to where his laptop was connected to his stereo system and selected a different play list of softer music that she'd once created, consisting of artists like the Postal Service, Lifehouse and Jack Johnson. She then pulled off her jacket and slung it across the back of Troy's desk chair whilst kicking off her white flats. She laid down on the bed behind him, Troy still facing in the opposite direction. She enveloped his body, drawing him in close to her and playing the role he would usually play, doing the best with her petite form to hold him close to her.

"I know you didn't bring a book," Troy murmured.

"I did bring a book."

"Okay, that was your excuse to come."

She'd known that he was going to call her on it, and since he wasn't exactly rejecting her for being there, she knew that she'd done the right thing in coming."Your mom invited me. Which is more than I can say for you."

"I'm sorry," Troy whispered, stroking his thumb against the delicate hand which had wrapped around his abdomen. "And I am glad that you are here. I want you here. I am glad that you care enough to orchestrate bringing over some book just to come see me. But... that doesn't mean that I want to talk about it. It doesn't mean that I want to talk at all, or even to move. I don't want to have to pretend that I'm feeling cheery and perky when I just kinda feel like lying here and sulking for a while. I know it's just a game and I know I'm being stupid for letting it make me fel like this but... I do. I can't help it."

Gabriella nodded, and merely held onto him a little tighter, nuzzling in behind him. "You don't have to pretend to be feeling anything other than what you are feeling. Just don't shut me out, not ever."

And so with the music playing in the background, Troy allowed Gabriella to hold him, he allowed himself to be held and caressed, to have her encase him with comfort and warmth.

* * *

"Don't you think this is a bit drastic?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows and glancing over at Chase who was in the driver's seat of his Audi.

They were presently cruising north on the Interstate 25, having left Albuquerque not long after dropping Gabriella at Troy's.

"No, no I don't. I think it's exactly what you need," Chase declared. "That, and it was an excuse to volunteer to drive your car for a long distance."

"You think that going to Santa Fe is exactly what I need? Have you been to Santa Fe? It's not exactly the most happening place in the world."

"No, but it's about as far away from home as you we can practically go for an evening out. I think it'll be nice for us to go somewhere and not be pretending to just be two straight guys."

"You mean it'll be nice for _me._"

Chase shrugged. "Well, yeah. Seriously, any time recently have you just walked down the street and not on some level been conscious of what you were doing?"

"I guess not..."

"So that's what we're gonna do. I'm not suggesting that we're gonna make out for all of Santa Fe to see. But we're gonna walk down the street, and if I feel like holding your hand, I just may hold your hand. And we're gonna have a nice afternoon and a great night and the whole time, just be ourselves. What do you say?"

Ryan exhaled. "I say I'm up for the challenge... in fact..." he paused and opened his glove box, retrieving a CD holder, and began to flip through the sleeves. "In celebration of being me, I'd like to put in one of my favourite albums ever, if that's okay."

"Go for it," Chase said, attempting to peer over and see what the CD was whilst retaining control of the car.

Ryan hid the CD from Chase's view as he slid it into the player and then hit the random button. As the sound of one of Ryan's favourite songs from that album came through the speakers, Ryan couldn't help but grin and sing along.

_All the people in the crowd, grab a partner take it down... it's me against the music..._

"Britney?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryan nodded. "That's right."

"I'm more into Christina myself, but I can deal with this." Chase leaned over and turned the volume dial, pumping the music up louder.

_No one cares, it's whippin' my hair, it's pullin' my waist, to hell with stares..._

Chase's right hand settled upon the gearstick. Ryan's left hand began to reach out, but then he flinched holding back.

"You okay?" Chase asked, having noticed the sudden flinch.

Ryan took a breath, and once again reached out, his left hand coming to rest over Chase's hand. His thumb rubbed slightly against the back of Chase's palm. "Never been better."

* * *

As Gabriella and Troy laid together snuggled beneath his comforter, time had lost meaning. Neither of them slept, neither of them talked. The time they'd had together over the last couple of weeks had been scarce, those moments spent with a million things to do or think about or discuss or rehearse or study. So it was nice to exist somewhere in the place between sleep and wake, just enjoying the sensation of being together.

A soft knock came at the door, Troy not bothering to respond. Gabriella shifted slightly away from Troy before calling out, "Yes?" The door creaked open and Lucille appeared in the doorway.

"Hi Lucille," Gabriella greeted her.

"Can I get anything for either of you? Are you hungry?"

Gabriella glanced down at Troy who remained motionless.

"I'm fine thank you," she answered.

"Troy?" Lucille prompted.

"I'm fine, mama, I'm not sick or invalid. I can get up and walk to the kitchen if I want something," Troy said quietly.

Lucille nodded. "I know you can, sweetheart." She cleared her throat. "Um, Jack and I are going out for a little while, just to go look at Southwest Furniture and then to do some grocery shopping. We shouldn't be more than a couple of hours. Gabriella, do you know if your mom is doing anything tonight?"

"Um, not that I know of, why?"

"I was thinking of calling her to suggest that we all go out for dinner. Just for fun."

Gabriella smiled. "Sounds nice, I'm sure she'd like that."

"Excellent. Anyway, we should be back around 3. Troy, do you want me to get you anything from the grocery store?"

"No thanks."

Lucille nodded and closed the door behind her as she left. Troy shuffled back so that he would be flush back against Gabriella's body again. Once again they lay in silence, listening to the rumble of the garage door going up, a car engine being turned on and reversing out, and then the garage door going down again.

As a matter of the instinct that came with having him within her arms, Gabriella's hands began to roam over Troy's chest, at first through the thin cotton of his white wife beater but then creeping below the bottom hem to feel the defined contours. At first there was nothing blatantly sexual about her activity, it was merely about comfort and being together. However as she rubbed and caressed, with Troy's hands gliding up and down her arm as she did so, it struck her that for the first time in what felt like an eternity, it could in fact be more.

She shifted her weight, moving herself slight more upright into a position that allowed her to press sweet and light kisses against Troy's shoulder and at the nape of his neck. He liked the attention, the sensation of her touch, but within his current state he had yet to connect the dots and realise that there was motive behind her behaviour. He too shifted, lying on his back and hence providing Gabriella with easier access.

"Troy… you realise that your parents are practically giving us permission to… you know…" Gabriella murmured quietly, peppering kisses along his jaw line. "Going out while I'm here… announcing they won't be back for a couple of hours…"

Troy couldn't help but smile a little at her alluring tone. Their situations were so reversed, it was usually him instigating things. He might be in an epically bad mood but that didn't change that he was a seventeen year old teenage boy, who had a really hot girlfriend propositioning him, and that he felt a stir in his pants at the mere innuendo.

"What, and your plan is to pull me out of my funk through sex?" he asked coyly.

"Or at least distract you from your funk for a while?" she suggested hopefully.

Troy was in an interesting place. His body was responding to her touch – how could it not? But he was also in a place of wanting to just do nothing. To remain within his cocoon, still and sheltered from the realities of the world. He had yet to react properly, to do anything to reciprocate to her movements.

When Gabriella's warm, sweet lips left his skin, he was surprised by just how much he missed her touch. And then his surprise was heightened when she shifted from the bed, the comfort of her body weight pressing up beside him being removed. There was a slight rustle as she padded around the bed. She stopped via the door to lock it – just for good measure – and then moved to stand in front of Troy. He rolled over onto his side again, watching her, sensing that something was about to happen.

Slowly, button by button, Gabriella began to undo her indigo cardigan, and then carefully laid it down onto the floor. In one swift movement she grasped onto the hem of her black tank top, removed it and tossed it aside haphazardly. Troy smiled at the sight of her simple pale yellow t-shirt bra. His girlfriend then undid the button of her black jeans, pulled down the fly and pushed the denim down her thighs, her taut legs stepping out and kicking them aside.

"Shit, they're cute," Troy remarked, observing her pale yellow cotton boy short panties with lavender polka dots. "Too cute."

"And I didn't even put nice ones on. I should stop wasting my money on fancy lingerie if you like these," Gabriella teased.

Troy was happy to lie back and watch and see what she was going to do, rolling to lie on his back again, his hands moving to meet behind his head, elbows splayed out. She climbed onto the bed, straddling his waist with the comforter between them. She leaned forward, her hands holding her weight up above him, and pressed her lips to his. It was interesting, kissing someone who was behaving as though they had no interest in returning the kiss. He wasn't stopping her but he wasn't kissing back. He was allowing her lips to move against his, his lips parting, providing access for her tongue to lightly flick against his. She pulled away from the one sided kiss, her concentration moving to his neck. Gabriella loved his upper body, she loved his arms and chest and shoulders, they represented his strength – both physical and mental – which she knew that she could rely upon whenever she needed him. And she loved showering her attention to him. She shimmied down his body, taking the comforter with her, and her hands fell upon the bottom hem of his wife beater.

"I know you're content to just lie there but could you possibly oblige me by sitting up for a moment?"

"I suppose," Troy conceded, sitting up just for long enough to allow the material to be pulled away, revealing his bare chest.

Gabriella proceeded to give due attention to his hard chest, kissing and licking and suckling and caressing each and every curve and crevasse of his skin. She'd paid particular attention to a spot on his neck, which she knew was going to have left a decent mark but didn't particularly feel apologetic at all. Midway through the session, Troy had finally removed his hands from the back of his head, responding in the very slightest by running his fingers through her hair and rubbing at her shoulders.

Touching him all over and receiving so little in response was driving Gabriella almost as crazy as his touch would. She longed to feel him touching her, she longed to have her skin worshipped as she was worshipping his; but she remained resilient, fairly certain that he would eventually reciprocate. The comforter was pulled back and shoved aside, allowing Gabriella to discard his navy sweats. In addition to the slight moans and pants of encouragement, the bulge from within his blue and green striped cotton boxers was further indication that her actions thus far had indeed been fruitful.

She shimmied back up the length of his body, her panty covered mound pressing against the hardness of his arousal and ever so teasingly grinding. She leaned forward, again pressing her lips to his – and this time she was surprised by his efforts to kiss her back.

"Oh, was that a kiss, Mr. Bolton?" Gabriella murmured into his ear playfully.

"It's only polite when a sexy girl kisses you to kiss her back."

He lifted his head from the pillow slightly to capture her lips with his. Gabriella's hands raked through his hair, her fingers massaging his scalp. He ran his hands up and down the smooth warmth of her back, squeezing lightly at her buttocks and pulling her weight down to grind a little harder against him.

Gabriella was going insane, he was finally touching her but he wasn't _touching _her. She wasn't selfish, she knew that she was doing this for him, that hopefully for this period of time, thoughts of inadequacy and failure and loss and wanting to forget it all would be swept away. But she also wasn't selfless. She wanted, craved, _needed_ his attention in return. She knew that it was up to her to drive him to the point where he simply couldn't be passive within this encounter.

She pulled away from their kiss, shifting her weight off of him and not hesitating to pull down his blue and green striped cotton boxers, freeing his hardened length. She positioned herself kneeling between his spread legs, hovering over and lustfully gazing down. She had yet to directly touch him with her hands thus far. She glanced up at him, the look in his eyes one of desperation, mirroring that feeling that she felt of wanting the sensation of touch.

Her hand grasped around his length, beginning the procedure with slow, languorous strokes; whilst at the base using her thumb to lightly caress his testes. Finally Gabriella ducked her head down and allowed her tongue to swirl around the head of his member before taking the tip into her mouth and suckling gently, her hand continuing to pump at the base. Troy gasped and groaned – one thing was for certain, and the purpose of distracting him was certainly being fulfilled. In an ecstasy filled haze as his girlfriend suckled, teased, licked and stroked his arousal, basketball was the last thing from his mind.

He watched in awe as her lips encased around the tip and descended upon his growing length; his organ disappearing within the warm, wet cavern of her mouth. She winced, letting out a slight hacking sound, and Troy immediately placed his hands upon her head and guided her to pull back a little. He appreciated the effort but the truth was that it was redundant and that other action that wasn't as uncomfortable for her was just as effective.

"You don't have to do that baby," he murmured. "Not necessary. So good without it."

She pulled back slowly, releasing his length with a pop. "I think I get it a bit further each time I try," Gabriella murmured.

"Competing with yourself?"

"Uh huh."

Her ministrations continued, switching between kissing, licking, sucking; stroking his hardness with her hand and simultaneously suckling and probing at his testes, taking the pliable spheres between her lips and teasing with her tongue.

Troy was overcome with gratification, he could be more than content to allow himself to just have her continue until completion. But then as he fluttered his eyes open once again and stared down at the woman who was so selflessly fixated upon bringing him pleasure, it was as though a switch in his brain went off. Suddenly, he didn't want to be the one lying back, allowing her to 'cheer' him up. In a way it felt weak – a feeling that Troy wanted to disassociate himself from as much as possible. In a series of swift movements, he succeeded in nudging Gabriella to desist from her actions, to flip her over to be lying on her back, and to push the fabric covering her centre away to provide access to her most private of regions.

Gabriella took in a sharp breath as Troy hovered over her; his dextrous fingers separating her folds and his warm breath tickling against her arousal. The time they had to spend together and explore the physical aspect of their relationship was limited under regular circumstances, and over the last couple of weeks it had been even more restricted. It had been about two and a half weeks since they'd returned from their winter vacation in Colorado. It had been the day that Ryan's sexuality had been announced to their group of friends that Troy and Gabriella had kicked their friends out of the Montez house, and that had been the last time they'd spent together intimately. Since then, they'd had intense make out sessions, Gabriella had dreamed of him, she'd spent time watching him dripping with sweat while playing basketball, she'd relieved his needs while her own hormone driven needs were left unattended. And now that Troy was perched with his skilled lips and tongue just inches above where she so desperately wanted to feel him, she was quivering in anticipation, her hips slightly writhing without him even making any direct contact.

And so when he finally did make contact, his mouth lowering and his tongue trailing a teasing circle around her sensitive bundle of nerves, avoiding hitting the nub directly, a throaty moan escaped from Gabriella's mouth.

"Oh God..." she gasped.

Her hands fell to his head and her fingers raked through his chestnut strands. It was hard to believe that there had been a time when she had been a little afraid of this act, when the thought had made her feel a little awkward and uncomfortable. Because now it was a sensation she revelled in, feeling his tongue gliding among her glistening folds, his fingers gently probing at her entrance.

Troy hadn't been bothered with removing her panties at first but he was already sick of their obstruction, grasping onto the waistband and discarding the damp material onto his bedroom floor. Now unhindered, he had access to give proper love and attention to her heat; teasing her with the slightest of friction against her bud before returning to teasing, flicking around and near and beside but not right at that very spot. His index and middle fingers were curled within her core, pumping steadily. Gabriella was writhing, pants and mewls escaping from her mouth as Troy's ministrations sent her climbing up the peak of the summit.

"Troy..." Gabriella gasped. "Oh shit... Troy... please... please can you..."

"Can I what?" Troy murmured, and then flicked his tongue once more over her clit.

"Yessss... that... oh God..." Gabriella gasped, her hips bucking.

He smirked and finally obliged, twirling his tongue around the sensitive spot, that one little area that never failed to elicit a powerful reaction. In fact on this occasion so powerful that he knew that she was already teetering on the edge.

"Troy... I want..."

"What baby?" he murmured, before dipping back down to continue flicking his tongue and thrusting his digits.

"You... in me... want you in me..." she panted in the midst of a guttural moan.

Troy desisted for long enough to intone coyly, "In good time."

He was determined to take this all the way, more than determined in fact – there was simply no alternative. Gabriella was writhing in desperate ecstasy, waves of pleasure hitting her during that climb to the top, so close to the summit and yet so far. Her fingers which had been threading through his hair practically ripped at the sheets beneath her, kneaded at her breasts which were still encased within the pale yellow bra, then reached behind her to clutch at his headboard – before ultimately moving back to their place upon his crown.

"Oh f... shit... Troy..." Gabriella gasped.

Her eyes widening as she could feel herself just moments from arrival. Troy hastened the frequency of his tongue flicking and thrust his fingers with a little more force, determined to take her over the edge.

He loved hearing her arrive. In that moment he felt so incredibly powerful to have had that affect upon her, he had to use all of his force to hold her bucking, writhing hips still so he could continue to tease throughout to ensure maximum longevity of the climax. He loved that strangled moan which would increase in decibel; he loved hearing his name called through her lips in such a rapturous rush.

He wasn't going to give her time to lie back and have the climax deflate. As soon as she was settled, her ragged breathing and flushed cheeks the telltale signs of what she'd just experienced, Troy catapulted himself off the bed. He was languidly stroking himself with the hand he'd been using within her sex, her arousal a tool to heighten his own. Of course in that moment when he was trying to find his condoms hidden in the back of a drawer of stationery supplies that was rarely opened, of course they were seemingly hidden. Finally he grasped onto the packet, grabbing a couple and tossing one onto his bedside table.

Gabriella was lying back on Troy's pillow, watching him with a coy smile. She held out her hand, silently asking if she could put on the condom. He obliged, handing the foil package over which she promptly tore open.

"It's blue," she observed with surprise, and began to roll the rubber onto Troy's length.

"It matches my eyes," Troy said, deadpan.

Gabriella burst into a fit of giggles which she was finding difficult to quash. "Oh my God... we're about to do this and I can't stop laughing..." she gasped, still laughing.

Troy began to laugh at her laughter, he was still stroking his now blue rubber encased length. He kneeled on the bed, one knee on either side of her thighs, and leaned down with one arm supporting his weight. He pressed a kiss to her giggling lips, her laughter washing away as she reciprocated his kiss with fervour and passion.

"Are you ready?" Troy enquired in a hushed voice, murmuring just by her ear, breath tickling against her neck.

Gabriella nodded, more ready than she'd ever been. Not only was she ready but if he didn't enter her that very second she would take matters into her own hands, that was just how much she craved their union.

His hard member slowly slid into her entrance; surrounding him within her wet, warm heat; a feeling which neither of them would ever become completely accustomed to. Each and every time it was this overwhelming sensation; not only of pleasure but of unadulterated love and connection. With her legs parted, Gabriella's knees drew up and her arms hooked beneath his own to clutch at his shoulders. Her head lifted so slightly from the pillow, her lips searching the air for his. He saw her frantic search, leaning down to melt their lips together, the kiss slow, lazy, probing; matching the languorous pace of the strokes of his member within her.

"Fuck you're so hot," Troy panted.

He was holding his weight up with his right hand and using his left hand to traverse the length of her body, feeling the warmth of her hot flesh beneath his finger tips. Her bra hadn't even been removed, his hand grappling with the material and pushing the cup down, providing access to the swell of her breast. Continuing to pump in and out, he pressed kisses down her neck and collarbone, down her chest, and suckled at her right nipple. The material of the bra was still moving to be impeding, his free hand reaching beneath her to tug at the join, struggling a little but through desperate perseverance alone unhooking it and beridding her of the final article of clothing.

"Love you," Gabriella replied, once again pressing her lips to his.

"Love you too," his murmur came back.

The most recent times they'd made love, they'd begun to experiment with positions, talking about which were best to enhance the sensation and pleasure of their union for both of them. However it remained unsaid that Troy wanted the upper hand within the encounter. He wanted to prove his dominance, his manliness – and Gabriella was more than willing to allow that, however she was also willing to instigate the slightest of changes. She reached out and grappled for the pillow that lay beside the one she had her head resting upon.

"What are you... where do you?" Troy panted, his strokes continuing in relatively even fashion.

"Beneath me... here..." Gabriella responded, yanking the pillow and placing it on the bed beside her pelvis. She lifted her weight slightly from the bed, meeting his thrust, driving him deeper into her and allowing him to push the pillow beneath her. She wriggled experimentally before finding the right positioning.

"You right?" Troy asked softly, as he began to thrust once more.

A smile filled her features before her mouth opened slightly, eyes fluttering closed and breathing becoming increasingly ragged.

"Yes... God yes... that's... it's deeper... you're deeper... oh shit..." she gasped.

She took a brief moment to ponder in bewilderment that the pillow trick she'd read in a magazine actually worked, but then pushed it aside and concluded that rather than contemplating it she would just feel grateful that just by adding a little elevation to her pelvis she'd succeeded in making the angle of his penetration feel oh so much more pleasurable.

It was taking every inch of Troy's willpower to contain his thrusts and maintain a loving, sensual pace. Something had come over him, a lustful urge compelling him to drive into her with vigour that he'd yet to use during their love making. It was that same urge that had kicked in the moment he knew he couldn't lie back and allow her to continue to orally pleasure him. That need to prove himself, to what or whom he wasn't sure – perhaps it was merely to himself.

"You can... let it out, baby," Gabriella cooed among ragged breaths. "You can go harder... I know you want to."

"No 's okay," Troy insisted.

But she knew it wasn't okay, she knew it was straining him to hold back and he knew that she knew. Her hands tightened their grip upon his shoulders and her fingernails dug a little into his skin as she kissed him again, kissing him with fire and passion.

Gabriella pulled away, stared deep into his eyes and said throatily, "Go harder."

Troy swallowed, his eyes widening, hips bucking against her in a dumbfounded reaction to the audacity of her request. This was the same girl who would giggle so innocently and freak out if a teacher admonished her for talking in class. He almost couldn't comprehend that these words were coming from her mouth at all, let alone in that breathy, seductive tone.

All he could do was obey her request, the pace and force of his thrusting hips increasing. He shuffled on the bed, moving to a kneeling position. Her legs wrapped around his waist accordingly, further heightening the depth of penetration and providing more open access for the newfound rigour of his movements. Troy was clutching onto her hips, partially to assist in steadying his balance. Each time he thrust into her, his erect member felt as though it was reaching even further into the depth of her wet cavern, more and more of himself being surrounded by her warmth.

Gabriella could feel him in her so deep, each and every thrust intensifying the blissful haze that she was in. She had been clutching onto his arms, but her right hand had dropped and fallen onto her own body, squeezing at her breast and running across her taut abdomen before finally reaching the sensitive bud which ached to be attended to.

"Fuck baby... Gabi... so deep... so... so fucking good...." Troy groaned.

He was so close, and opening his eyes and looking down at her as she was aiding him in his cause and stimulating her clit with her fingers only served to bring him even closer, a slight growl emitting from his throat at the sight. His right hand which had been placed upon her waist slid around, batting her hand away, taking over the task himself.

"That feels... oh shit... Troy it feels so good," she gasped, her legs tightening further around his waist as his skilled fingers continued their ministrations. "Keep going..."

"How far are you?" Troy asked between shallow and ragged breaths. He knew she was close but wasn't sure how close.

"Not... far... a bit longer..." she replied.

Troy nodded, closing his eyes tightly, speeding the frequency of his flicking thumb and the intensity of his thrusting pelvis.

It hit her in stages, firstly feeling the climax from the outside and then feeling it somewhere deeper, an overwhelming sensation exploding within and reverberating throughout her body.

"Troy... oh my God... Troy... Troy..." she chanted his name in a series of moans, her pelvis writhing and bucking, physically incapable of remaining still.

The moment that it had hit Gabriella, Troy too was catapulted over the edge, unable to hold on for any longer.

"Fuck Gabi... baby..."

Groans, moans, cries and pants filled Troy's bedroom, the couple collapsing together in a satiated heap. As their climaxes subsided and Troy's thrusts slowed down, Gabriella's legs unhooked from around his waist. Troy's body weight shifted, leaning forward with his weight being held above her by his forearms. Lips met for a lazy kiss as he withdrew himself from within her. That immediate moment after their connection was broken always brought a slightly sour feeling, a pang of longing to be connected again. Troy reached for couple of tissues to wrap up the used condom within, dropping the little ball to the floor for now in exchange for pulling up the comforter and cuddling in a cocoon of warmth with his girlfriend – this time with her spooned within his arms.

"Thank you," he murmured, pressing a chaste kiss to her neck.

She turned her head to the side, glancing behind her, lips meeting with his for a gentle kiss.

"Thank _you,_" she replied softly, a hand reaching to toy with the strands of hair at the nape of his neck. "Troy? It's gonna be fine. Really."

He nodded, pulling her tighter into his body. "Yeah I know. I've got you, so of course it'll be fine."

* * *


	32. Chapter 32

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **I'd like to thank Audrey for her awesome beta-ing and also Nel for previewing for me (I had ulterior motive other than just being nice and letting you read early :-P).

* * *

**Chapter 32**

_I know you've waited for this moment  
But I had to take my time  
To see if you were true, a guy that would be only mine  
Now that I'm ready I think that we can give it a try  
Yes I'm ready_

_I feel lucky tonight  
So won't you please hold me tight  
I feel lucky tonight  
I think I'll fall deeper, deeper_

**Dannii Minogue 'Lucky Tonight'**

* * *

"Oh shit... Gabriella, that's so good," Troy mumbled, his eyes closed as he allowed the pleasurable sensations to vibrate throughout him.

"Is it really that good?" she murmured, her hands continuing their ministrations.

"Hell yes. We have to make this a daily event."

She giggled. "You don't want it to become old, do you?"

"This could never become old."

Gabriella was sitting upright on the far right end of the couch in the Bolton living room. Troy was lying with his head in her lap, feet propped up on the left arm of the couch. Her fingers were raking through his floppy chestnut locks, the pads of her fingertips rubbing at his scalp, massaging in a circular pattern. They'd awoken from their brief nap, redressed, and Gabriella had coaxed him out of the bedroom so they could de-sexify their appearances. They'd put in a music DVD which was playing in the background, but neither was paying much attention to the screen.

Troy reached down into the bag of potato chips that he had open on the floor, pulling out a crisp and popping it into his mouth. It was like Troy's idea of heaven, still in the relaxed state of post sex, a hot girlfriend's hands causing pleasurable sensation of a different kind to earlier and eating delicious snacks.

"You want one?" Troy asked, pulling out another chip and holding it up. He opened his eyes long enough to see her nod, and to then place the chip into Gabriella's mouth, not wanting her to have to desist her scalp massage to accept.

They heard the sound of the garage door rising, and Gabriella went to shift Troy away.

"I'm not moving," he said boldly.

"Troy, your parents are home," Gabriella admonished, glancing toward the garage urgently.

"So what? We're not doing anything wrong."

"No, but you don't want anything to suggest that we've been doing what we've been doing. Get up."

Gabriella's tone was resolute and so Troy merely rolled his eyes and sat up, picking up the bag of chips from the floor and placing it in his lap. His hand joined with hers, their fingers entwining.

"Do you think old fashioned hand holding will offend them?" he asked lowly.

She burst into giggles as they heard Lucille and Jack Bolton entering the house from the garage into the kitchen area.

"Troy?" Lucille's voice drifted into the living room.

"In here," Troy called back.

Lucille came into the room, making a quick visual observation of her son and his girlfriend watching a DVD with a bag of chips as snack food. She was pleased to see that her son had emerged from his room, he was entitled to a good sulk but she never liked to see him down. She wasn't so pleased to see him scarfing down chips.

"Have you eaten properly?" she asked.

"No, there was no food," Troy said simply.

Lucille rolled her eyes disapprovingly. "I'll make you a small sandwich but I don't want to ruin your appetite. I called Elena and we're going out for dinner."

"Where are we going?"

"We haven't decided yet, we wanted to ask you guys if there was anywhere you wanted to go."

Troy glanced sideways at his girlfriend. "Gabriella?"

She shrugged. "You can pick."

He contemplated for a moment before his face brightened up. "Can we go to Applebee's?"

"Good pick, son!" Jack's voice called from the kitchen where he was unpacking groceries.

"Applebee's it is then. So, what have you two been up to?" Lucille asked.

"Just chilling. I kinda fell asleep for a bit, and then we came out here to watch this," he said, gesturing to the television where the Nickelback music DVD was playing. Of course in Troy's recollection of the afternoon's events he left out a chunk of narrative being, _'well as soon as you guys left, Gabi seduced me, we had really hot sex, and had an awesome post orgasmic nap.'_

"Sounds like fun. Anyway, I'd best call Applebee's to enquire about reservations. Gabriella, would you like a sandwich or anything?"

Gabriella contemplated. She was a little peckish but knew a sandwich would be too much. "Um... do you have any apples? I wouldn't mind just something little."

"One apple coming right up." Lucille departed and headed to prepare the food.

Gabriella glanced at Troy, her eyes suddenly widening. "Troy?" she whispered urgently.

"What?" he said, his tone normal.

"Do you have like, a turtleneck sweater or something?"

"Yeah somewhere, why?"

She reached out and gently grazed the spot where she'd been fixated earlier. "It's a bit... purple."

Troy rolled his eyes, shaking his head mockingly at her. "Damn you."

Gabriella smiled sheepishly. "Whoopsie."

* * *

Meanwhile Chad was on the last legs of his check out shift from hell. Originally, he'd been hired at the grocery store for a shelf filling role but they'd gradually shifted him around and trained him up in a few different departments. If there was suddenly a massive queue of people wanting to be served in the deli, he'd be sure to hear, 'Chad Danforth to the Deli' over the PA system. Same thing with the registers, if there was a rush of customers he'd be called to open on a register until the rush died down. But a whole shift on the registers was utter hell. The management had a whole focus on customer service. Chad was sick of asking people how they were. He didn't care how they were. He wasn't there to be friends with them. He was there to charge them money for their food, full stop.

"I'm telling you, that the ticket says this costs $4.25, not $4.45!" the power suit woman complained.

Chad had to refrain from rolling his eyes. The woman reeked of money and yet she was debating over a twenty cent price difference. He flicked on his service light indicating he needed a supervisor and dinged his bell while he negotiated with the customer. "You might have misread the ticket. I work in grocery and I'm pretty sure it says $4.45," he said. "But a supervisor is just coming now and we can check for sure."

"I did not misread the ticket, I am very thorough in confirming the prices of the items I wish to purchase," she said haughtily.

_We'll see about that_ Chad thought to himself. "Okay," he said simply, rolling his eyes.

The customer departed with the supervisor, wanting to personally show them that the ticket did, in fact, read $4.25. Which left Chad to enjoy the lack of customers waiting at his register. He picked up his pen and began to doodle on the brochure he had in front of him, outlining the block letters reading 'SALE' and shading the inside of each letter.

"Good to see they're paying you to stand around doing nothing."

Chad whipped his head up, bright smile infiltrating his features seeing Taylor standing in front of him. "Hey!" he exclaimed, and leaned across the checkout to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, not particularly caring what his bosses might think if they saw. "What are you doing here? This isn't your closest grocery store."

"No, but she insisted that we come out of our way so she could visit you," a second familiar voice said – and Chad spotted Taylor's older sister Tanesha popping up from around the corner, basket of groceries in hand.

"Eesh!" Taylor admonished, a little embarrassed that she'd told him that – although it was entirely true.

"Well I'm glad you're here. I'm having the day from hell. All I wanted was to sleep in today, is that too much to ask? But instead they call me and wake me up and make me come into work on a weekend when all I wanna do is chill."

Taylor pouted sympathetically, reaching out to stroke his hand. "How many hours left?"

Chad glanced at the screen of his register. "One hour and thirteen minutes. How's college life, Tanesha? You home for the weekend?"

Tanesha didn't see Taylor's eyes widen or that look of pleading on her face.

"Yeah, mom asked me to stay at home since she's away and evidently doesn't trust Taylor any longer. But I'm going into campus anyway for this party and Taylor has agreed to come pick me up whenever I want to come home," Tanesha said, oblivious to the fact that Taylor had yet to disclose this information to Chad.

Chad's eyebrows rose. "Your mom is away?"

"Just for tonight," Taylor said quickly.

Tanesha did a double take, realising what she had revealed. "Oh... hadn't Taylor told you this, Chad?"

Chad cleared his throat. "Uh no... not yet. I guess it's not a big deal. We were just planning to go out and grab some dinner tonight, that's all."

Taylor didn't say anything, just stared at the ground. Tanesha cleared her throat and set the basket onto the conveyer belt. "Um... I forgot something... important... I'll be back in a minute."

The older McKessie daughter quickly departed, realising she'd obviously said too much. She and Taylor were fairly close, and she would know if her sister and Chad had taken _that_ step already. But when Tanesha had been musing that she was missing out on a great dorm party to 'baby-sit' and Taylor had offered to come pick her up so she could be back home and their mom would never know that she wasn't there all night – Tanesha knew then that something was up.

Chad cleared his throat. "Did you not want me to know or..."

"I didn't want you to know _yet,_" Taylor said, emphasis upon the yet. "I didn't want to... to push. Not after..."

"Not after yesterday afternoon?" he supplied.

She nodded, again glancing down, feeling a little embarrassed. Ultimately she knew that he had done the right thing in rebuffing her advances the previous day – but she couldn't help but feel personally rejected.

"Well I know now, so it's done," he said simply, shrugging.

She nodded. "Yeah..." she took a breath. "So um... you still want to go out and grab food somewhere tonight?"

"Definitely, a man has to eat."

Taylor smiled, and then added nervously, "And then maybe, since we're both poor... we can come to my house and like, watch a DVD?"

Chad cocked his head. "Do you actually meant to watch a DVD or do you mean something else?"

"Whichever you want. Whichever... feels right, I guess."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah. That sounds good. I'll call you when I finish work and we can decide what time we're going out."

"Okay."

"Okay."

They stood in silence, looking at one another. It wasn't awkward. It was lustful. They both knew what had been unofficially agreed upon. That if it felt right... that night was _the_ night. They both wanted it, they were both ready – there was very little holding them back. Chad swallowed, the final hour and however many minutes of his shift remaining bound to be the longest of his life.

Tanesha reapproached her sister and her sister's boyfriend, spotting the gaze between them. Perhaps not an entirely appropriate silent exchange for Chad to be engaged him whilst at work – and also not something she needed to see her sister doing, despite her assumptions about what was going to take place while she was out that night. She slipped in behind Taylor wordlessly, tossing the package of rice crackers in front of the basket and consequently breaking Chad and Taylor from their gaze. A moment later an elderly couple joined the queue behind the girls, meaning there was no excuse to dawdle and chat. He quickly scanned the items through and the girls had a small debate about who was paying – which Tanesha won.

"I'll call you when I finish," chad said, flashing Taylor a small smile.

She nodded, gave him a small wave, and with one final lingering stare, the girls left.

* * *

Sharpay was bored.

It wasn't an event that happened very often. Sharpay's life was filled with options to bring _some_ form of entertainment. She had a top of the range computer, unlimited access to iTunes downloads, advanced music software, musical instruments, a ridiculously large collection of DVDs including exercise DVDs, music DVDs, TV DVDs, and films from every genre and time period. She had unlimited access to a high class country club, to all of the amenities including the restaurants, golf course and spa. She had a collection of credit cards which most grown adults with decent salaries would be envious of.

And yet she was bored.

She'd found herself at the mall, however shopping in Albuquerque wasn't really her favourite thing to do. She was looking forward to her trip to New York the following weekend to purchase some new items for her spring wardrobe. She'd bypassed the clothing stores and was in the make up and fragrance department in Macy's. She'd purchased a new pink lip gloss and was now wandering through the perfumes, picking up a card every so often and spritzing it, waving the card about in the air and then inhaling the scent.

She'd run into a few people she knew since arriving at the Coronado Center, but it was certainly a surprise to round the corner and see Zeke leaning over and peering at a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker _Lovely_.

"What _are_ you doing?" Sharpay asked, an eyebrow cocking.

Zeke looked up, spotting Sharpay there, a relieved expression filling his features.

"Oh thank goodness you're here. Do you know about perfume?"

"Do I look like a sales girl to you?" she asked.

"No, not in the slightest. The sales girls scare me!" Zeke said, his tone hushed, glancing around to make sure that they weren't listening.

"So why are you buying perfume Zeke? You know, there is a men's cologne section just around the corner."

"Ha ha. It's my mom's birthday this week and so my dad gave me money s to get her a present and he said she's been dropping hints about perfume. So... here I am. I was looking at this Ed Hardy fragrance gift pack before, what do you think?"

"I think absolutely not," Sharpay said firmly.

Zeke looked a little hurt by her abruptness and Sharpay sighed. It wasn't Zeke's fault that he had no concept of how to shop.

"Ed Hardy might be cool to you but it's not exactly something you buy for your mom," she attempted to explain. "Don't you know what she normally wears?"

Zeke shrugged. "Nope."

"Could you tell me what it smells like?"

He looked at her blankly. "Uh... no?"

Sharpay closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "Then you either want to stick with something classic like Chanel, or Gucci have a new fragrance for women. Or, get a celebrity one with a celebrity your mom likes."

"That's what I was thinking! She likes 'Sex and the City' but I think she likes the blonde one that was always having sex, not the main one."

Sharpay wrinkled up her nose. "That sentence was disturbing on a few levels."

"Yeah, I just heard it back in my head and it didn't sound great." They both laughed. "What celebrities have perfumes?"

"The easier question would be what celebrities _don't_ have perfumes. Everyone who is anyone has a perfume, and a lot of no one's have perfumes too. Those Full House twins have a perfume!"

"Okay, who else?"

Sharpay sighed and began to list off the top of her head. "Uma Thuman, Catherine Zeta- Jones, Elizabeth Taylor, Victoria Beckham, Beyonce, Jenifer Lopez, Mariah Carey..."

"Wait! My mom loves Mariah Carey."

Sharpay nodded curtly and led Zeke a little further along the row, scanning until she spotted it. "_Luscious Pink_ is nice. And the bottle is adorable – see, a butterfly."

"That is cute," Zeke agreed, touching the butterfly laden lid, before clearing his throat and saying, "In a totally straight manly way."

He glanced at the prices and then picked up the smallest bottle in a box. "Done. Wanna tag along with me to the register?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Sure, I've got nothing better to be doing."

* * *

"I don't know how I haven't put on weight since you and I have been seeing each other," Taylor remarked, staring down at the massive burger and giant side of fries which had just been placed down in front of her.

Taylor and Chad were at a burger joint on Central Avenue, it was a little early for dinner according to most people's schedules but Chad was the kind of guy who could eat anything at any time; and Taylor had justified the early meal in her brain by the principle that the earlier they ate, the earlier they could be back at her place 'watching DVDs' – whatever it was that the watching DVDs was going to entail.

Chad had already bitten into his burger and he'd learnt on previous occasion to not even attempt to speak with his mouth full around Taylor. He quickly chewed and swallowed, and responded with, "These burgers are good for you. Everything here is good. You need meat for protein and there is heaps of salad. "

"What about the fries?" Taylor countered.

"You'll eat like three, you'll be full and I'll eat them anyway," he pointed out.

"Point taken."

"I hope Hoops is doing okay. He seemed pretty cut last night," Chad mused.

"I would be too if I were him."

"It's not his fault," Chad said firmly. "If anything I was the one who wasn't quite in position when he was passing the ball to me when it got stolen."

"Don't play that game with yourself. That's no point."

"I know that. I'm just focused on the future now, I guess. It was all about last night for a while... but now it's about making decisions about next year."

"Starting with going to Sacramento this weekend," Taylor said.

Chad nodded. "Exactly."

"When do you fly out again? Early Friday morning?"

"Yeah, and change at San Francisco, get one of those tiny, tiny planes to Sacramento, and arrive at about midday. I meet with the coaches then audit some classes in the afternoon."

"Are you planning to go look at U of A?" Taylor asked.

Chad nodded. "May as well. They sounded a little desperate when I was talking to them last night. They didn't say it but I think a few of the locals who they'd expected to sign on aren't that interested."

"Like Troy?"

"Exactly."

"So you'll check them out for the sake of it? But do you think you'd want to go there?"

Chad shrugged. "Six months ago I would have killed to have U of A trying to scout me. Now... I guess it's becoming more obvious that everyone is looking outside of Albuquerque for opportunities. If U of A is the best offer I get I'm not like you guys wanting to get as far away from here as possible. But if the best opportunity is somewhere else... I guess that's where I go."

* * *

Troy was in his bedroom having just changed from his sweat pants into a nicer pair of jeans. He'd walked Gabriella home about an hour earlier and he was now getting ready to leave for dinner, his mother having announced that he had to be ready in about five minutes. He changed the undershirt beneath his cream turtleneck sweater and decided it would simply have to pass. Applebee's wasn't exactly high class and thanks to Gabriella and her mouth and the giant purple mark she'd left, it was either a scarf or a turtleneck.

As Troy was looking into the small mirror on his wall and running his fingers through his hair, a knock came at the open door and he looked up to see his dad there, changed into nice jeans and a button down shirt and ready to go.

"You just about ready?" Jack asked.

Troy nodded. "Yup."

Jack stepped down into the room and sat down on Troy's bed, appearing a little awkward. He cleared his throat. "Uh... your mom said that uh, perhaps I was a bit unreasonable wanting you to go through the game tape when you got home this morning."

Troy stiffened a little but didn't say anything. He wasn't particularly inclined toward getting into an argument with him and so he didn't want to blatantly agree. However his silence was enough for Jack to comprehend his agreement.

"I guess I just... your season isn't over til you've made an official verbal agreement with one of these colleges you're looking at. And I figured that you would want to look at the tape while it's fresh in your mind."

Troy sighed and turned around from the mirror, his arms folding across his chest. "You're right, my season isn't over. But dad... the game is gonna be fresh in my mind for a while. It'll definitely be fresh in my mind on Monday. And I will want to look at the tape and go over it but I just need a couple of days. Is that cool?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's cool." Troy held back a smirk, words like 'cool' didn't sound quite right coming from his father's mouth. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm still really proud of you. Obviously you're bummed – I'm bummed too. But you did play really well."

Troy's expression clouded over, a slight snorting scoff emitting from his throat. "Um, right. Okay thanks."

"I mean it," Jack insisted.

The younger Bolton sighed, his hands shoving into the pockets of his jeans. "I know you mean it but... that doesn't change that I'm sorry."

Jack looked a little confused. "What do you mean you're sorry?"

"I'm sorry for missing the last shot."

"Troy..."

Troy held his hand up. "Look, I know that you've gone through the tape and when I look at it you're gonna point out all these other moments during the game when we could have gotten extra points. Those moments are... they're whatever. They don't change that if I had made that shot, we would have won. And I missed it. And I have to deal with that."

Jack didn't say anything. He just looked at his son and the expression of hurt which Jack couldn't help but vicariously experience. Troy was telling the truth. The blame wasn't on him – but it was still the truth.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom before we leave to pick up Gabriella and her mom," Troy said abruptly, and without even waiting for a response, he turned and left his room.

* * *

Sharpay's tagging along with Zeke to the register became wandering the entire mall together. She went with him to the book store where he wanted to look at some new cook book that was out. He went with her and watched and waited patiently as she tried on seventeen different pairs of shoes only to decide that she didn't like any of them and left without making a single purchase. They spent almost an hour poring over items in a CD and DVD retailer, discussing movies they'd seen and liked and music they'd downloaded recently.

It was a conversation that flowed over as they moved toward the food court, Zeke claiming he was starving and buying a kebab. Sharpay too was a little hungry and purchased a small salad, the pair sitting together and consuming dinner.

"Hey so um... speaking of movies... do you want to go see one?" Zeke asked casually, as he gathered together the empty plastic containers and packaging from their food to take to the garbage bin.

Sharpay blinked. "A movie?"

"Yeah, you know, in that place called a cinema, where there is a big screen which has like, these moving pictures of people doing stuff with sound coming through the speakers," Zeke said teasingly.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for clarifying that for me."

"No worries," he said cheerfully, rising to his feet and moving toward the trash, disposing of their garbage.

Sharpay had followed him, her arms folded across her chest. "I mean... a movie. You and me? Go to a movie? Together?"

"Um... yeah?" Zeke said blankly, not quite sure what the big deal was.

She cleared her throat. "Are you... are you like, asking me out? Like, a date?"

He did a double take. "What? No! I just meant like... coz we're hanging out here and bored and wanting to kill time. So we should go see a movie or something."

"Oh."

"I could have suggested going bowling or to the video arcade but something tells me you're not really into either of those things."

"No, not so much."

He blinked – in delayed form registering her tone as she'd said 'Oh' so simply – unless he was mistaken or hallucinating, with a sliver of dejection. "Unless... unless you... did you want me to be asking you like it was a date?" he asked carefully.

"No! I'm... i'm not dressed appropriately for a date, to start with," Sharpay said, somewhat haughtily, glancing down at her designer jeans.

Zeke cocked his head. "Are you saying... that if you _were_ dressed appropriately then the idea of going on a date with me wouldn't be completely offensive?"

And that was the question of the hour, the very issue that Sharpay had been dealing with in her heart and her brain for a while. She found him attractive, and he was nice to her, and he understood her more than most people, and he talked to her like he really cared about what she was saying or thinking, and he made her laugh, and he made her feel good inside when he was around. But did she want to date him?

Sharpay swallowed. "A movie sounds great, let's go to the cinema and check out what is playing."

And with that she did an about face, the heels of her stiletto boots click clacking as she headed toward the cinema. A few long strides and Zeke had caught up with her, glancing over at her somewhat questioningly however not saying anything.

They made their way to the cinema complex that was adjoined to the mall in silence, pausing in front of the screen with movies and session times. Zeke allowed Sharpay to select a film, the one she chose was commencing in twenty minutes so he then purchased their tickets – paying for both his and hers – and contemplated over the selection of candy bar items.

"Do you want popcorn?" Zeke asked.

Sharpay wrinkled up her nose. "Unless it comes in a no fat variety, no."

He rolled his eyes, and ordered a large box anyway and then asked for two cokes.

"Diet coke," Sharpay reprimanded.

"Sorry, make one of them a diet coke," Zeke corrected.

Armed with tickets and snacks, they went past the ushers and into the cinema.

"Where do you want to sit?" Zeke asked, juggling the two drinks and the popcorn box.

Sharpay contemplated, making her way up the aisle further towards the back – where she promptly froze mid step. Zeke came precariously close to falling into her and spilling liquid and popcorn all over her but fortunately stopped himself.

"Oh my God, ew, my eyes," Sharpay exclaimed, quickly turning around and shielding her eyes.

"What?" Zeke said, confused.

"Back row, right," she clarified, keeping her eyes fixed the other way, and scanning throughout the cinema for an alternate seating location to where she'd been heading.

He spotted what Sharpay had reacted so strongly to – Kelsi and Jason in the very back row, engaged in a very public, very rigorous tongue battle.

"Go JC," Zeke said, nodding approvingly. "Although I think you're meant to wait til the lights go out for that."

Sharpay looked somewhat mortified. "That is not appropriate behaviour in public. And... it's gross! I don't need to see my friends doing that!"

She made her way back down the aisle, moving a safe number of rows in front of the love birds up the back and to the far opposite side of the theatre.

"Your friends?" Zeke asked, raising his eyebrows, following and sitting beside her.

"Well, Jason isn't my friend. But Kelsi is. Sort of. I guess," Sharpay said with a small shrug.

Zeke didn't say anything, he just settled his drink into the holder on his far side, put the popcorn between them and handed her drink over.

"Maybe we should go see a different movie," Sharpay said suddenly.

"Sharpay, it's a Saturday night. There are going to be lots of people in here making out. Especially on opening weekend of a teen movie at a cinema complex that is pretty much home to a lot of high school students. Don't let them bother you."

She pouted slightly, and eyed off the bucket of popcorn for a moment before taking a small handful and beginning to eat kernel by kernel.

"It's good, huh? Nice and fresh," Zeke commented.

"I may have to go for a run after the movie to make up for it," Sharpay remarked.

"You go running?" Zeke asked, eyebrows raised.

"On a treadmill, sometimes," she said, with a nod. "I'm more likely to put on one of my aerobics DVDs."

"Then you really should be eating more than tiny salads if you do cardio. I just figured you were that skinny because you didn't eat anything," Zeke said disapprovingly.

"What, the baker is an expert on nutrition?" she asked sceptically.

"The basketball player who gets nutrition drilled into him by all our coaches," Zeke corrected.

The lights dimmed a little and the conversation was halted as the previews began to play. They sat in silence as the movie trailers played, Zeke commenting out loud once that a movie looked 'off the hook.'

The lights dimmed completely, the opening titles of the movie began to play, and the chatters of the audience gradually began to die down.

In the darkness, Sharpay suddenly found herself being able to say what she'd wanted to say at very first instance.

"It's not completely offensive."

Zeke cocked his head, turning to look at her. Sharpay was staring directly at the screen, not able to look at him as she said it.

"Huh?"

"The idea of going on a date with you. It's not completely offensive."

He blinked, staring at her a little closer, trying to look at her expression in the very dim light that was emitting from the screen.

"Are you saying that...."

"Sshh the movie is starting," Sharpay reprimanded him.

Which officially marked the temporary closure of the topic of conversation; and consequently, neither of them would be able to pay a single bit of attention to the film.

* * *

Gabriella's eyes widened as the waitress set down a full rack of ribs with a side of fries in front of Troy.

"You're actually going to eat all that?" she asked incredulously, staring at Troy who was sitting to her right. "After eating a sandwich late this afternoon, and eating most of my share of the appetiser?"

"And he'll fit in dessert, too," Jack said from the head of the table.

"And he'll probably steal half of your fries as well, Gabriella," Lucille said.

"You guys know me so well," Troy said with a grin, as he began to break some ribs away ready for consumption.

Gabriella glanced down at the massive Margherita Chicken and ample side of fries on her plate. "I don't mind, but... do you have like, a cow stomach situation going on, Troy?"

"A what?"

"Cows have four stomachs," she explained.

"I'm not that bad. You've seen Chad eat right? And Jason is worse than both of us."

"I think it's just a teenage boy thing," Elena observed.

"Or perhaps just male in general," Lucille added, glancing at the huge T-Bone steak on Jack's plate.

The conversation halted as the group of five all began to tuck into their meals – Elena with a three cheese penne and Lucille with a chicken Caesar salad.

"So Gabriella, you all ready for decathlon season to start? I hear practices are starting up again this week," Jack commented.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "I'm actually not doing the decathlon this year."

"What? Really?"

She shook her head. "No. It's... I feel like I've done it. I've participated for three years, in that time been to three state championships, two national championships, and won the national championships once. I've got some other opportunities, I'm doing a lot more with student government and I'm learning to drive. Also I'm actually going to start auditing an algebra class at U of A this week. So I really don't have time, even if I wanted to be doing it."

Jack swallowed his mouthful of steak before remarking, "That'll be a great challenge for you, but I'm surprised East High is letting you not participate. They'll be wanting to back up last year's effort and from what I hear you were pretty much the star of the team."

Gabriella shrugged. "Well, with all due respect Coach Bolton, I'm not going to be at East High forever. So I don't make decisions for what is best for East High, I make them for what is best for me."

"And so you should," Lucille said comfortingly, smiling at the younger girl.

"Besides, the decathlon is just like, AP level class material, right Gabriella? Nothing that the other kids on the team shouldn't be able to handle after you passed on all your wisdom about how the competition runs last year," Troy added, supporting his girlfriend's decision.

She nodded, giving him a small thank you smile. "Yup."

"I'm not judging. I think it's good that you're thinking to your future. I was just commenting that I'm surprised the school hasn't put pressure on you, Gerald Davis in particular," Jack said carefully.

"Oh no, Mr. Davis has been really supportive," Gabriella said immediately. "He's the one who pretty much set up for me to audit this class. Something was muddled up with my paperwork and he made some calls and fixed it all up for me even though I didn't get my paperwork in on time. And he's pushing them to actually let me take the class properly so I can get credit for it to transfer to... wherever."

"What did Taylor say?" Troy asked suddenly.

"What about?" Gabriella asked.

"You not doing the decathlon," he clarified.

She frowned. "She... didn't say anything really."

"You told her though, right?"

"Well... not explicitly, but I didn't put my name onto the sign up sheet and she knows about all this other stuff I'm doing."

"Oh... okay then," Troy said, his tone not particularly convincing that he was sold.

"What you think... you think I needed to have talked to her about it?" Gabriella asked, setting down her cutlery and suddenly completely disinterested in the meal in front of her.

Troy cleared his throat, and glanced briefly at Elena who was also looking on with slight concern. "Um, you're probably right," Troy offered.

"You don't think that really, do you?" Gabriella said, eyebrow furrowed.

"I'm just surprised that Taylor hasn't tried to talk you into it. Given last year's chaos."

"Well things have changed since last year," Gabriella said, reasoning with Troy and more importantly herself. "And anyway, decathlon meetings start this week and I haven't been told when the meeting times are or anything, Taylor and I are just planning to talk about yearbook stuff at lunch. So no... she just must really be okay with it."

Troy nodded. "That makes sense," he said enthusiastically.

"Um, so, Troy, off to Indianapolis next weekend?" Elena said, changing the subject.

Troy nodded. "Yup, that's right, to Butler. And UConn two weeks after that. And... fingers crossed to Cal Berkeley some time after that."

"Sure you're not going to go give good old U of A another look?" Jack persisted.

"Yeah, you'd love that. Like father, like son," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"You make that sound like a bad thing!" Jack said, somewhat taken aback.

"Oh come on Jack, there's a whole world out there. Troy has to go where he thinks is best for him to go," Lucille said, smiling at Troy. "Even if it does happen to be all the way in California or Connecticut."

"This is where she starts getting teary about him growing up and how he was a baby yesterday," Jack said.

Elena patted patting Lucille's arm, the two mothers sitting both side by side physically as well as emotionally. "It's so hard."

Gabriella and Troy rolled eyes at one another, choosing to ignore their mothers and the impending waterworks.

"UC Berkeley really is a fantastic school, I really hope that does translate as something on the table for you," Gabriella said enthusiastically.

"Oh and hey, when you get your Stanford acceptance..."

"_If_ Troy, _if_ I get a Stanford acceptance," Gabriella interrupted.

He rolled his eyes. "Right. Sure. _If_ you get a Stanford acceptance, you know, Cal isn't far away from there at all."

"That is true," Gabriella conceded carefully, before adding, "But MIT is all the way on the other side of the country."

"How can you be tossing up between California and _Massachusetts._ California is awesome, it has like, beaches, and Disneyland..."

"There are beaches in Massachusetts! And Disneyland is nowhere near Stanford," Gabriella pointed out, a grin upon her face.

"California is awesome though. Boston is like... really boring."

"Have you been to Boston?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well no," he conceded.

The conversation was light and playful on the surface but beneath the layers there was a whole lot more going on. Elena and Lucille had exchanged glances as the conversation progressed.

"You make it sound like you've locked in UC Berkeley as your pick when you don't know anything for sure yet," Gabriella remarked, an eyebrow cocked. "If you wound up at UConn you'd be telling me that MIT is the most awesome school on earth."

"Nah I wouldn't, I'd be telling you Yale is the most awesome school on earth," Troy teased.

"Even though you know I want to go to MIT or Stanford?" Gabriella asked. "Well, maybe I'll just go to U of A and I'll tell you that I think you should just go there."

"You would never go to U of A," Troy scoffed. "You didn't even apply!"

"They'd let me in," she said matter of factly.

The lightness of the conversation was beginning to drift away. It wasn't being said explicitly, but Gabriella knew exactly what Troy was suggesting and it was something she didn't want to hear him saying directly. Telling her where she should be going on account of him. The very matter they'd been dancing around for months. Their choices were narrowing down and in some ways that made it easier but in other ways it was only bound to put even more pressure upon them both.

"Since Gabriella hasn't gotten into Stanford yet, and Troy, you don't know what UC Berkeley might have to offer you, I think this conversation is a bit premature," Elena said tactfully.

"See Gabriella, your mom said _yet,_ you haven't gotten into Stanford _yet_ implying that you will," Troy teased.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and picked up a fry from her plate and threw it onto Troy's. "Eat your ribs. You said you'd finish them all."

"That I will," he said, picking up the fry she'd tossed over and popping it into his mouth.

Gabriella sliced off a section of her chicken and Troy picked up another rib to nibble at. She set down the knife and reached under the table with her right hand gently caressing Troy's thigh.

One gesture of comfort and in that moment, they could lift the pressure and put it off for yet another day.

* * *

First time around their relationship had been anything but cliché, Taylor and Chad had gone against the grain and hooked up and declared feelings before ever actually dating. They'd taken steps, physically, in their relationship before any kind of commitment had been made.

First time around, everything had fallen apart. Things had gotten rough and they'd both bailed, citing that it was all just too hard.

That hadn't taken away from the attraction, from the feelings, from the heat. And so inevitably, they'd found each other again but this time, gone about things a little differently. A bit more traditionally. Dating, kissing, making sure things were okay before taking further steps. Despite the stresses of school and other dramas in their lives – with each other, everything was okay. It was more than okay, it was as close to perfect as they'd ever been.

They'd finished up their burgers, Chad had finished their fries and he had suggested going to get ice cream. Taylor wanted her tummy to settle first and pointed out that in the basket of supplies she and Tanesha bought that day had been a tub of cookies and cream ice cream. Not only was it a cheaper alternative, but it was also a seamless way of moving to Taylor's house. With two spoons and one bowl filled with ice cream, they sat in the living room listening to some tunes and just talking as they ate.

For a relationship which had started out as far away from cliché, it was suddenly filled with cliché. Chad reaching out with his spoon, offering a mouthful to her, accidentally smearing her cheek, leaning over to kiss it away.

Sometimes cliché can be corny, but in that moment, on that night, it was perfect.

One ice cream flavoured kiss was all it took for the bowl and spoons to be abandoned, to be placed haphazardly on the floor by Taylor. One kiss became two kisses, then three, and then they'd lost count, immersed within each other, immersed in the emotion and the attraction and in what they both knew was inevitably coming. They'd left their innuendo filled conversation open as though they would just see where the night took them – but as they were kissing in the McKessie living room, both Chad and Taylor knew that finally, their time had come.

"Let's go to my room," she murmured.

Hand in hand they traversed up the staircase, the moment they reached the second storey Chad pulled her into him, lowering his lips to press to hers. He was holding onto her waist and somewhat blindly guiding her to stumble backwards to her room, given that his eyes were closed throughout the kiss, peeking to confirm he wasn't about to ram her into a wall. Taylor's usual behaviour when allowing someone into her room would be to enter first and quickly glance around to confirm the tidy presentation. She did enter first but was entering backward and it was the last thing from her mind. Of course the room was immaculate, nothing out of place, the purple and navy bedspread matching the lavender walls and dark purple feature wall.

No sooner than they were behind the closed door did the layers of clothes begin to peel off; the spotless carpet now with a t-shirt, sweater, blouse and cardigan all strewn haphazardly; the couple collapsing back onto Taylor's neatly made bed in a furious lip lock. The kiss was an intense battle for who was the more dominant of the pair; with her pushing him back, her weight on top of his temporarily until he fought back, hovering over her.

He broke away with the intent of reaching beneath her and latching onto the clasp of her bra to remove the item, but instead he found himself distracted by her loving and lustful stare up at him. Chad paused, staring back, and leaned down to press a soft, sweet kiss to her lips.

"Taylor?"

"Mmm?"

"I think... I think I love you."

The air was still as he waited for her response. The music that was playing in the background faded away, the only sound that Chad could hear was the thudding of his heart and Taylor's breaths.

"You... you _think_ you love me?" Taylor repeated quietly, searching for clarification.

"I'm seventeen. Am I even meant to _get_ love? I don't know if I do. I haven't felt it before so how am I meant to compare? I know that like doesn't even begin to explain how I feel about you. So yeah... I think that's what I'm feeling."

A small smile broke onto Taylor's face. "I think I love you too," she said softly. "Which... kinda scares me because I don't know what that really means. But it helps that I know that you're kinda confused by it too."

A momentary gaze of mutual love and adoration was followed by a slow, sweet kiss. Neither would have ever anticipated being in this position during their teenage years. Taylor never though she was the type to become involved in the world of dating and relationships, so intent upon her studies and working toward her future. Chad had dated, he'd had one kind of serious relationship before Taylor – but never would he have anticipated feeling the depth of this emotion. He never would have thought that he'd be the guy 'waiting' to do it 'right.'

And yet here they were.

Taylor allowed herself to be grateful that they'd waited until now, that they hadn't waited for the first locked bedroom with a drunken party downstairs, that they hadn't done it in a rush before his game or before a parent was coming home. She'd been ready for a while, and so had he, and finally, _they_ were ready. She wasn't naive, she wasn't expecting perfection, but she allowed herself in those brief seconds of thought to be grateful that she knew what was going to happen and that it felt right.

Chad's fingers deftly slipped behind her back and unhooked the clasp of her bra, the lacy purple item being pulled away. He wasn't ashamed or coy about staring at the ample swell of her breasts which he lustfully desired so much. Declarations of love didn't alter the lustful desire which was at the forefront of this encounter. With or without the 'I love you' exchange, things were heading in the same direction. The declarations had merely heightened the emotion of the encounter that was to come.

His body shimmied down the bed slightly, mouth attaching to the swell of her breast, suckling at the warm flesh, teasing her by tracing his tongue around her right nipple but avoiding the bud itself. Not only were his actions serving to arouse her but they were heightening her desire to feel, touch and taste every inch of him in return. She reached down, just able to reach the waistband of his jeans and undoing his belt and then the button and fly of his jeans. He assisted, pushing down the denim and kicking away the article of clothing. Chad's lips once again found their way to Taylor's breast, among her pants and mewls she ghosted her hands over the skin of his defined torso and down to caress his hardened length through the cotton of his red and white striped boxers. Not desisting from his ministrations of her breast, his own hands found the button and fly of her black jeans, tugging at and then discarding the material.

Their lips met once again, kisses slow and lustful as he ground his erect length against her dampened violet boy short covered mound; two thin layers of material all that separated them.

"Chad?" Taylor gasped between kisses, her hands gripping onto his shoulders.

"Mmm?"

"Um... did you um..." she cleared her throat. "... bring condoms with you?" She somewhat mumbled the word condoms, which Chad didn't miss, his lips curving into a smile.

"Uh... yeah." It then occurred to him that they were in the bag he'd brought with him downstairs. "Oh... they're downstairs. Do you want me to..."

"No!" Taylor practically yelped, clutching onto him tighter as he went to move away. "I um... you don't need to. I have some anyway. My sister might have... given me a talk."

Chad winced. "Embarrassing."

"Better than my mom doing it."

"True that."

Taylor reached across into the bedside drawer to her left, Chad shifting to allow her easier access. He raised his eyebrows as she grasped onto not only an entire strip of foil packages but also a tube of lubricant.

"Wow, she really did want you to be prepared," he remarked.

"Tanesha is good like that."

Taylor set them on top of the bedside table within easier reach, her hands lightly pulling him back to kiss her again, her fingers kneading among the masses of his curls and caressing against his scalp.

Lips upon lips, hands upon skin, the final layers separating them were discarded – leaving just Taylor and Chad, raw and exposed, with their attraction and with their love. The kisses were slow, probing, lust filled. The bedroom was filled with sounds that were evidence of the arousal and the pleasure which was building, hands teasing and roaming and exploring the curves, crevasses and contours of one another's bodies. Taylor pulled away from their kiss, staring into his eyes as she stroked his length languidly. Every inch of her skin was on fire with desire.

"Chad?" she said softly. "Are you... do you think you need to be more..."

"Um... I'm not sure," he confessed. "Maybe... a little more. What about you?"

He could feel the slickness of her natural arousal, the ministrations of his fingers curled within her cavern. He was worried about hurting her though, he knew it was inevitable to a certain point but they could take measures to alleviate that risk as much as possible.

"I'm ready when you are," she replied, gazing straight into his eyes.

He nodded and kissed her softly. He reached over to the bedside table, grasping onto the foil square that Taylor had broken away and the lubricant, bringing them closer onto the bed.

"Tay? So... we're really gonna do this? You're sure?" Chad asked softly, hovering just inches above her as she continued to softly stroke at his length.

She didn't hesitate at all, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before answering quietly, but firmly, "I'm ready. And... there's no one else I could ever possibly want to share this with than you."

His forehead dipped, pressing against hers. "Right back at you."

From foe to friend, friend to lover and back to friend again – the journey had been wild, but the destination made it all worthwhile.

* * *

**AN - **I'd love to hear your thoughts about this chapter, a few big things went on here, some subtle, some obvious... anyway yes. Thanks for all the support everyone, sorry that my chapters are taking longer to churn out. RL sucks.

-Dani xo


	33. Chapter 33

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **_To the person who reviewed anonymously (hence I could not reply personally) under the name '**taylor m'**_

You should review people's stories more if you have such strong viewpoints. How are authors supposed to learn if people won't give them constructive feedback? So no, I don't hate you. I kind of agree with you. And I wish more people would be honest with me like you were. So thanks.

I seem to have a case of the Dawson's Creek effect of characters over thinking life.

All the monotony has been building toward what you're after. And this chapter is the start of it. I hope you think this picks up and I'd love it if you could let me know your thoughts – and feel free to e-mail me if you don't have an account, I use gmail, look at my penname, you'll work out the address.

_**To anyone who reads **_**'The Definition of Us' – **_**and if you don't you should**_** :-)**

Okay. About... I think two chapters ago in TDOU there was an issue of a particular theme which blew up and it has some extremely similar themes to this chapter. I've had this drafted for a while but just haven't had the chance to work on the chapter after it and I am determined to keep ahead by at least one chapter. Immediately after reading that chapter of TDOU I alerted the author, **Savannah O'Ryan** to the issue and she was seemingly aware that a clash might occur, given the build to this chapter. So, I'm just writing this to acknowledge that yes, there are similarities... mirrorings... to the point that there is wording that frightens me just how similar our two chapters are. But I wrote this, and I wrote it before that chapter was published, and I could only hope that my readers would be capable of acknowledging that I'm not going to invest my life into this to then just blatantly plagiarise someone's work.

* * *

**Chapter 33**

I am alive in this moment  
In this moment I am found  
I am alive in this moment  
In this moment I belong

**Starfield 'Alive In This Moment'**

* * *

Troy stepped his foot a little harder on the accelerator, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping through his hair, windows of his truck wound down. He'd just downloaded _Collision Course_, the mash-up collaboration EP of Jay-Z and Linkin Park, and was enjoying listening to it thumping through his sound system which possibly had higher value than the truck itself.

Once he picked up Gabriella he'd turn down the tunes and ease off the gas, but for now, he was enjoying the brief freedom and taking a detour route, giving him more time.

It was the first day back at school since the Championships, and Troy was feeling a little apprehensive about the experience. He'd seen other teams coming into school after an experience like this. The football team had lost in the semi finals the year before and come into school on Monday dragging their tails behind them. No one was rude – East High thrived on its school spirit so even the wrestling team who despised the footballer and basketball team wouldn't stoop so low as to make derogatory comments. But it was the sympathetic looks that Troy was dreading, the 'how was your weekend?' in that tone where they expected that it was a weekend filled with turmoil.

In reality, it could have been worse. He'd moped, he'd had sex, he'd had dinner at one of his favourite restaurants, and on Sunday he'd done a combination of moping and studying, actually answering his phone when Gabriella called and reminded him that he had a science report due on Monday that he'd been given an extension until after the game, so she'd come over to help him with it.

But Monday was a brand new day. Time to face the firing squad – after school with a game debrief with the full team and coaching staff. And then he and Chad had already committed to continuing with consistent training until they'd reached official agreements with colleges for the upcoming year. Troy also had no doubt that the golf coach would be expecting his participation in the summer sport. Mid terms were just a week away.

Meaning that no matter what happened on Friday – the world doesn't stop turning.

No more than five seconds after he'd pulled up outside of Gabriella's house, the door flung open and Gabriella came darting across the front yard. Troy quickly hopped out of the drivers seat and moved around to wait for her by the passenger side.

"I was gonna come in," he told her.

"Mom is home, there's no point," Gabriella said brightly, leaning over to press a quick good morning kiss to his lips.

"But I wanted to say hello," Troy protested.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Another time. Come on, let's go."

Troy rolled his eyes and opened the door for her, waited for her to step inside and then slammed it shut. He made his way back around to the drivers side and leapt up into the cab.

"Someone might accuse you of being in a rush to get to school," Troy remarked, turning the key in the engine.

Gabriella's delicate hand came to rest upon his muscular bicep, squeezing gently. "And someone could accuse you of fishing around for excuses to be late," she said gently.

Troy gave her a look, a look that said that she was right but that he was slightly exasperated with her ability to read his thoughts and actions. He didn't say anything though.

"Troy? It's gonna be fine. This is high school. You'll get a few looks and then it'll be old news. There's other teams in championship games over the next few weeks, new sports seasons starting, mid terms next week – the game will be old news."

"To them maybe. It'll never be old news for me," he said quietly.

As he released the hand break and shifted the truck into gear, Gabriella's hand came to rest upon his knee, squeezing lightly. She couldn't take away the stinging pain that was bound to exist for a while to come; all she could do was be there for him.

* * *

Chad wanted to pick Taylor up for school on Monday. Right up until ten minutes before he left his house that morning, they'd been in text message negotiations about the matter. Taylor rightfully pointed out that not only did she have her own vehicle and live in the opposite direction from East High, but between them both having different after school commitments how was she to guarantee being able to get home without having to wait for him or him having to wait for her. Chad sighed and conceded that she was right, but that didn't stop him from sitting in his car and waiting for her to arrive. Troy's truck was already in the parking lot, as was Zeke, Ryan and Martha's car – so Chad could assume that the majority of his friends were already present.

The moment that he spotted her Jeep pull into the lot, Chad leapt from his car and went down to the spot where she was parking a few spaces away. Taylor spotted him and flashed him a smile through the windscreen, and Chad took it upon himself to open the passenger side door and step up to sit in the Jeep.

"Morning," he said, leaning over to press his lips to hers. Taylor accepted the soft kiss before pulling away and raising her eyebrows curiously.

"Um, not that it wasn't nice, but what was that for and why are you in my car?"

"It was to say good morning and because I wanted to say good morning without having people be stupid and make comments and tell us to get a room and the normal shit."

Taylor smiled. "Oh. Well that makes sense. Good morning." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, initiating another soft kiss, this one prolonging a little.

"And what was _that_ for?" he asked, a lazy grin on his face as his thumb gently rubbed at her jaw line.

"That was me asking how you are this morning," she informed him, a smile playing on his face.

"I'm good, really good. But more importantly, how are you? Are you good?" There was an edge to Chad's tone, that part of him that was worried that she'd had time to process and decide that they'd made some monumental error in judgement.

"You sound so worried. Anything happen over the weekend that would make you think I wouldn't be good?" Taylor teased.

Chad raised his eyebrows and said teasingly, "Obviously nothing notable to you, anyway."

She gasped mockingly before turning serious and saying softly, "Don't even say that jokingly. You know it was important to me, more than important. And I told you yesterday while we were hanging out and studying that I'm fine. Really."

"I know you did. I just still kinda feel bad that I had to leave to be home for curfew."

"And you came back the very next morning," she reminded him. "Nothing has changed since yesterday. I'm happy, Chad, really."

"Are you still um... sore?" he asked tactfully.

"I'm okay today." Chad looked a little sceptical, so Taylor added a little more forcefully, "_Really. _I am. A tiny bit sore but there's no need for you to be looking at me pitifully like you were all day yesterday."

He gave her a sheepish look. "Well would you rather I didn't care at all?"

"No, the fact that you care is a part of why I…" Taylor hesitated finishing the sentence, wrinkling her nose before completing in a lower voice, "you know, why I… love you."

"That was certainly hard for you to say, regretting saying it, Ms. McKessie?" Chad asked, eyebrows raised, his tone teasing.

"No I'm not, I just don't want to be one of those gross sweet couples who are throwing it around randomly."

"You and me will never be like Hoops and Gab." His tone was definitive and firm.

Taylor glanced at her watch, confirming they still had time before needing to head out of the car into the school grounds. "Speaking of Troy…"

"Yeah? What about him?"

"Did you um… did you… did you talk to him yesterday?"

Chad didn't grasp the implication of Taylor's query. "We texted a couple of times but he was hanging out with Gab. We made plans to do some training after our debrief with Coach after school."

Taylor cleared her throat. "Um… so you didn't… _talk_ to him. You know about… anything… important?"

"Oh. Oh! Um, no. Not yet."

"Yet?"

"Do you… do you not want me to tell him? Coz… we kinda do this, you know, we talk to each other about stuff. If it helps, you'll get great feedback," he added slightly teasingly, before turning back to being serious. "But if you really don't want me to tell him then…"

"No, no, don't be silly. I know that you guys talk. I'd be surprised if you didn't. And I mean, I talk to people about us so… no it's fine. I just wanted to know if he already knew."

Chad glanced at the floor near where his feet were resting. "So um, when you talk to people about us… do I get good feedback?"

She smiled alluringly and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his softly. "What do you think?" she asked gently, before reaching over to open the door of her Jeep. "Come on, let's go up and see everyone."

"You didn't answer my question just then," he pointed out, eyes narrowed.

They stepped out of the Jeep, Taylor pressing the button on her automatic locker and Chad's arm slinging across her shoulders as they navigated their way up to the fountain.

"Well… I was going to invite you to come over while my mom is at her book club dinner and meeting tomorrow night," Taylor ventured, a smile playing on her face. "Surely the feedback couldn't be bad if I was going to do that."

Chad grinned. "You _were_ going to invite me to come over or you _are_ inviting me?"

"I guess you can still come if you want to," she said dismissively, shrugging.

"You bet I'll be coming!" Chad said, and then blinked as he realised the double entendre. "Um... I didn't mean that how it sounded."

"Although it would be true in that way too," she conceded, the sly smile remaining on her lips.

"Sup guys!" Jason called out, his hand lifting and head tilting back in a lazy greeting.

There was a divide into couples and non couples, with Jason and Kelsi sitting on the edge of the pillar side by side talking with Troy and Gabriella, the former standing behind the latter, his arms loosely around her abdomen and hugging her to him. In a separate conversation, Zeke, Ryan, Martha and Sharpay were just a few feet away.

"Is she _always_ going to be hanging out with us now?" Taylor said under her breath.

Chad looked up, following Taylor's eye line. Logically she wasn't looking at Martha and rather the comment was directed toward Sharpay. He smirked and responded lowly, "She isn't always with us just... more than she used to be." He then raised his voice, nodding slightly back at Jason as he called out, "Yo."

Not breaking the physical connection with Taylor Chad went over to fist pump with Zeke before pausing before Ryan. "Do you do fist pumps?"

"I can," Ryan said, offering his fist somewhat awkwardly.

Sharpay had to stifle a giggle watching her brother fist pumping with the afro headed jock. Chad kept moving, bringing Taylor along with him as he went over to give the same fist pump treatment to Jason and Troy.

"So what's happening, how was everyone's weekends?"

"Not bad. Chilling, studying," Troy said.

"What did you get up to?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. Me and Tay hung out. Chilled. Studied. Pretty much the same," Chad said casually, his hand squeezing at her upper arm lightly, Taylor flashing him a small smile.

"Had to get Chad ahead with midterm study since he's going to miss out on time this weekend being in Sacramento," Taylor pointed out.

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "I don't know how you guys can do it, be away the whole weekend before midterms. You'll even miss final revision on Friday."

"Well, honestly, if our college visits go well then it won't really matter how we go on our midterms," Troy said bluntly.

"There's a change in tune Mr. Troy 'I want to get really awesome grades this year' Bolton," Kelsi remarked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, fuck that," Jason said.

Kelsi, Taylor and Gabriella all exchanged looks, but didn't say anything.

"I just have to go about things differently," Troy said tactfully. "It's not like I'm gonna totally miss a midterm or not study at all. Besides, even if I was at home, I can tell you I wouldn't be doing the crazy insane study thing that all you girls will undoubtedly be doing. Me and Gabriella would be there and she'll be studying and I'll be doodling in my margins."

"Word," Chad said.

More fist pumps were exchanged with the guys. Kelsi giggled, Gabriella gave him a somewhat amused smile but Taylor didn't look impressed at all. She wanted to comment but decided to just keep it to herself and instead turned to Gabriella.

"So we're still okay to sit and talk at lunch about everything?"

Gabriella nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Do you want to go meet somewhere else or can we just sit on our own in the cafeteria?"

"The cafeteria should be fine. The main thing I need to do is go through your availability with you, I understand it's pretty limited."

"Availability? Gabriella? Yeah, good luck with that, Tay," Troy scoffed.

"Yes, to say my availability is limited is a bit of an understatement," Gabriella said with a slight roll of the eyes. "But yes, we'll have to go over it. I know that I promised you I was going to do so much more for the yearbook and I feel so incredibly bad that I've let things slide but I know that we'll be able to get some amazing stuff done and make it the best yearbook ever."

Taylor blinked. "Right. The yearbook. Yes. It would have helped if we'd gotten a better committee together."

Gabriella missed the slight shock in Taylor's tone within her first few words, Troy's hands slightly tickling at her tummy and her hand slapping at him, distracted momentarily before turning back to Taylor.

"We had quite a few people who applied and said that second semester they'd like to do some stuff for it, so hopefully we'll have some more manpower," she said enthusiastically.

"Fingers crossed," Taylor agreed.

"I should have some free time, I wouldn't mind helping out," Kelsi offered.

Martha came over from the other group, having overheard Kelsi's statement. "What are you offering to do?"

"To help with the yearbook."

Martha smiled. "Yes! You totally should. Then we can all be working on it together, that'll be so much fun."

"We just have to confirm what we're doing for our spring show is all, then I'll know what is happening," Kelsi said.

"You haven't even finalised what you're doing about the winter show yet," Chad pointed out.

"Yeah but we have to plan ahead anyway," Kelsi said. "We were going to purchase the rights to put on a proper show but there's a chance they'll want something to be magically written."

"Enter Super-Kelsi?" Troy said, broad grin filling his features.

"Something like that," she said, rolling her eyes. "If it happens, Theodore writes as well. He's not great with lyrics but I've heard some of his music, it's pretty good."

"Do I have to worry about this Theodore guy?" Jason said suspiciously. "I know he's a pansy but..."

Kelsi stifled a laugh. "No, not at all," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You sure?"

"Yes! There's no need to be paranoid!"

"Oh, I was just trying to get another kiss," Jason said cheekily.

Kelsi slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Hey, so I was thinking that those of us who aren't flying around the country this weekend should have a big study session. Maybe study til we're about to drop and then crash at someone's house and watch a movie and then study some more the next day," Martha suggested.

"You make it sound like everyone is going away," Taylor said, and gestured to Chad and Troy. "It's just these two."

"And Ryan and Sharpay are going to New York for her Juilliard audition," Martha pointed out.

"That's right. Okay, anyway, study party sounds awesome as long as that is actually what we are doing and that people aren't going to distract us from the point of the event," Taylor said, her eyes flickering momentarily toward Jason.

"Hey! No need to give him that look," Kelsi said, defending her boyfriend.

Jason shrugged. "She's kinda right. I bet me and Zeke will tag along to this thing when neither of us will really give a shit about studying anyway. Which I guess is funny since we're the ones who need to study the most."

"I need to go to my locker before homeroom," Gabriella said abruptly.

Taylor was about to volunteer to go with her when Troy spoke up, "I'll come with you," and picked up both of their bags that were on the ground.

"Of course you will," Taylor said, her teasing tone infiltrated with an undertone of condescension.

Gabriella heard the tone but chose to ignore it, instead taking Troy's outstretched hand and the pair departing.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and the Wildcats were in homeroom, Ms. Darbus hurriedly reading out the announcements but no one was particularly listening. The exam block timetables for the following week had been handed out at the beginning of class and everyone was fixed upon examining them to see just how rough the week was going to be. There were far too many 8am exams for Troy's liking but they were spread across the week.

The moment the bell rang signalling the end of homeroom, people began to compare their timetables, exclaiming over how lucky or unfortunate others were. Gabriella met Troy at his desk, peering over at his.

"Not bad," she mused, nodding.

"Yeah, whatever it had been its still exams. Whatever," he said casually.

"Anyway, come on, better get to physics," she said, gesturing to where Taylor and Martha were heading out of the room.

"You can go ahead with the girls, I have to talk to Darbus for a minute," Troy said, squeezing Gabriella's arm. "I'll meet you there."

Troy approached Ms. Darbus as she was sorting through some paperwork ready for her freshman English class she taught first period.

"Ms. D?" Troy ventured.

"Yes, Mr. Bolton, what can I do for you?"

"Um, well, I wanted to tell you that the guy from Cal Berkeley gave me his card to call him later in the week and there's a good chance that I'm going to get to take a visit out there."

Ms. Darbus smiled. She didn't quite even understand what he meant – the whole concept of how athletes worked their way into college was a bit above her – but his tone alone was enough to tell her that this was something that Troy was happy about, and so she was pleased for him.

"Sounds like a wonderful opportunity."

"Hopefully. It's a door anyway."

"I'm not a fan of California myself, I tend to burn easily so I can't enjoy the warmth," Ms. Darbus remarked thoughtfully. She glanced behind him where students were arriving for their first period lesson. "Was that all?"

"Oh! Um no, that's not even why I stayed. I know you have non-teaching periods while we have our free periods so I was actually wondering whether you might have some free time second period Wednesday. Since I'm missing our last revision class before our midterm next week, I wanted to ask you some questions about some of the theory."

"You've been doing well so far this year, on the basis of your assessment and homework."

"Yeah, exactly. This is pretty much my only class I'm feeling good about. So I want to make sure I don't screw it up," Troy confessed.

She smiled. "You can come, if you like. You can tell Mr. Danforth he can come as well. I'll be giving out a practice exam in class on Thursday which is what I'll be going through on Friday. So I'll bring a copy for each of you to class this afternoon so you can go over it and bring any questions for me."

Troy grinned widely. "Awesome, that sounds great, thanks Ms. D."

"You'd better get going, it's almost first period. Don't want to be late."

He nodded and departed the classroom to turn to head toward his science room – and spotted Gabriella waiting just down the corridor.

"I said you could go ahead," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"I know, I decided to wait for you. Come on, or we'll be late," Gabriella encouraged him, taking his hand, and pulling him along. They power walked along the corridor, up the stairs and then along the north corridor, slipping into the classroom literally as the bell rang.

Mr Newman pursed his lips but didn't reprimand either of the pair, instead calling out, "Mr. Bolton?"

Troy paused, moving over to the desk.

"You have something for me?"

Troy nodded, fishing around in his folder and searching among the plastic sleeves. "Yes I do... I have it here somewhere...." he hunted around, flipping hurriedly, and then spotting the report Gabriella had helped him with the day before. "Here!"

He unclipped the sleeve and handed it over. The teacher scanned over the basic content, smiling curtly. "Looks good. I expect you had help?"

"A little. I did it myself though," Troy said defensively. Gabriella was strict with that – she would help to learn material but ultimately he had to do everything himself.

"Okay. Take your seat."

Troy rolled his eyes as he made his way to his place along the lab table beside Gabriella.

"What was that about?" Gabriella asked quietly, Mr Newman still looking through his papers.

"He implied that I didn't do the report myself."

"Well did you?" Taylor asked pointedly.

"Yeah! I did actually," Troy said, somewhat aghast that Taylor even needed to ask it. "Do you do Chad's homework for him?"

"No," she conceded neutrally.

"So what makes you think that I'd do Troy's for him?" Gabriella asked, both her and Troy now looking directly to Taylor for an answer.

"I didn't say that I thought that."

"You implied it though," Troy said a little accusingly.

"Hey! Why don't you all just chill," Martha intervened from the far side of Taylor.

Both went quiet, a stern look exchanged between the two. Troy wasn't inclined to get into an argument with his girlfriends best friend; just as Taylor wasn't inclined to be involved in such a discussion in the middle of the science laboratory with class about to begin.

"I'm perfectly chill," Troy said calmly.

"So am I," Taylor insisted.

Martha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

* * *

"It was just absolutely amazing, I had so much fun. I never thought that going to dinner and a movie could be so much fun!" Ryan gushed. "And I've been to Santa Fe heaps of times but it was just so much more awesome than ever before!"

Ryan was practically glowing and it was almost twenty four hours since Chase had left to go back down to Las Cruces. He was walking down the corridor with Kelsi and Sharpay between classes, himself heading to his dance class and the girls to their music class.

"Yes, the movie was great, Santa Fe was great, the streets are lined with gold up there, blah blah," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "You know, there are cinemas in Albuquerque."

"Yeah, I was at one on Saturday night," Kelsi said. "Me and Jason went to watch a movie."

Sharpay coughed. "You watched a movie, did you?"

Kelsi glanced at her, confused. "Huh?"

"I might have seen you there."

"Oh! You should have said hello!" Kelsi exclaimed.

"You were a bit busy," Sharpay pointed out. "Right before the movie... in the back row..."

Kelsi's eyes widened and she blushed. "Oh."

"Jason and Kelsi sitting in a tree, K-I..." Ryan began to sing song.

"Grow up," Kelsi said, playfully shoving Ryan. He stumbled off balance and almost tripped over into the bank of lockers they were passing, but he was laughing nonetheless.

"It wasn't something I particularly liked having to witness. I'm surprised _you'd_ be doing that in public, that's for sure," Sharpay commented.

"Who were you at the movies with?" Kelsi asked, blushing a little and wanting to avoid the topic of conversation.

"Yeah, who were you at the movies with?" Ryan asked, eyebrows raised. He knew that Sharpay would never go to the movies alone and last he'd heard, she hadn't talked to any of her friends from the country club for a few months.

Sharpay froze a little. "Oh... uh... no one."

"Yeah right!" Ryan paused, before cocking his head to the side. "Shar, did you have a date?!"

It wasn't a completely ridiculous notion, Vance Evans had a few business associates with teenage sons whom he'd had introduced to Sharpay a few times.

"No! It wasn't a date! It was just a movie!" Sharpay said firmly.

The warning bell rang and Ryan frowned, knowing he still had to get into the dance studio. "We _will _talk about this later but I've gotta go now."

"There's nothing to talk about!" Sharpay insisted, and pushed him gently in the direction he needed to go. "Go to class!"

"You're lying!" Ryan called back after her, before darting away.

Kelsi and Sharpay's music classroom was just around the corner so the girls walked in compatible silence. Kelsi wouldn't describe Sharpay as a friend but their relationship certainly had improved in the last year, Sharpay treating her with a bit more respect and acknowledging her abilities as a musician and composer and her role within the drama club. The girls rounded the corner and entered into their classroom. Their music class was small, and the seating chart had situated Kelsi in the seat behind Sharpay. The teacher had yet to arrive – Miss Timo had a habit of being late every lesson even though the performing arts teachers common room was just down the corridor.

Kelsi began to sort through her notes in search of the homework she'd completed when Sharpay spun around in her chair, glanced to her left and her right, before saying quietly, "I ran into Zeke at the mall and we hung out and wound up going to the movies. It wasn't a date. Okay?"

Kelsi blinked. "I uh... I didn't say anything. I didn't ask."

"Well, you were thinking it, I bet. So now you know. It was no big deal."

"Are you trying to convince me of that, or yourself?" Kelsi asked.

Sharpay's eyebrows furrowed and she turned around to face the front of the room in a huff.

"I don't understand why it is that when you liked Troy you went to all this trouble to try and get him to like you; and now you like a guy who already likes you and you're freaked out."

Sharpay remained facing the whiteboard, staring with intensity. She'd heard Kelsi. And whereas she didn't confess her feelings and admit to being afraid of letting down her guard because she might get hurt – she also didn't turn around to snap at her and tell her that she was being silly.

* * *

Gabriella was very organised for her lunch time meeting with Taylor. She'd brought with her not only draft outlines of the particular aspects of the yearbook which had been delegated to her but contributions to overall planning and deadlines and suggestions for organising the rest of their work up until the deadline. It was beyond the scope of her role but she knew that Taylor was a bit agitated that she'd slacked off in favour of other projects and so Gabriella was determined to placate Taylor and have her realise just how dedicated she was to the project.

It was Gabriella who had staked out their claim in the cafeteria first, having brought a bagged lunch with her and bypassing the cafeteria queue. Just beyond the Wildcats usual table she'd claimed a section of the seating ledge, sitting with her legs dangling and ankles crossed; the sheets of paperwork she'd brought spread out in front of her. She'd decided they should stick approximately near their friends so that if they had anything to consult with anyone about, they would be handy – as class president, Ryan had a lot of say in the planning and Martha had a big role on the committee. Troy had also brought a bagged lunch that day and whipped through the queue purchasing a carton of milk each for both himself and Gabriella. He diligently brought it over to her, which she accepted gratefully, pecking him lightly on the cheek in gratitude.

"Wow, this stuff is insane," he said, staring in awe at the work she'd spread out. "You sure you've only got a small role on the committee?"

"Well I'm meant to have a bigger role than I have been so... just trying to make up for it," she explained.

"All right, get lost Bolton. Chad will entertain you," Taylor announced, arriving with her lunch tray.

"Hello to you too, _McKessie_," Troy greeted her, emphasising the usage of the last name in return.

"I'm serious. I had to book this meeting days in ahead, now shoo!"

Taylor was faced away to set down her tray and large binder folder. Troy made a face at Gabriella and she struggled to hold back a giggle in response, but somehow kept a straight face.

"Okay so, before you say anything, yes I've totally been a bad yearbook committee member but let's just move on and hopefully I can make up for that, or at least, this is a start."Gabriella gestured down to everything that she'd written and typed up. "I've been following all of your minutes and progress and I've made a draft start on all of my articles so we'll have an idea of how much space is required for them."

Gabriella continued to ramble about the things she'd been working on, shoving paperwork into Taylor's face.

"This is all really great," Taylor said, scanning over it.

"I'm glad you think so. Have you put together a meeting schedule for the next month?"

"I'm doing that over the next couple of days, which I'll be able to get your availability for now because I'd like to move on and talk about the decathlon. I know that you're busy but we really need to organise..."

Gabriella let out a sigh and held up her hand, pausing her friend mid sentence. "I really didn't think you were going to try to talk me into coming back to the team but I guess I was wrong."

"Huh?" Taylor said, blinking slightly.

"I think you need to have more faith in yourself Taylor, all you guys needed was a nudge in the right direction last year, you so don't need me to do an amazing job," Gabriella said, genuinely meaning every word. It wasn't that East High lacked students with intelligence, it was more so that they had lacked concept of how to best prepare for the decathlon and the best strategies for answering the questions within the time pressure environment.

"What do you mean _coming back_ onto the team, when did you leave the team? I was going to talk to you about your availability for meetings this semester, the first decathlon is in two weeks and I haven't even finalised the team yet."

"Taylor... I didn't sign up for the decathlon this semester," Gabriella said slowly.

"Sign up?" Taylor's tone was one of genuine confusion. "You didn't need to _sign up_ I just... it was the natural assumption that you were on the team."

Realisation dawned over both of the girls what was going on, horrified expressions crossing their faces.

"Gosh... I'm really sorry but that assumption should not have happened. Taylor, I so do not have time to be doing the decathlon this semester," Gabriella said apologetically, but her tone strained at the mere thought of trying to add the decathlon to her workload.

"Well you should have told me that! I mean, I was completely willing to make allowances and flexibilities and to pretty much just have you come along once a week and to the decathlons themselves," Taylor exclaimed.

Taylor was clearly exasperated and Gabriella didn't appreciate that exasperation in the slightest.

"What do you mean I should have told you, I just said that I didn't sign up!"

"Forget the signup sheet, that's a misunderstanding," Taylor said, waving her hand away. She wasn't completely unreasonable and that wasn't the issue that bothered her most. "Signup sheet or not, you should have _talked_ to me about it. Did you really, truly, seriously think that I wasn't going to be upset about this? You actually thought that I knew and that I was okay with it?" Taylor asked incredulously.

"Well... yes! I did!" Gabriella insisted a little desperately. It was now occurring to Gabriella that she'd truly been naive in thinking that and she shouldn't have dismissed Troy's concerns at their family dinner on Saturday night – but it was a little late for hindsight. "I mean, between student council and drama club and the yearbook and the class I'm taking at U of A, I thought you would have just realised the practicality that I literally have no free time."

"I do realise that which is why I was willing to make allowances, but if you're too self absorbed to do something for someone else..."

"Ex-_cuse_ me!?" Gabriella asked indignantly, standing from her place on the platform, arms folded across her chest. "You think _I'm_ the one that is self absorbed? All you care about is that your precious team can win, you don't care about your friends being worked into the ground."

Meanwhile things had gone silent at the Wildcat group who were seated at the closest table. They'd gone silent the moment that the girls tones had risen above normal speaking level, their argument being overheard. They weren't shouting but they weren't exactly having a quiet, calm discussion either, and the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity was piqued. It was Chad who decided to intervene, standing up and stalking over, Troy right on his tail.

"Yo!" Chad interrupted them. "I get that there's been some type of disagreement or misunderstanding here but..."

"Yes. For the last twelve months I've misunderstood that Gabriella is in fact a bitch," Taylor declared, glaring straight at Gabriella as she spoke.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open, eyes widening, complete disbelief. "I... Wh..."

"I don't know why I would even have thought that you'd want to do the decathlon! You practically drop everything to do the musical or to help with student council stuff, but it's always been this big drama to be involved in anything to do with me. If it doesn't fit in with you and Troy's precious schedules..."

"Hey! You leave Troy out of this! Troy has nothing to do with this!" Gabriella snapped, eyes flashing.

"Troy has everything to do with this!"

"Hey, Troy is right here," Troy said, glaring at Taylor.

"Stay out of this," both Gabriella and Taylor said, the former's tone quiet and pleading but the latter an annoyed snap.

"I'd like to, but you guys are arguing in the middle of the cafeteria for half the school to hear," Troy pointed out.

"You know what, I don't want to be arguing at all," Gabriella said, and in a swift moment she snatched up her satchel, abandoned her paperwork for the yearbook and strode toward the exit of the cafeteria.

"What the hell was that?" Chad exclaimed.

Martha had now also stood up, wanting to listen a little closer.

"Couldn't even spare five minutes of her precious time to tell her so called best friend that she's totally bailing, selfish bitch," Taylor muttered. "Well she's not avoiding talking about it this time."

Taylor strode in the same direction Gabriella had headed, moving a little quicker until she'd caught up with her in the corridor which was presently relatively barren, students more fixated upon eating their lunch than milling about by their lockers.

"Hey!" Taylor snapped, causing Gabriella to pause and turn around, arms folded across her chest. "Don't walk away from me while we're talking!"

"We were talking?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows raised. "All I remember is you being unreasonable and rude. Be upset at me, fine, but _don't_ make this about anything other than what it is about."

"If you think that this is only about the decathlon then that is just further proof that you really _don't_ get it."

The few students who were milling about had frozen, not sure whether to run away or intervene. Gabriella glanced into the window of the classroom they'd paused by, confirming it was empty, and opened the door – which was unlocked. She marched inside, wordlessly indicating that she'd walked out the cafeteria to avoid arguing in public so she wasn't about to argue in the corridor either. Taylor rolled her eyes and followed Gabriella inside.

"Oh, I get that you think that I'm a self absorbed bitch."

"But you don't get _why_."

"How am I supposed to know when you don't even talk to me about stuff!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"How am I supposed to talk to you about stuff when I practically have to book you in to get five minutes to discuss something with you! But of course if Ryan needs something, you'll be right at his side a minute later, or if Kelsi wants to talk to you about something musical related you'll drop everything! And God forbid should Troy want something, you'd blow off your whole life for him!"

"Don't you _dare_ say that!" Gabriella said, her voice low, almost a hiss, eyes flashing. "That... you don't know _anything_ about what.... about me and... you don't know anything about my decisions or.... you don't know anything about it! This is about you being jealous! You never wanted me to be involved with the drama club, you never wanted me to go out with Troy, you've always had something against all of it."

"Jealous? Of you?" Taylor scoffed, raising her eyebrows. "It frustrates me that you have all the opportunities in the world and yet you'd rather dedicate your time to some stupid show..."

"Don't call the show stupid!"

"...but I'm not _jealous_ of you!" Taylor ignored Gabriella remark, just talking over her. "I'm not jealous of someone who throws away her opportunities..."

"What opportunities am I throwing away exactly? You think the decathlon is an opportunity for me?" Gabriella asked. "Taylor, I've gotten into a college I'd love to go to. The opportunity that I have right now is to _enjoy_ my last months at East High, to enjoy spending time with my friends and God forbid spend time with a guy who I love. And I'm sorry that this inconveniences you, I'm sorry that you don't give a shit about me being happy. Don't stand there and pretend that this is you being worried about my well being because you haven't said a single selfless thing in this entire conversation!"

"What kind of friend do you think I am? You really think I don't want you to be happy?" Taylor asked incredulously.

"Well you're criticising me for being involved with things that make me happy, so, yeah, I pretty much think that," Gabriella said matter of factly.

"Well, glad to know you think so little of me," Taylor shot back.

"Likewise."

Taylor narrowed her eyes, glaring at Gabriella for another moment before turning away and storming out of the classroom.

* * *

**AN - ***bites nails* Review? Pretty please? :-)


	34. Chapter 34

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **Thanks so much to Audrey for beta reading and for the ridiculously efficient turn around on this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviews and PM's and gives me their support in various ways. Life is mega stressful at the moment, I have finals next week, I have to find graduate work and I'm helping to plan a wedding... and fangirling is a full time job as well. :-P So it's awesome to have such fantastic support from you guys *hug for everyone*

* * *

**Chapter 34**

_All this time, we've come a long long way,_

_I waited a lifetime for today,_

_I'm praying this moment's here to stay,_

_All this time, when everyone else said I was wrong,_

_You gave me a reason to be strong,_

_You gave me the will to carry on,_

_All this time_

'**All This Time' by Michelle McManus**

**

* * *

**Gabriella had huffed away from the cafeteria, her expression a haunting mixture of fury and hurt. Troy had been about a second away from going after her when Taylor stormed after the petite brunette, leaving all of her things behind. Chad and Troy glanced at each other, not needing to speak to communicate that they were going to go after the girls.

"Hey, can someone grab Tay's stuff?" Chad called back to their group, not even waiting to get a response.

"Where the fuck did all this come from?" Troy said quietly as they bee lined after their girlfriends. "This isn't just about some decathlon mix up, I've never seen either of them talk to anyone like this, let alone each other."

"Friends fight. You and I get that," Chad pointed out.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yeah but... this is different. Gabriella doesn't get mad at people like she was just then. It's not in her nature."

They could hear loud voices coming from inside a nearby classroom, as they neared, the voices becoming audible, confirming it was definitely Taylor and Gabriella. Troy was heading straight for the door, but Chad pulled him back.

"Let them fight. Better they get it out there."

Troy retracted, contemplating this. "Okay... so why did we follow them then?"

"To eavesdrop," Chad said bluntly, and cleared his throat, "And uh... you know... to make sure they don't kill each other."

Troy shrugged and stationed himself as close to the door as he could without allowing himself to be visible through the small glass window.

"But of course if Ryan needs something, you'll be right at his side a minute later, or if Kelsi wants to talk to you about something musical related you'll drop everything! And God forbid should Troy want something, you'd blow off your whole life for him!"

Troy's eyes narrowed hearing Taylor bring him up again – and the venom in Gabriella's reply was enough to indicate that she too was not impressed.

"Don't you _dare_ say that! That... you don't know _anything_ about what.... about me and... you don't know anything about my decisions or.... you don't know anything about it!"

Troy swallowed. This stuck out at him, and as the girls continued to bicker he couldn't help but have these words swirling around in his brain. He had no doubt that the _decisions_ she was referring to were pertaining to her future. He shook his head slightly, concentrating again upon their eavesdropping.

"I'm not jealous of someone who throws away her opportunities..."

"What opportunities am I throwing away exactly? You think the decathlon is an opportunity for me? Taylor, I've gotten into a college I'd love to go to. The opportunity that I have right now is to _enjoy_ my last months at East High, to enjoy spending time with my friends and God forbid spend time with a guy who I love."

Troy couldn't help but smile a little at this remark, even if the overall tone was bittersweet. People sometimes forgot that Gabriella's high school experience was so different to theirs, and that it was only natural that she would want to cling to the normalcy that had been her experience at East High.

"And I'm sorry that this inconveniences you, I'm sorry that you don't give a shit about me being happy. Don't stand there and pretend that this is you being worried about my well being because you haven't said a single selfless thing in this entire conversation!"

"What kind of friend do you think I am? You really think I don't want you to be happy?" Taylor exclaimed, her tone incredulous.

"Well you're criticising me for being involved with things that make me happy, so, yeah, I pretty much think that."

"Well, glad to know you think so little of me."

"Likewise."

Chad and Troy had a moment to glance at one another slightly incredulously, which was interrupted by the door flying open and almost knocking Troy out – luckily he had quick reflexes and he was able to reach up and block the door with his arm. He made the quick mental note that if he should ever eavesdrop outside a classroom, he should stand on the opposite side from where the door would swing back. By the time Troy looked up, all he saw was a flurry of Taylor storming out of the room and the back of Chad's afro as he darted after her.

Troy hesitated for a brief moment before tentatively stepping into the classroom. Gabriella was standing by the teachers desk, staring somewhat blankly at the opposite wall. He closed the door behind him slowly before stepping tentatively over to her. It was only when he reached her side that he was able to see the trembling expression upon her face, the glassiness of her eyes.

"Gabriella?" he said softly.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, sniffing back the tears that were forming.

"No you're not, come here," Troy said, and with gentle force he enveloped her within his arms.

Gabriella allowed herself to be pulled forward, to nestle into his shoulder. She wasn't crying openly – she wasn't going to let herself. She was shaky, shocked, still not quite comprehending what had happened.

"You were right," she murmured; but her face pressed into his shoulder so her voice was muffled.

"Sorry, what was that?" Troy said gently, not having understood what she said.

She pulled away, sniffling back her tears once more and staring down at the carpet with shame.

"You were right," she whispered.

"About what?"

"That... that I should have talked to her about it. That of course she would have put up a fight for me to be on the team if she's known."

"Oh..." Troy winced. He'd foreseen the misunderstanding taking place, but never had he anticipated that it would be the catalyst so for many other issues to surface.

"I feel like I am the worst friend in the world, but I'm still so angry at her. How does that make any sense at all?"

Troy bit his lip. "After getting mad at you when I had that big fight with Chad last year, would it be wrong of me to say that it's because you are a little bit in the wrong, but so is she?"

She shook her head. "That's the truth. But I don't care. I might have neglected her but it wasn't intentional. The things she just said were completely out of line, and she clearly doesn't get anything about my life or what is important to me or..." Gabriella was getting worked up, the anger filling in her eyes again. Troy put his hands on her upper arms, her sentence trailing off at the soothing feel of his touch. She took a deep breath. "I'm just... I'm so supportive of her, I was there for her when things were rough with Chad and when she was being all weird about the SATs and... and it just really hurts me that she would use our relationship or me being involved in other things to try to prove some point."

"I know it upsets you," Troy said soothingly.

"And she called me a bitch! Did you hear her say that?" Gabriella exclaimed, flaming up again, eyes flashing with hurt.

Troy didn't say anything, deciding to just wait for her to finish instead.

"And to pick a fight in the cafeteria is just petty and immature, and then she tried to continue it in the hallway. There is nothing constructive about calling someone a bitch and being rude, if she has a problem with me she should just talk about it instead of being bitchy."

Troy nodded slightly – he was in agreement with Gabriella in theory, but also knew that sometimes it just wasn't that simple to sit down and talk about these things with someone and they are bound to come out in a tense manner.

"And she's put all this negative energy into me and I hate feeling like this! It's one thing to feel stressed about something, or to be a bit frustrated with someone, but she's made me mad and I don't get mad and I wouldn't be mad if she didn't deserve to have me mad at her! And best friends aren't supposed to make you mad!"

Gabriella's anger bubbled over, eyes burgeoning with tears once more, her lower lip trembling.

"Maybe this can be a good thing. I mean, me and Chad had our huge fight and we're good now," Troy suggested, trying to put forward a constructive argument for Gabriella to take, knowing that she worked better with logic and practicality.

Gabriella was going to protest that Taylor should be able to talk to her about it, but found herself just not wanting to talk about it – or rather, not able to talk about it.

"Are my eyes red?" she asked, wiping her tears away.

"A little," Troy admitted.

"I have to go the bathroom, I don't want her to know I was crying," Gabriella said abruptly. She glanced at the clock on the classroom wall, confirming that there was a little of lunch left, but she wasn't hungry in the slightest. "And then I'm gonna go to the library, stay there during free period."

"You want company?" Troy offered.

Gabriella hesitated, then shook her head. "No thanks."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "I just... I need to think."

Troy squeezed her upper arm gently. "Okay. Text me if you change your mind and I'll be there, okay?" He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

* * *

Meanwhile Chad was doing his best to calm down his girlfriend – whose reaction was a little different to Gabriella's. He'd caught up with her in the corridor – finding that it wasn't hard. She was walking at a perfectly normal speed.

"Taylor?" Chad asked, somewhat tentatively.

"Oh, hey Chad," Taylor said brightly, a smile on her face. Her tone was slightly forced. "Sorry about that whole... thing back there."

"Thing?" Chad said incredulously, eyebrow cocked at how blasé she was.

"Yes. Whatever word you want to call it."

"Um... so... Gabriella isn't doing the decathlon?" he pressed.

"Evidently not. Her loss," Taylor said simply.

She was walking with definition, Chad sensed in the direction of her locker, and he merely tagged along. "Um right... okay. It uh... I kind of overheard most of it, even after you guys left. It sounded pretty intense."

They rounded the corner and Taylor spotted Martha waiting by Taylor's locker; her bag on wheels having been packed up neatly. It was perfect for Taylor, focusing on Martha with her bag and not responding to Chad.

"Oh good! That was a bit silly of me, leaving my stuff behind," Taylor said, smiling graciously at Martha. "Thanks so much."

"That's all right." Martha paused, observing Taylor' calm. "Uh... are you okay?"

Taylor nodded. "I feel great. I have been gradually feeling more and more frustrated with her and it's like this massive weight off my shoulders. It's gone, and now I can move on. For starters, we need to find another person for the decathlon."

"I can't believe she's bailing on us," Martha said, shaking her head.

"Well according to her, she 'never signed up to begin with'," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "Please."

"Common courtesy would have been to talk to us about it. I would have been fine, yes, it's disappointing but it's fair enough. But not talking to us about it, that's just rude."

"Thank you!" Taylor exclaimed. "I know, right!"

Chad didn't say anything, he remained still. Taylor glanced at him. "Chad? What do you think?"

His eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "Umm... look... maybe you're a bit right but I'm not gonna get into a bitch session. Gab is my friend, and she's my best friend's girlfriend. Feel free to bitch among yourselves all you want though."

Taylor gave him a slight pout, but even in her annoyed state she could see his point. So she simply turned back to Martha. "We don't need her, anyway. We spent more of our time last year trying to accommodate her schedule than actually practising. Well, that's not happening any longer, I'm over it. This decathlon is ours, with or without Gabriella," Taylor declared with confidence. "For that matter, we don't need her on the yearbook committee either. She and Kelsi and Ryan can spend more time perfecting their high C's or whatever it is that they do."

Martha raised her eyebrows. "Um... look I know you're upset about this now..."

"I'm not upset. I feel like everything is just so much clearer now. I've been investing all this energy into trying to NOT be annoyed at her and today it's like... to hell with it. I'm pissed and it feels _good_ to be honest about that."

"You just had a massive argument with one of your best friends and you're not upset?" Chad asked, eyebrow cocked, not believing her in the slightest.

She shrugged and said simply. "It needed to be said."

"Right," Chad said dubiously.

"Anyway. I'm going to get to my class early, talk to some people about whether they'd be interested in the decathlon," Taylor said. "So I'll see you guys in drama, okay?"

* * *

It was free period and the Wildcats were hanging out in the quad – the Wildcats minus two of their core members. Taylor who was in class, and Gabriella who was at the library. Troy had slid in, the last to join the group, and let out a massive sigh.

"Well. That was intense."

"Yeah, remind me to not get on the wrong side of either of them," Zeke remarked.

"It's always the quiet ones you have to look out for," Jason said knowingly.

"I'm sure they'll get over it, it's just stress, life is stressful, people take it out on each other," Kelsi said, her tone more hopeful than anything.

"I don't think Gabriella was feeling particularly stressed," Ryan put forth quietly. "Maybe she is now..."

"You can't blame Taylor for being pissed. I'm annoyed. Gabriella screwed up," Martha said. "Taylor now has to rework the entire decathlon team."

"Sorry but you guys shouldn't have assumed she was doing the decathlon," Ryan said matter of factly.

"Hey... let's not take sides," Chad interjected.

"No side taking," Troy agreed firmly. "If me and him can keep neutral, then so can you guys."

"I'm allowed to have an opinion, and this does affect me too," Martha pointed out.

"What just happened was about way more than just the decathlon. Sure that affects you, but all that other stuff – just stay out of it," Zeke said.

"Do you guys remember when Julia and Alyson had that cat fight in junior year?" Jason asked.

Troy winced. "Oh yes. I was going out with Alyson at the time."

"What happened?" Kelsi asked .

"They got the entire cheer squad taking sides and then one game they couldn't even cheer like normal, they had to rearrange their whole formation and they wound up cheering in two separate groups at opposite ends of the gym," Zeke explained.

"I very much doubt that Gab or Tay is gonna be like that," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, neither of them is the type of person to hold a grudge."

Troy and Chad exchanged a glance, each of them having conversed with the girls after the fight.

"I say we just try to stay out of it for now," Troy said tactfully.

They were wise words being spoken on the behalf of the basketball captain. However human nature dictates that having an opinion is natural. And as would become evident over the next few days – sometimes it is impossible to be completely impartial.

* * *

Gabriella's head was held high as she strode down the corridor heading for final period drama. She'd been teary for a few minutes, before deciding that she was beyond upset. She was mad.

Gabriella was many things. She was kind, she was sweet, she was passionate. She liked pastels and floral designs. Her most recent redecoration of her room had included putting inspirational words like 'Dream' and 'Hope.' One could mistake her for being fragile, or a push over. One might have expected that she would have been apologising to Taylor the moment she arrived at drama.

However time and time again, Gabriella had also proven her resilience, she'd proven her determination, and she'd proven that she wasn't someone who was going to allow herself to be treated unfairly. She had no problem with Taylor being upset about the decathlon mix up. She wasn't even particularly bothered at the accusation that she'd been spending too much her time with Troy, because she was capable of seeing the truth to it. What bothered her was the vile in Taylor's tone, the language, the venom, being called a bitch. Gabriella had thought that she and Taylor were above the kind of cattiness that was exhibited by other high school girls on a daily basis. Evidently that wasn't the case. Gabriella wasn't able to just push it under a rug and pretend it didn't happen. She didn't want to speak with Taylor. She didn't want to have anything to do with her, and in that moment of feeling so negative toward her, Gabriella wasn't sure if Taylor was even someone she wanted to associate with again.

And so as Gabriella entered their drama classroom, she did not even glance at Taylor. She held her head high, bluntly ignored her friend, and instead walked straight over to where Ryan and Sharpay were talking.

"Hey, so I just finished the budget for the spring show, using different scenarios depending on what happens with the winter show, and whether we write our own script or put on an original," Gabriella announced, thrusting out some paperwork she'd printed.

"Oh, good," Sharpay said, giving the paperwork a half glance but not really looking at it in detail. She didn't really have the knowledge to know whether the job had been done well and so just accepted it at face value.

"Um... are you gonna... are you going to talk to her?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

"Why should I?" Gabriella asked, her tone blank and stoic.

And in blunt illustration, she returned to her desk, again ignoring Taylor completely. Taylor had glanced up briefly at Gabriella, put turned away in equal defiance of her presence.

Chad and Troy exchanged a silent glance. They knew that they were inevitably in for a rough period of time.

* * *

The final period bell rang and Troy and Chad individually farewelled their girlfriends before the basketball team foursome made their way to the gym for their final debrief. For the senior members of the Wildcats basketball squad, it would be their last official time collaborating together as a team. Jason's birthday party the following weekend was duplicating as an unofficial post season party, but as far as the official duties went – this meeting was the last. Some of the guys would move on to their participation in other sports for the remainder of the year; Chad and a couple of the juniors also played baseball, Troy was likely to play golf again.

"I'm just swinging by my dad's office to make a quick call," Troy told his friends. "I'll meet you guys in the conference room."

"Calling a school?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded. "Yup. Boston."

"If you get through, ask for me too, would you?" Chad joked. Troy rolled his eyes. Both guys had been persistently calling and trying to get through to talk to someone of importance at Boston University, both guys failing in breaking their way past the receptionist and gatekeeper.

Troy took off ahead of his friends and headed straight for his fathers office. He could see through the wide glass window that Jack was standing up and sorting through some notes – undoubtedly the notes he'd made about areas to be covered during the debrief. Troy knocked on the door and didn't wait for Jack to respond before opening the door.

"Can I use the phone?" Troy asked abruptly.

"Hello to you too," Jack said, amused as Troy made himself at home, slinging his backpack onto the ground and setting into the comfortable office chair on his father's side of the desk.

"Can I?" Troy asked pointedly.

He'd already picked up the receiver from the cradle, his finger hovering over the number pad. Jack waved his hand at the phone, indicating that it was fine for Troy to call. Troy had memorised the number and punched it in.

"Calling Boston again?"

Troy nodded. "Yes."

It took only a few minutes for Troy to engage in the same conversation with the receptionist. He'd called about five times, sent a few e-mails and also sent his form letter. He actually recognised the receptionist by voice and name – Abigail had answered four of the five times Troy had called. She was polite but firm in stating that no one was available to take Troy's call but she could take down his details and pass them along.

Troy let out a sigh as he placed the receiver back down. "Strike five."

"Most people would have given up by now," Jack remarked.

"Well I gave up trying to call UCLA and North Carolina since I had no chance in hell, I figured I should at least persist with Boston where if they'd just give me a chance I might have a shot."

"But why Boston? You've got official visits at two top twenty ranked schools. You're not even following up on Gonzaga who have a great history in rankings. Any reason why you'd want to be in the Boston area next year?" Jack asked, eyebrows raised.

Troy pursed his lips but didn't reply. The conversation with Gabriella about MIT at dinner on Saturday made very clear to Jack what the answer to his question was. Troy knew that his father knew and he just wanted him to say it out loud. Troy decided that silence was his best option.

"How was your day?" Jack asked, changing tactics.

"Crazy. Taylor and Gabriella had this huge fight at lunch," Troy responded.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Neither of them seems to be the fighting type."

"Not usually but... it's complicated."

"Hopefully you and Chad aren't planning to let this cause a rift between you."

"I can't say it's in the plan." Troy stood up from the chair. "Come on. Let's go get this over and done with."

Jack patted his son's back comfortingly. Debriefs could be gruelling, but this debrief more than any other was going to hit home. However it was procedure, and with the majority of the team staying on to play for the Wildcats the following year and Troy and Chad moving on to play at a college level, there was no excuse to overlook going over the game to spare anyone's feelings. It was a learning tool.

As the Bolton father and son entered the conference room, Coach Mason was already setting up equipment and Chad was getting the guys settled down.

"Okay guys," Jack announced. "This is going to hurt, but it's a necessary evil. So let's not bother with any x's or o's. Instead, let's get straight down to business."

* * *

Sharpay, Kelsi, Katie and Theodore were seated in the drama room, the former two having dispersed to their lockers before going back to meet for their meeting. They were waiting for Ryan and Gabriella to return from a quick trip to the administration building, and also Ms. Darbus who had to quickly make a stop by her staffroom to obtain some paperwork.

Sharpay had her BlackBerry in her hand, and was tapping away madly.

"Whom are you texting?" Theodore asked conversationally.

Sharpay glanced up, giving him an annoyed stare before ignoring the conversation.

"Whoever it is, it's a hardcore conversation, she's barely said a word since we arrived," Katie chimed in.

Kelsi gave Sharpay a sideline glance, a slight smirk on her face. She pulled out her own cell phone and quickly shot off a text to Jason.

'_Hey, has your debrief started? This is random, but is Zeke texting someone?'_

'**Just started. Yep hasnt put his cell down.'**

Kelsi gave Sharpay another glance, a smile burgeoning on the blonde's lips as she tapped away at her cell phone.

* * *

Gabriella and Ryan were walking together, having gone via the administration building to quickly give some draft budgets for the Spring Fling to the deputy principal, and then going back to meet Kelsi, Sharpay and the rest of the drama executive board for their weekly meeting. Gabriella spotted Taylor and Martha walking just ahead and knew that she had to take her chance, and made a snap decision to apologise to someone.

"Um... go on without me, I'll meet you there," Gabriella said quietly to Ryan, gesturing ahead. "I want to talk to her."

Ryan looked a little confused but nodded. "Um... okay."

Gabriella strode after the girls. "Martha!"

Taylor and Martha both heard Gabriella calling out, Taylor's eyes narrowing and Martha turning around.

"Um, hey," Martha said, giving Gabriella a tight smile.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Gabriella asked, blatantly ignoring Taylor.

"Um..." Martha hesitated.

Taylor sighed. She wasn't going to force Martha to be put into the middle, but she wasn't particularly inclined toward acknowledging Gabriella or sticking around. "Martha, I'm going ahead, I'll meet you there."

Martha nodded gratefully and then turned to Gabriella. "What?" she asked pointedly.

"Look I um... I kind of wanted to apologise to you."

"To me?"

Gabriella nodded. "About the whole decathlon thing. It really genuinely was just a complete mix up and I know that there were failures on both ends. And since this affects you too, I wanted to apologise."

Martha sighed. "Look. I know it was a mix up. I get that. It happens. You've been busy. I don't blame you for not wanting to do it. I understand that you don't want to do it. And the mix up is... it's whatever, really. But it's about bigger things and I don't think you really get what they are."

"I do get it! I get that I should have talked to you guys about it, but..."

"Why should you have talked to us about it?" Martha asked.

Gabriella hesitated. "Because... well... because it's... because..."

"Because we're friends. Because friends talk about these things."

Gabriella was silent for a moment, staring at the floor.

"I'm not getting involved in this thing with you and Taylor. It's even bigger than all that. But I will say that yeah I'm upset with you too but I'll deal with it. But Taylor is my friend too. And she's wicked stressed about lots of things and they're all things that I'm involved with and that I understand that she's stressed about them. So if you don't mind, I'm going to go find Taylor now so that we can start to sort out this decathlon mess."

Gabriella looked up, her eyes meeting Martha's for a brief moment. There was a hurt in Martha's eyes that Gabriella hadn't anticipated. Martha tore her eyes away and turned to head toward her meeting room, leaving Gabriella staring after her forlornly.

She took a deep breath, sniffled back the burgeoning tears, and kept walking toward the meeting room. As she walked, she continued to sniffle back her tears, and then paused outside the classroom to wipe at her eyes.

"Sorry I'm late," Gabriella said quietly upon entering, glancing around at where the others had pulled some desks into a group and were sitting around them.

The moment she spoke, she found her bottom lip trembling and more tears burgeoning in her eyes.

"Gabriella?" Kelsi said questioningly.

"I'm fine," Gabriella said, forcing a smile and slipping into the spare seat between Ryan and Katie. "Let's get started."

Kelsi and Ryan exchanged a glance across the tables, both clearly aware that Gabriella was far from fine but not about to press her on it in front of everyone.

"Sharpay?" Ms. Darbus said, signalling the club president to begin proceedings.

Eyes drifted to look at Sharpay, who was still tapping away on her BlackBerry. Ms. Darbus' mouth twitched. Her usual cell phone intolerance was lowered after school – since the students presence was voluntary and it was technically their own time. But it was nevertheless a personal pet hate in her regular life external to the classroom – she thought people who went through grocery store queues talking on their phones were rude, she would blatantly roll her eyes if anyone answered a call whilst out at dinner. And so the sight of Sharpay Evans' so immersed with her cell phone that she wasn't even aware of the people around her played with Ms. Darbus' nerves.

"Miss Evans?" she asked, her tone sharpening.

Sharpay looked up, seeing the stare of her teacher and drama club members. "Oh! Are we ready to begin?"

* * *

As predicted, the basketball debrief meeting was draining – but at the same time, as the session drew to a close, there was an aura of sadness in the room. Troy glanced around at his team mates, some of whom he'd spent years playing with. Even a few of the juniors, he'd played with at the junior high level. And this was the last time he was going to be with them as Captain, the last time that he'd be able to call them his team.

"Troy?" Jack said, breaking Troy's reverie.

"Yeah?" Troy said, hoping that he hadn't missed something important.

"Any final words?"

Troy cleared his throat, glancing around the room once more. "Um... yeah... just... thanks. Seriously. This season has been awesome, you guys rock. I wish we could have brought it home... but that doesn't take away from how great the season was as a whole."

And with that, the team was bid farewell. There was no final Wildcat chant, no final words of motivational inspiration from Coach Bolton. His work, for the season, was done. Troy and Chad stood in the doorway, side by side as team captains, shaking the hands of each of their team mates as they exited the room. They then turned to one another, shaking hands at first, and then leaning in for a brief, manly one armed hug.

"So that's it," Chad said.

"Yeah," Troy said, exhaling.

"We still gonna shoot some hoops now?"

Troy nodded and turned to where his father was shutting down the television and removing the tape from the VCR.

"Hey Coach? Can I get the key to the equipment room? Me and Chad are gonna shoot some hoops on the outdoor court," Troy asked, gesturing toward Chad.

"Yeah, we need to keep in shape," Chad added.

The label had slipped out of Troy's mouth fairly easily, calling his father 'Coach' at school when conversing in a basketball context. Jack smiled slightly. "I'm not your Coach anymore, technically."

Troy and Jack's eyes met in a slightly solemn stare.

"You're still _a_ Coach," Troy said quietly. "And sorry, but I don't think I can start calling you Mr. Bolton."

Jack grinned. "I guess not." He scrounged around in his pocket and pulled out his key chain, pulled off the relevant key and handed it over. There was no need to give a speech about how to use it or take care of it, Troy having been trusted with it dozens of times over the past three and a half years.

"Oh and Troy! I forgot to mention it before, I have great news. You know my important faculty meeting that was on Friday?" Jack enquired.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah... shame you had that on..." He was lying through his teeth. Jack had been annoyed about his faculty meeting because it meant that he wasn't able to come with Troy to Indianapolis for his trip to Butler.

"Well, it's been cancelled and I just made some calls and I've arranged for substitutes to take my lessons on Friday and I'm coming to Indianapolis with you!"

Troy blinked. Chad had to stifle a snort.

"Oh," was all that Troy could manage to say.

"I was never really happy with you guys driving down to New Mexico State on your own but since it was unofficial they weren't going to fund me to be put up in a hotel and you were lucky that the guys let you stay in their dorms. But I tell you boys, there aren't many times in life when colleges are offering to pay for you to take weekend trips away, especially weekend trips that I really should be a part of. It's important, Troy, that I'm there to hear all the information."

"Um. And... you've booked all this?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, it's all set. I got on the same flights as you, I booked a hotel room..."

"Hang on, so am I staying with you at a hotel now?" Troy interrupted.

"No, the Coach said that all the boys coming for the weekend are being put up in dorm rooms," Jack said.

Troy felt a bit of relief. "Oh. Okay then."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Anything you don't want me to be around for?"

Chad smirked but didn't say anything.

"Nothing at all," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

Jack wasn't oblivious to the sociable element of these college visits. Of course basketball was the primary factor but the team would want to sell the potential recruits on the entire package of the school, including social life.

"Come on Troy, let's go," Chad said, tugging at Troy's sleeve.

"Yep. Well that's great dad," Troy said attempting to sound enthusiastic. "Going to shoot hoops now, talk to you later." Troy and Chad exited the conference room.

"Not a word," Troy said quietly, seeing the look on Chad's face as he desperately wanted to remark. "Not yet."

The guys walked in silence all the way to the equipment storage room. Troy turned the key in the lock, stood back to led Chad enter first, and then closed the door behind them.

"What the fuck is he thinking?" Troy exclaimed.

"Oh dude," Chad said, in peals of laughter.

"When I started setting up these visits and dad found out that he had that meeting, I was so freaking relieved. I don't understand, does the universe want to torture me?!" Troy exclaimed in exasperation.

"Evidently so. And while I'm getting trashed, you'll have your dad in town baby-sitting you."

"Torturing me, you mean," Troy groaned. "I want this to be _my_ decision, not his!"

"Then stand up to him, dude," Chad said frankly. He pulled the silver basketball trolley out. "You wanna take the whole trolley or just a few balls?"

"Just take a few, can't be bothered to drag the whole thing outside," Troy answered.

Troy filled out the equipment borrowing registry and each boy picked up two basketballs and made their way to the outdoor basketball court.

"I started out today worrying that people were gonna be giving me that sympathy look all day about the weekend. And now the day isn't even over and there's whole new problems to worry about. My dad coming this weekend, Gabriella and Taylor... championships? What championships?"

"This whole thing with Gabriella and Taylor is fucked up. I have a bad feeling dude," Chad confided. "Taylor was wicked heated. Honestly, I kinda had an inkling that she was getting pissed with Gabriella but not like that. Not to get into a fight in the middle of the cafeteria. That was insane."

"You and me... we're gonna be cool, right?" Troy said warily. "I mean... I really don't have a side here. I don't know the details. But Gabriella's my girlfriend so of course I'm gonna listen to her and stuff."

Chad shook his head. "Nah, that's cool man, same here. And I told Taylor before that I'm not gonna take sides. I'll listen to her bitch about it but I don't wanna get involved. Too messy, these chick fights."

Troy nodded. "Anything that can get Gabriella upset like she was today... it can't be good."

They reached the basketball court, setting down three of the balls on the ground. Chad cleared his throat, shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably and spun the ball on his finger for a minute before tossing it to the other hand.

"Um... actually.... about Taylor, but not about this whole thing with Gabriella. I uh... I kinda... I guess I wanted to tell you something," Chad said. "But um... given this whole situation... I guess I should just make sure that if I tell you something, its between you and me, yeah? I know you and Gab talk about everything, but..."

"Dude, if you want something to be between you and me only, you just say so," Troy said with a firm nod.

Chad nodded. "Um so... Taylor's mom was out of town on Saturday night and she asked Tay's sister, Tanesha, to stay there and she did but she went to a party and Taylor agreed to go pick her up at whatever time she wanted. And so me and Tay went to dinner and then back to her place..."

Chad trailed off, Troy raising his eyebrows in anticipation. "And..."

"And... well... you know."

"What does 'you know' mean for you. Did you finally..."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, we did."

"Shit," Troy said, eyes widening a little, before focusing upon the most important question. "Well? How was it?"

A lazy grin spread across Chad's face. "Fucking incredible."

Troy nodded, grinning himself. "I know."

"I'm glad we waited though," Chad said seriously.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It kinda made it... deeper, you know?" Chad said thoughtfully, before adding, "You know, I wouldn't admit that to anyone but you, Hoops."

"Why, because I'm such an awesome friend?"

"Nah, coz you're possibly the only other person pathetic enough to do the whole 'waiting' thing too."

Troy rolled his eyes and gave Chad a playful shove. "Shut up." All Chad could do was laugh. "Seriously though dude?" Troy said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm happy for you. That's awesome."

Chad grinned. "Thanks man."

* * *

Gabriella was quiet throughout the drama club meeting, speaking only specifically on point to areas related to the budget, with little to contribute to general planning and brainstorming. She wanted to throw herself into it and forget all about everything that had happened since lunch but it was eating at her brain. It was quite a lengthy meeting, with planning for the upcoming show and assisting the participants with their performances, general workshops they conducted periodically throughout the semester, and preliminary planning for the spring show.

Finally the meeting came to an end and Gabriella silently packed up her belongings. She trailed with Kelsi behind Ryan and Sharpay toward the parking lot, Ryan giving Kelsi a lift home before driving himself and Gabriella to the Montez house.

"Gabriella?" Kelsi said gently, touching her friend on the arm.

"I'm fine," Gabriella said, a little too quickly.

"No you're not. And I don't blame you for not being okay."

Gabriella sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to drag people into this."

"You're not dragging people into it. I'm choosing to become involved. Because you're my friend and I don't like seeing you upset."

"I don't like being upset either but there's not much I can do about it."

They reached the parking lot where Sharpay and Ryan hugged good bye and she gave the girls a small wave before heading over to her pink mustang. Ryan turned back to where Gabriella had her arms folded defensively across her chest, eyes trained on the foot path, and Kelsi was watching on in concern,

"Gabriella..." Ryan began to say.

"Drop it, Ryan, I don't want to talk about it I don't want to..."

"Drag people into it, you've already said that," Kelsi interrupted.

"It's not a big deal. People get into fights all the time," Gabriella said dismissively.

"But clearly you're upset about it," Ryan said, and he promptly took Gabriella's hand and pulled her over to a nearby bench. Kelsi trailed along, equally concerned, taking a seat on the other side of Gabriella, her arm wrapping around her friends back.

"You guys shouldn't be being so nice to me," Gabriella murmured. "I'm being dumb. And I'm a bad friend."

"You are _not_ a bad friend!" Kelsi exclaimed. "Far from it!"

"Martha hates me now. I talked to her after school, she pretty much said she agrees with Taylor."

"Well that's Martha, not me," Kelsi said.

"And it's not me either," Ryan chimed in.

"You shouldn't be taking sides, I don't want anyone else to be fighting," Gabriella murmured.

"I'm not taking a side. I don't know the full story here but from what I hear, you've both made mistakes. But the way Taylor treated you was totally unfair."

Gabriella leaned forward, her arms folding across her knees and her head resting upon her hands.

"I've been on the verge of crying for the whole afternoon and I just want it to go away," Gabriella murmured.

"What about a hug, would a hug help?" Ryan asked.

Gabriella looked up, peeking over her arm. "Yeah. A hug would help."

"Group hug," Kelsi declared, and both Ryan and Kelsi threw their arms around Gabriella, one from each side, engulfing her.

"Hey, what's all this?" a familiar male voice asked from behind. "Group hug and I'm not invited?"

Gabriella didn't need to look up to recognise the comforting tone. They'd been so immersed in their interactions by the parking lot that she hadn't realised Troy and Chad's cars were both still in the lot and she certainly hadn't heard them approaching.

Ryan glanced up, and gave Troy a slight smile. He gestured toward Gabriella and gave a pout, indicating that she was upset. Immediately Troy strode forward, moving around the bench and crouching in front of her.

"Gabriella?" he said, his voice soft and filled with concern. "Look at me."

She hesitated but finally looked up into his bright, concerned eyes which were looking so carefully at her, almost as though he was afraid that if he looked at her too 'hard' then she may break. Gabriella felt her lower lip begin to tremble, and a lone tear slipped and began to trail down her cheek.

Wordlessly, Kelsi and Ryan released Gabriella from their embrace and almost immediately, Gabriella fell forward into Troy's arms. Her slender, delicate frame was shaking slightly as he held her within his arms. Troy slowly rose from his crouched position, bringing her up to stand with him and their bodies enveloping into a familiar position of entwinement.

Ryan glanced at Kelsi, gesturing toward the parking lot to indicate that they should go. "Um... maybe Troy should take you home, Gabriella?" Ryan suggested softly.

Gabriella didn't say anything, remaining nestled within Troy's embraced. Troy glanced up, his chin resting upon Gabriella's head, and gave Ryan a tight smile and mouthed, "Thanks."

Troy exchanged wordless farewells with all three of Chad, Kelsi and Ryan as they moved toward the parking lot, leaving the couple alone.

"Let's sit down," Troy murmured, guiding Gabriella to sit on the bench, her arms not letting go from clinging to his strong frame.

"I'm being so stupid," Gabriella said, her choked up voice muffled in Troy's shoulder. "I'm not normally like this. Maybe I'm getting my period or something."

"You're not being stupid, even if you are getting your period. You're upset and so it's real, and what upsets you is not stupid," Troy said softly, raking his fingers through her ebony tresses.

"They wanted me to talk about it and I don't want to talk about it. I just feel like crying. Which I hardly ever do. And yet that's all I want to do, I want to be a girl and I want to cry and I don't want to talk about it because there's nothing to say about it."

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to talk," Troy said quietly.

"I don't even think I want to cry just about my fight with Taylor. It's a bit of everything, about... about feeling stressed, and because I'm scared of next year, and because I miss my dad, and because I'm a sucky driver..."

"So let it out. No judgement here from me. I've seen you cry before. Just go on and be a girl and cry."

"You're not gonna think I'm an overemotional idiot?"

"Promise I won't think that."

And as the tears began to flow, Troy didn't judge, he didn't insist that she talked. He just allowed Gabriella to be a girl and cry for no other reason than that she felt like crying.

* * *

**AN - **I'd really love to hear your thoughts. I'm not working much during my finals but undoubtedly I'll procrastinate lots and it would be good to have some motivation to direct that procrastination toward writing :-) -Dani xo


	35. Chapter 35

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **I'd like to thank **Kate** (kat1estone) for a minor plot reference I've included in this chapter, being something that Jason and Kelsi are doing. She used the same reference in her new fic _Tumbling Etceteras_ which is a follow up to her awesome three shot _Inevitable _and was kind enough to agree to allow me to pilfer the idea.

Also just a **review reply** to **Jenna** who reviewed anonymously. She asked, to aid with her visual, whether I imagine HSM1, HSM2 or HSM3 physical appearances as I write. The answer is **HSM3**. :) With all of the Wildcats. Oh, except Sharpay. I don't imagine her bangs as pronounced like in HSM3. Sharpay is more like HSM2. :)

Finally, for the people who actually read author's notes – I've gotten so much mixed feedback about the situation with Taylor and Gabriella and most of it is on Gabriella's side. There are two sides to every story. Just because we get more narrative from Gabriella's POV doesn't mean that Taylor doesn't have legitimate reasons. Let's explore some of those now. :)

* * *

**Chapter 35**

_How did I miss you?  
(How did I miss you)  
When you were out there all the time  
It took this moment  
To make me realise_

**Human Nature 'Once In A Lifetime'**

* * *

Crying to Troy had served dual purposes on Monday after school. Firstly, Gabriella woke up on Tuesday morning feeling a whole lot better. Secondly, she'd somewhat let go of feeling upset. She wasn't necessarily mad, but she just didn't want to speak with Taylor or have anything to do with her.

Which worked out well, because that was the precise attitude that Taylor had adopted.

If any of their friends had developed an idea that the two would make up first thing Tuesday morning, they were mistaken. Troy had picked Gabriella up for school and Ryan had literally followed them in his car, and the trio arrived first out of their group and proceeded to stake out their spot by the fountain. Wildcats gradually arrived and when Taylor showed up, she greeted everyone but Gabriella, gave Chad a lingering kiss and then pulled him along with her to come to her locker.

First period Tuesday was Taylor and Gabriella's Calculus class. It was effectively the first test of how they would co-exist in the same environment whilst not speaking to one another. Upon entering the classroom, it crossed Gabriella's mind that she could claim to Mr. Davis that she had developed an eyesight issue and ask if she could possibly be moved to the spare desk in the front row. However Gabriella didn't want to give Taylor the satisfaction of knowing that she was bothered by her presence. And so the girls sat beside one another in complete ignorance of the other.

They walked separately to their homeroom classroom for second period drama, Gabriella stopping at Troy's trig classroom to meet him and walk back together. It was somehow harder to ignore each other in the presence of their friends. Neither wanted to be the cause of a divide but it was unnatural to remain stoic when surrounded by friends, and the choice of which friends they were turning to was no coincidence. Ryan and Martha were Gabriella and Taylor's main allies due to their requisite extracurricular activities together. Matters that could have been left to be discussed at their meetings after school were suddenly essential to be discussed during those minutes while everyone was chatting and waiting for class to begin.

Third period was physics, and the lab bench that Gabriella and Taylor normally shared with Martha and Troy had a reshuffle in its seating arrangements. After walking from drama to physics in two separate pairs, Taylor promptly took a seat closest to the wall, and Gabriella closest to the middle of the room, leaving Troy and Martha to act as a buffer between the girls.

Things were okay as long as both girls weren't present. Free period for the group minus Taylor before lunch had been perfectly amicable, the group hanging out and just skirting around the topic, sticking to safe topics like mid terms and Ms. Darbus. Ryan and Gabriella had gone to their lockers before lunch, while the rest of the group migrated toward the cafeteria. Taylor arrived, sliding into the table where Troy and Chad were all already present; Jason, Zeke and Kelsi sitting along the ledge nearby.

"Hey babe," Chad said casually, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she slid into the seat beside him.

"Get much studying done free period?" Taylor asked.

Chad wrinkled his nose. "Not really."

"You still want help with your algebra tonight?" Taylor asked.

"As long as it isn't gonna take too long," Chad said cheekily, knowing they had other potential ways to fill the hours of Taylor's mom being out.

"Well that depends how far behind you've gotten yourself with your homework," Taylor shot back playfully.

Martha was next to arrive, sliding into a spare seat beside Taylor. "How many days until graduation?" Martha asked.

"Too many," Troy declared.

"Oh hey, good news, I think Jerome might agree to doing the decathlon," Taylor said to Martha. "He has plans this afternoon but he said he can come to tomorrow's meeting to talk about it."

"Ooh! That's good! Except..." Martha hesitated.

"What?" Taylor said dubiously.

"We'll have a fairly humanities and literature heavy team. It would be nice to have someone else strong in math."

"Well unfortunately East High doesn't have a huge selection of math strong people," Taylor said, her tone strained. "Jerome is solid with his basics."

"Hang on, this is Jerome as in..." Chad said slowly, trailing off mid sentence. Jerome was Taylor's debate team member from first semester, and she'd hooked up with during a game of suck and blow at a party while she and Chad were broken up.

"Yes," Taylor said bluntly. "Calm down."

Troy smirked. He had no doubt that if Taylor was to wind up on the same team as Jerome for another season then he would have to be witness to some rants from Chad.

"Did you just smirk?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows at Troy.

"Come on Taylor, the guy did ask you out. I'm not suggesting that he is still into you or that anything is going on, but if I were Chad, I would have asked the question," Troy said truthfully.

"I think Jerome is going out with Kathy now," Martha offered.

Taylor gave Troy a slightly successful smirk before turning to Chad. "We'll talk about this tonight," she said quietly.

Chad nodded. He and Taylor had an unofficial policy of completely open honesty, the slightest thing that bothered them was on the cards to be discussed and dealt with. "We will."

"So Troy, you're heading Indianapolis this weekend, huh?" Taylor remarked.

However Troy didn't respond, his gaze was set in another direction. His gaze was staring immediately toward the lunch queue.

. . .

Gabriella and Ryan had swung by his locker, using the pretence of talking about something student council related when really he'd just wanted to gush about a text he'd just received from Chase. He might have a newfound policy of being _out_ with their friendship group but that didn't necessarily mean that he was _open_ about the details. Gabriella had been grateful to get away, things weren't too bad among the group but there was a bit of strain, particularly with Martha. Truthfully she'd been so busy being entertained by Ryan's infectious enrapture with Chase that she hadn't even though about the predicament that lunch in the cafeteria was going to cause.

It was only when she and Ryan had emerged from the lunch queue with their red trays of cafeteria food that it sunk in. Gazing over at their group where Taylor was seated. Did she really want to sit across a table from her and subject their friends to the silent treatment?

It was the first time in a long time that Gabriella had felt so out of place. This was a feeling that she'd once upon a time been accustomed to, each new school she was at, arriving at the cafeteria and glancing around wondering where was safest to sit. She wouldn't have anticipated feeling that way again during her time at East High.

She'd frozen, staring over at her group. Troy had glanced up, catching her line of vision, reading her mind. It took Ryan a moment longer to comprehend what was happening.

"Gabriella, you okay?" he asked, pausing and glancing at her as she stared over at their group.

"Um..."

Taylor looked up, and for a brief moment, Gabriella and Taylor's eyes met, before they both looked away.

Ryan was about to suggest they go find their own table. Troy was about to jump up and suggest that she come help him study up at the roof top.

But it was the third option that surprised Gabriella more than anything.

"Gabriella!" a bright and chirpy voice exclaimed, darting over.

Gabriella looked up and saw Liana and Paula approaching her.

"Come sit with us," Liana said, her tone practically an order.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Um..."

"It'll be fun. We can gossip about Troy," Liana said.

Paula smiled warmly, knowing that Gabriella wasn't particularly fond of Liana. "Really. Come sit."

"Um. Okay?" Gabriella said tentatively.

"You uh... don't want to go and talk about... you know... that thing?" Ryan suggested.

"No she doesn't, she's coming with us," Liana said, pulling Gabriella firmly by the upper arm in the direction of the table where a few of the cheerleaders were sitting.

Gabriella gave Ryan the slightest of nods as she allowed herself to be led away. She glanced over at Troy, giving him a slight smile of encouragement. Sure they were cheerleaders and, Paula aside, not her favourite people. But surely it couldn't be _that _bad?

"So. How is Troy?" Liana asked promptly, the moment that Gabriella had slid into a spare seat at the table.

"How is he?" Gabriella repeated. "Um, he's right over there if you want to ask him yourself.

"How are _things_ with Troy, I should ask," Liana clarified.

"They're good," Gabriella replied elusively, feeling a bit suspicious as to why Liana would be asking.

"Liana," Paula admonished, rolling her eyes.

"You can't blame her for being curious. Troy's hot," Monica said, stating the obvious.

"If you've invited me to sit with you because you want to fish for gossip about Troy and I, then I think that might not have been a great idea," Gabriella said honestly.

"That's not why we wanted you to sit here," Paula assured her.

"We wanted to ask you to sit here because Taylor McKessie is a bitch," Kayla said bluntly.

Gabriella cocked an eyebrow at Chad's ex-girlfriend. "Um... are you sure you can be impartial about that?" Gabriella was surprised at her verbosity of that thought. Seemingly the day before had removed a filter and Gabriella was feeling rather at least with being so honest.

"Oh please, I don't care about Chad, she can have him," Kayla said dismissively. "I feel a bit sorry for him if anything."

"She is a bitch though. Seriously, we all heard your fight. How rude of her, getting pissed at you for wanting to do stuff other than the decathlon. I say good for you for getting out of it," Liana declared.

Gabriella wasn't entirely comfortable with talking about the matter, but at the same time, it felt good having people who were completely on her side. Rightly so, her friends were trying their best to remain impartial, even Ryan who she suspected was entirely on her side. And glancing over at Taylor who was presently laughing with Troy and Kelsi about something, Gabriella couldn't help but have the catty element that exists within all teenage girls rear its ugly head.

"Hey, you guys want to hear something really funny?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure," Paula said.

Gabriella had conveniently spotted Steve Windsor, East High's rule following, three piece suit wearing 'individual' sitting at a table just beyond the Wildcats. She gestured toward Stevie, inadvertently looking as though she was gesturing toward her friends.

"Do you guys know Stevie Windsor?" Gabriella asked, lowering her voice. "He's in my calculus class. Mr. Davis is pretty cool, if you haven't had him, he makes jokes and talks about his weekend and his wife." Gabriella proceeded to tell a story about a joke that Mr. Davis had made which had inadvertently had sexual innuendo behind it, causing him to blush, the class to laugh, and Stevie to raise his hand and ask for clarification because he had no idea what was going on. And the desired effect of Gabriella's tale took place – the cheerleaders laughing as they all simultaneously glanced over at Stevie.

. . .

Over at the Wildcat table, Taylor was narrowing her eyes as she sneaked glances over at where Gabriella and the cheerleaders were laughing.

"Gee, real mature Gabriella, bitching about me," Taylor muttered.

"I'm sure she's not talking about you," Troy remarked, and then glanced over seeing the girls laughing and glancing over.

Taylor was the kind of girl who didn't like people to see past her front of bravery. Since the argument the day before, she'd maintained that it was good and that she felt great being so honest about just how much Gabriella was irritating her, that she didn't give a crap, that the decathlon team was better off without her.

But as she watched her supposed best friend sitting at a table with girls who they privately discussed how ridiculous they were, laughing and having fun, Taylor had felt a pang of sadness waver through her and she simply had to get away.

"Whatever. You know what, if Gabriella gets her kicks being immature and gossiping about me, I couldn't give a crap. I've got more important things to be doing with my time," Taylor said, somewhat haughtily. She abruptly rose to her feet. "I have to go find a book at the library, Chad call me when you're done with training, Martha I'll see you after school and I'll see the rest of you tomorrow." She gave one final dirty look in Gabriella's direction before leaving the cafeteria quickly.

Chad let out a sigh. At least he was finished with the majority of his lunch. Without saying a word, he went after Taylor and reached her just after they exited the lower level cafeteria door.

"Yo, Tay, wait up," Chad said, grabbing her by the arm.

"Chad, you didn't have to come after me, I'm just going to the library," Taylor insisted.

"Maybe I wanna come to the library with you," Chad said insistently.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Chad..."

He sighed. "Tay... just because I'm not taking sides here, doesn't mean that I'm not here to listen to you."

Her facial features softened. "I know that, Chad. And I just... I just want to go to the library now. Alone. Is that okay?"

Chad nodded. "Okay... are we still gonna hang out tonight?"

"Definitely. We'll text. I have a decathlon meeting after school but after that I'm free."

He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Love you," Chad said lowly, feeling a little embarrassed.

"You too," Taylor responded quietly, squeezing his bicep.

Chad did an about face and returned to his place in the cafeteria, sliding in between Troy and Kelsi.

"She okay?" Troy asked.

Chad shrugged. "So she says."

Troy shook his head and sighed. "This whole thing is fucked."

"Completely and utterly fucked," Chad agreed.

* * *

Gabriella left for her second last period without saying anything to Troy, and so when she arrived at her final period Economics class and slid in beside Troy, he smirked slightly at her.

"Oh hello. Nice to see you here," he teased. "I thought maybe you'd skipped out on school."

She rolled her eyes. "Like I'd ever do that."

"How was your lunch with Liana and her entourage?" Troy asked, eyebrows raised. "You know, I've sat with those girls when it's just all of them together and no other male influence. They're... interesting."

"It ranged from uncomfortable to fun to boring as hell," Gabriella confessed. "They gave up trying to get details about us, thanks to Paula standing up for my right to privacy. I told them a story about Stevie Windsor which was amusing. But then Monica started talking about this new mascara she tried and I proceeded to tune out."

Troy laughed, and then backtracked, furrowing his brows as he registered not only that his nice to every living soul girlfriend was teasing someone, but also as he registered what her motives had likely been. "You were making fun of Stevie Windsor?"

"Yeah, this funny thing happened in calculus... but I won't bore you with the story."

"Stevie Windsor who was sitting at the table just behind us?" he said slowly, his mind flashing back to the cheerleaders gesturing in Taylor's direction and laughing.

"Oh was he?" Gabriella said, attempting to sound innocent but in the process coming off as awkward and guilty.

Troy shook his head, an amused expression on his face. "You know, if I wasn't concerned about this whole thing between you and Taylor then I might be congratulating your genius."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gabriella said.

Troy scoffed. "Yeah. Right. Don't suppose you noticed anyone leaving my lunch table half way through?"

"Um... maybe?"

"I think she thought you were making fun of her," Troy revealed.

Gabriella flipped open her textbook, pretending to be immersed in the page in front of her but really not paying any attention. "Uh huh," she said distractedly. "Well that's pretty self absorbed of her. Like I don't have better things to do with my time than sit around thinking of ways to make her feel bad about herself."

He rolled his eyes, and then decided to just drop the matter. "You do know that you didn't have to go sit with the cheerleaders? I get that you didn't want to sit with us, but you and me could have just had lunch together. I really wouldn't mind, in fact I'd probably prefer it, especially if we went up to the roof."

"Is that a completely innocent suggestion, Mr. Bolton?" Gabriella asked, smiling slightly, before sighing. "I know you would have, and Ryan offered as well when we came in. But I'm not about to make you guys choose. You got to the cafeteria before me, she sat down, that's fine, there's no law about that. And it's not like I had to go sit on my own."

"So what, are you planning to sit with them again tomorrow?" he queried.

"No. I'm planning to bring a bagged lunch and get to our table before her."

* * *

Since going to the movies on Saturday, Sharpay and Zeke had exchanged small talk as they passed in the corridors and before their mutual classes began. They'd also exchanged, by Zeke's approximate count, approximately 60 text messages over the course of a few days. They'd been texting a lot over the few weeks since New Year's Eve, mostly their texting bouts initiated by Zeke but Sharpay was perfectly reciprocal. However gradually she'd started to instigate the exchanges, texting him randomly to ask how his class was going, whether he'd done his homework for English, and then at night to ask whether he was watching The Bachelorette – which he was, but he had insisted that she must never reveal that to his friends. Sharpay might not have been inclined to put a label on her feelings but Zeke was comfortable with his. He was crazy about her. Full stop. And during free period on Wednesday when his friends were all otherwise occupied – Jason and Kelsi working in the multimedia lab, Troy and Chad in an extra tutorial with Ms. Darbus to make up for their lost class on Friday, Gabriella and Ryan studying at the library and Martha in the yearbook office – Zeke found himself wandering the corridors a little aimlessly. He should be studying, given midterms were taking place the following week, but he had no motivation at all. And when he heard a familiar female voice what sounded to be talking to herself, he found himself drawn in that direction, nearing the classroom the sound was emanating from, and then pausing just outside the window.

Sharpay was at the front of a random empty classroom in the mathematics wing, in the room alone. Peering in the window, Zeke could see that she had some white pages on the desk in front of her which she was avoiding glancing at as she delivered the speech. Zeke was content to just stand back and allow her to rehearse, not about to interrupt, enjoying hearing the sound of her voice as she commanded the performance.

Until she stumbled over a word, let out an exasperated shrill grunt and snatched up the script to confer.

And without any conscious decision being made to do so, Zeke knocked on the classroom door and opened it.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I not allowed to be...." Sharpay began to say, and then looked up and saw it was Zeke and relaxed. "Oh, it's you. I thought it was a teacher telling me that I shouldn't be in a classroom unsupervised without permission."

"Nope. The coast is clear. I uh... I heard you rehearsing. You sounded amazing."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Please. It's a complete disaster. I'm normally really good with memorising lines, why is it that when I'm trying to remember something for the most important audition of my career, it's falling to pieces?"

"Juilliard means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Zeke asked, perching on the edge of a desk in front of her.

"Of course it does. Juilliard is where the best of the best go. And I know that I belong there but... everyone has bad days, days where the notes don't come out right, where the emotions aren't quite delivered as you want them to be hit."

Zeke contemplated this. He couldn't imagine being like Sharpay or Taylor and having such high aspirations for one particular dream.

"I like to believe that everything happens for a reason and that if you're meant to go there then you're gonna get in. If it doesn't happen then it means that it's not what you're meant to be doing with your life."

Sharpay's eyes widened. "Zeke, I was born to be on stage, if you don't understand that about me then...."

"No, believe me, I understand that," he assured her. "I don't mean it like that. I just mean that it's not set in stone that you need to go to Juilliard to perform. Not all successful performers have studied at Juilliard, have they?"

"No," Sharpay admitted.

"There you go."

"You might be right but... this is all I've wanted for so long and so all I can concentrate on right now is making sure I am one hundred percent prepared for my audition this weekend."

"Of course. I'll just..." he gestured toward the door, indicating that he was going to leave.

"Wait," Sharpay said, reaching out and grasping his arm. "Do you... do you think you could stay?"

"You want me to stay?" Zeke asked, a little confused. "I don't know anything about performing or acting. In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly the number one student in our drama class."

"I don't mind. I just... it makes more sense to be rehearsing in front of someone. And you can read my script, make sure I'm doing it right," she said, thrusting out the pages to him.

Zeke nodded, smiling. "Okay. That I can do."

She smiled, a big, genuine smile. "Excellent."

* * *

Meanwhile in the multimedia computer lab, Jason and Kelsi were sitting side by side on computers. It was a lab specifically set aside for students needing to use specific programs such as graphic arts, film editing and music programs. Jason was fiddling around with some random footage that he'd filmed independently from any actual project. Kelsi was working on a orchestral composition she'd been working on. She perfected the count of eight and then stopped to playback what she'd done so far. Earphones filling her ears with the music, Kelsi glanced over at Jason's screen beside her. The music that was filling her ears began as a light and soft romantic piece, the imagery on Jason's screen was currently a montage of footage he'd secretly shot of Troy and Gabriella. Kelsi smiled at the appropriateness of her music playing for those shots.

And then she was hit with a sudden idea.

She pried at the earphones that he was wearing to gain his attention. "Jase!" she exclaimed, bouncing excitedly. "Jase!"

"What? What?" Jason asked, sounding a bit panicked.

"I just got an awesome idea for your next project," she said excitedly, before faltering slightly. "Well, I _think_ it's an awesome idea, but if you don't want to use it then I'll totally understand because it might not be something that you'd ever contemplated doing and it might also be more complicated than I think and..."

"Kels?" Jason interrupted, a grin toying at his lips. "What is the idea?"

Kelsi took a breath. "What do you know about short silent movies?"

He paused. "We've studied them a little. They're actually really interesting because what is most important is the music that accompanies them..." He then understood exactly what she was proposing. "You want to work on this together?"

Kelsi nodded enthusiastically. "I think it would be fun, a lot of fun, and like you said interesting and for me working on something different will be great! I mean I've composed some bits of background music for you before but nothing like what would be needed for this."

"I'll have a think about it," Jason said seriously. "Do some research. It's definitely a different option that I wouldn't have contemplated doing myself but... I don't know. It could be majorly cool."

"That's fine, it's totally up to you. But if you're up for it, I will definitely be there to help you."

He grinned and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Awesome. Thank you."

Jason was about to put his headphones back on when Kelsi reached out and touched his arm. "Hey Jase?"

"Yeah?"

"Any present ideas?" Kelsi asked hopefully.

Jason rolled his eyes, smirking slightly. "Kels, I keep telling you that I don't know."

Kelsi pouted slightly. "And I keep telling you to think about it because it is your birthday in a week and I still have to buy you a present and I'd rather you give me a really great idea and it wasn't a surprise than me just get you something crappy."

"Nothing that you get for me could ever be crappy," Jason assured her.

"You're useless. I wonder if Troy or Zeke or Chad might have any ideas..." she mused.

He shrugged. "Seriously Kels, I'm just really glad that you're coming over for dinner next Wednesday and then to the party on the weekend."

"That's even more of a reason why it needs to be an awesome present, the fact that your mom has asked me to come for the family dinner and that your parents are going to see you open this gift."

"They don't have to," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "Kelsi, you're stressing about nothing here."

"Present buying is stressful business, and I get double the stress because I've only just recovered from Christmas shopping," Kelsi grumbled good naturedly.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll have a serious think about some ideas for you, okay?" Jason compromised.

She smiled triumphantly and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

* * *

Gabriella had brought a bagged lunch with her on Wednesday. This wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence, but rather what was poignant about bringing a bagged lunch was her reason behind it. She'd theorised that if she brought her lunch then she could rush to the cafeteria from her writing class and score the Wildcats table prior to Taylor's arrival.

However there had been a slight glitch in the plan, with her teacher calling her up to stay behind at the end of class for a minute. He'd just wanted to praise her efforts for their practice exam and to reassure Gabriella that she was perfectly on track for their midterm the following week. She appreciated his concern and it only took a couple of minutes – but those couple of minutes proved to completely impair her entire plan. She'd then run into Mr. Davis who had pulled her aside to check if everything was okay – obviously having observed the behaviour between his two star pupils in calculus. She then ran into a couple of acquaintances from her literature class who wanted to ask something about their upcoming midterm.

And by the time Gabriella got to the cafeteria, it was too late, with Troy, Taylor, Chad, Kelsi and Martha all already sitting down. Clutching onto her lunch, Gabriella let out a sigh. She really couldn't handle another lunch with the cheer squad, regardless of how nice Paula may be.

Meanwhile just emerging from the cafeteria queue was Sharpay and Ryan Evans. He'd already happily agreed to sit with her upstairs. Although Sharpay wouldn't admit it, he knew she was feeling a bit nervy about her Juilliard audition in New York that weekend and hadn't been around for her as much as he would have liked.

Gabriella hadn't seen them emerging, but Ryan and Sharpay had seen her standing looking a little lost, contemplating her plan with a forlorn expression. Sharpay let out a sigh and turned to Ryan. "Don't ever say that I'm not nice to your friends, okay?"

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Follow me," Sharpay said promptly.

His eyebrows were furrowed as he followed Sharpay as she strode over to Gabriella, pausing directly in front of the brunette.

"Come," Sharpay requested, and went to turn to head toward the staircase.

"Huh?" Gabriella said, glancing at Ryan with slight concern.

Ryan shrugged and Sharpay sighed and turned back around. "Come upstairs and sit with us. You look kind of pathetic standing there looking around," she said bluntly.

Gabriella's mouth fell open and her eyes widened at Sharpay's candour. "Um..." Gabriella managed to choke out.

"Well, are you coming?" Sharpay said, eyebrows raised pointedly.

"Uh..."

Gabriella wasn't sure how to respond. 'Sure I'd love to sit with you' wasn't quite right because she wasn't sure whether Sharpay really wanted her there or not.

"Come, really," Ryan said, smiling at Gabriella.

It was a flashback of the day before, with Liana requesting Gabriella's presence and Gabriella not sure of Liana's intentions, with Paula being her comrade and encouraging her to come. Except it was now Sharpay whose intentions were ambiguous. Gabriella shrugged. "Um, okay, sure. Thanks."

"I'd ask you to carry my tray, but last time you were anywhere near me carrying a lunch tray you managed to dump it all over me," Sharpay pointed out, her pumps click clacking as they manoeuvred throughout the cafeteria.

"Which was totally an accident," Gabriella insisted, trailing behind.

"Sure it was," Sharpay said, eyes rolling slightly.

Ryan gave Gabriella an assuring smile as the trio made their way upstairs to the second level of the cafeteria.

"Sharpay!" a few of the drama club members greeted her, smiling at their idol as she slid into the table.

"Hello girls," Sharpay said. "You don't mind that Gabriella is with us today, do you?"

"Not at all. You should come up here with us more often!" Katie said, nodding enthusiastically. "And we hardly ever see you anymore, Ryan."

"The life of class president. I think I'm in the cafeteria maybe, twice each week?" Ryan mused.

Gabriella quietly brought out her wrapped sandwich, a basic ham and cheese combination.

"So Sharpay, any decisions about the spring show?" one of the drama girls asked.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Jasmine, I told you I was at the meeting and that we haven't reached any conclusions yet."

"No, but Sharpay might have decided something since then," Jasmine pointed out.

"Well there have been no decisions reached," Sharpay said. "I've been focused upon preparations for my audition this weekend."

"Oh that's right, you're going to New York! I love New York," Katie said dreamily.

"Me too," Ryan agreed.

As Gabriella sat quietly picking at her sandwich, Sharpay kept glancing over at the brunette.

"Gabriella, you're sitting up here with me, you should feel blessed to have been invited. I've no idea why you would be moping about being friends with Taylor McKessie. So what, you messed up. If she was a real friend, she wouldn't be treating you like this," Sharpay said.

"Taylor is a real friend, she's my best friend," Gabriella protested, feeling defensive toward Taylor even in the midst of their fight. "And we both messed up. And she's stubborn so... so I understand that she's acting like this. It's how she copes."

"In that case, why haven't you apologised to her and moved on? Because if she's stubborn then it means she just wants you to make the first move."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Since when did you become the expert about friendships?"

"I'm an expert about lots of things," Sharpay said knowingly, before smiling somewhat sheepishly. "I also read a lot of magazines and I may have recently read an article about fighting with your friends."

* * *

"Wow, she must be desperate, going up to sit with Sharpay," Taylor said, a slight snicker to her tone.

The other Wildcats were sitting around somewhat uncomfortably as Taylor commentated Gabriella's walk up the staircase. Ryan had given them a slight wave but Gabriella hadn't even dared to look back.

"Or rather it speaks volumes about how much Sharpay has changed," Zeke remarked.

Taylor rolled her eyes. The other Wildcats – Kelsi excluded – had no idea of the new wave of friendship and flirtation that had emerged between the baking basketballer and the boisterous blonde. So this remark to Taylor was just evidence of Zeke's perpetual crush.

"She's just trying to make me jealous. I bet she thinks she's all cool, sitting up there, yesterday with the cheer squad, today with someone who thinks she's Queen of the world."

"No one cares, Taylor," Kelsi said quietly.

All eyes shifted over to Kelsi, who was typically the first to bow out from being involved with conflict.

"Excuse me?" Taylor said, raising her eyebrows.

Kelsi bit her bottom lip and then sat up a little straighter. She looked Taylor directly in the eye. "Taylor, the reason Gabriella is sitting up there is because she doesn't like to make people feel uncomfortable and she doesn't like to drag other people into her issues. It's not because she has a superiority complex, it's not because she's desperate to find new friends. It's because you claimed the cafeteria table and she doesn't want to create a negative environment." Inside Kelsi was a bundle of nerves, hating the feeling of being involved in the conflict. But her tone was firm and she knew that it was right. Even when Taylor hadn't been blatantly making remarks about Gabriella, other comments were veiled as being negative – for example talking about how the decathlon was going so well now that negative energy had been dispelled from the team.

"And you think I _want_ to make things uncomfortable and negative?" Taylor asked.

Kelsi hesitated and she saw Troy give her an encouraging smile. "Maybe not intentionally, but that is what you're doing," Kelsi said calmly, her confidence growing. "Because the minute you and Gabriella had this fight, you brought Martha into it, getting her on your side. And now you're here making snide comments when you know very well that we don't want to have anything to do with it."

"Excuse me? Getting me on her side? I think I'm old enough to draw my own conclusions and I'm a part of the team that Gabriella screwed over so I'm on Taylor's side all by my own doing," Martha cut in defensively. "Although obviously you're on Gabriella's side which really shouldn't surprise me."

Kelsi blinked and did a double take, the bitchiness in Martha's tone toward her personally coming completely from left field. "In regards to the original issue, it's got nothing to do with me. But in terms of how the two of them have dealt with it since then – I think Gabriella has been more mature about it, yes."

"Don't stress about it Martha, of course she's on Gabriella's side," Taylor said.

And with that Kelsi rose to her feet and snatched up her lunch tray. "If you'll excuse me, I don't want to sit here with you two."

Kelsi headed straight for the staircase – not only leaving Martha and Taylor but making a statement about her allegiance.

"What is it with these drama types thinking that they're top shit?" Taylor mused.

"Didn't you listen to a word that she just said?" Troy exclaimed. "Seriously Taylor."

"Well I don't see you sitting up there with your girlfriend."

"I sat at this table before you, you're the one who came and sat with me and I don't want to have any part in this at all. So you know what, you make a really great point." Troy was next to stand up and walk away. Except Troy didn't walk over to the staircase, instead he walked a few tables over to where the cheer squad were sitting.

"Hello ladies, room for one more?" Troy asked.

"Yes, right here," Liana said teasingly, patting at her lap.

"Liana, leave the poor guy alone," Zeke's voice came from behind.

Troy glanced behind him, seeing that both Jason and Zeke had followed him. He grinned broadly. "Had enough of it too?"

"More than enough. It's only day two of this as well. How long you think it can go on?" Jason pondered. "For Kelsi to take a side... it must be serious."

"Girls are so fucking dramatic," Zeke said.

"Glad to see you think so highly of our kind," Monica remarked, glancing up at her ex boyfriend and his friends.

. . .

Meanwhile back at the Wildcat table, all that remained were Taylor, Martha and Chad.

"I can't believe... how rude!" Taylor exclaimed.

"They're not rude. I don't blame them for walking away. It seems that the only way to be impartial is to stay away from the both of you," Chad remarked.

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "Well if that is how you feel, then I'm sorry for being such a burden." For the third time in three days, Taylor stood up and stalked out of the cafeteria.

Chad led out a half sigh, half groan. On the whole Taylor was relatively low maintenance as a girlfriend, but when she had her moments, she _really_ had her moments.

"I'll go after her," Martha said, standing up.

"No," Chad said immediately, also standing up. "I will." He then paused, and added, "If you don't mind."

Martha nodded, and gestured for Chad to go ahead.

After what had happened the day before, Chad was a little more uncertain about going after Taylor. Even as he was walking he wasn't quite sure whether maybe he should be leaving it for her to come to him if she wanted to lean on him. But he kept walking nonetheless, a higher force telling him that he needed to go to her, for the sake of their relationship. Chad knew where he needed to go. Out the closest door, down the corridor, up the stairs and then it was the fourth door on the right. Peering through the window, there she was, sitting in the front row.

He didn't even knock, instead just opened the door and entered into the laboratory.

"You know, when Hoops needs to escape he goes up to his girly garden. I'm sure other people might go to the library, or into a bathroom stall, or maybe into a supply closet. But you... you come to this science lab."

Taylor gave him a tiny smile. "Yup," she said, her voice tear stained.

She was sitting at a lab bench on the left of the room, the chair closest to the middle. She remembered the room fondly, it had housed her freshman general science class and it was when she really, really fell in love with the field.

Taylor was sniffling and wiping at her eyes when Chad entered. It wasn't a sight he was accustomed to, seeing Taylor crying.

"Tay?" Chad said, feeling a little award. He wasn't sure how to behave, what to say, given his inexperience in field of comforting girls. He'd always been drawn to strong personalities – Kayla, for example, whose middle name was Attitude.

She kept wiping at her eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed that he was seeing her like this but nonetheless not surprised that he had come after he – and also glad that he'd come. "I think I got something in my eyes, they're all watery," she said, in a somewhat pathetic attempt to cover her tears.

"Yeah, right," Chad said knowingly. He went over, promptly pulling out the chair beside her and sitting down. He reached up, wiping away some dampness from her cheek. She gave him a somewhat sheepish smile before sniffling. "Talk to me, Tay, this is me. I can't say I'm gonna be any good at making you feel better. But I am good at the listening thing, when I have to be."

Since lunch time Monday, Taylor had been stoic and calm, she'd kept up the bravado of feeling positive about being so honest about her current feelings toward Gabriella.

She'd had enough of being strong.

"I miss her," Taylor whispered.

"Then go talk to her!" Chad said, as though the answer were completely obvious.

"Even before we had the fight... I missed her," Taylor elaborated. She took a deep breath. "Me and Gabriella have these random moments of such... incredible closeness. Like right after she and Troy first... you know... did it. We'd talk about it and she'd share with me. We've had some really awesome times out Christmas shopping, and having that sleepover with the girls that you guys crashed. But on the whole... it must have gone wrong at some point because lately I've just felt like if I needed her to be there, she couldn't. Even if she was there, it's like she wasn't totally there, a part of her was always somewhere else. With Troy or Ryan or Kelsi. I don't care that Gabriella is doing the decathlon. I care that I don't get to spend time with my friend. The decathlon is _our_ thing and... and she doesn't want to be a part of our thing anymore."

"Taylor... I don't think it's like that," Chad said carefully. "I think she's just really busy."

"I know that she's busy, we're all busy. But she's my best friend and... okay. For example, on Saturday I really wanted to ask her for advice. I knew that we were probably going to... you know. And I wanted to ask her about it but I didn't want to call her because she'd made blatantly clear that she was hanging out with Troy all weekend, and we all knew that Troy would be bummed and so especially on Saturday I couldn't bother them. And on Sunday I wanted to tell her about it, talk to her about it."

A slight look of panic crossed Chad's face, worried that there had been something negative that Taylor had needed to complain to Gabriella about.

"No, not like that. I know that you and I talked about it but it's different, she will get it on a different level, on the female level, certain things and thoughts... but I texted her and she said she was hanging out with Troy and that she was looking forward to our dumb meeting Monday lunch time. Then on Monday morning, I tried to hint that I wanted to talk to her and go with her to her locker but stupid Troy got in the way and went with her, and she didn't even pick up on my hint."

"You know what Troy and Gabriella are like together, all giddy and distracted. And from what I heard they had a pretty intense weekend so..."

"Are you trying to excuse that she was too wrapped up in Troy to notice that her best friend wanted to talk?" Taylor asked. "Is this not almost exactly the same stuff that you and Troy fought about last year?"

"Yeah okay," he admitted, exhaling. "A part of it, anyway." He almost wanted to argue to her that it wasn't the fighting that helped them to heal, it was only when they finally started talking again. But the truth was that the only way to get to the place of talking again was through the fight. They had to go to that extreme point to put all the pent up tension out there.

"I've been gradually feeling more and more negative toward her. On Monday I really wanted to tell her about us, even though I was feeling negative toward her I wanted to tell her. The locker thing fell through, and then I thought that at lunch we could talk somewhere else or arrange to hang out after school but it all just fell apart."

Taylor's voice cracked, the tears she'd been sniffling back threatening to fall again. A small sob involuntarily escaped from her mouth.

"Oh Tay..." Chad said soothingly. He stood from the stool, pushing it back behind him, immediately enveloping her into his arms.

"I miss my best friend."

* * *


	36. Chapter 36

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Notes – **

I want to thank a few people who helped me with plotting out this chapter.

**Melissa**, thank you sooooo much for letting me badger you with questions about the NCAA and the recruitment process and college visits. This thanks will just generally apply to... to so many little things that I'll be including along the way as well as to things that I've already included. I really appreciate you being so open and lovely and cool with me harassing you about stuff :)

Thanks **Molly** for the basketball related packet of information which I think will actually come in more use in like, months from now, but in case I forget to thank you at that point, here's a thanks now. :-P

Thanks **Melanie** for providing a perspective of Sacramento and for letting me book you in for potential future information grabbing sessions.

And last but certainly not least thanks so, so, so much to **Aly** who so kindly offered to give me information I required about her alma mater, Butler University, and for giving me information about Indianapolis and the area.

Oh yeah, Audrey is pretty cool too. ;)

**A note to anyone who follows college basketball**

Throughout my explanations of the recruitment process these guys are going through, I am not going to be referring to any actual coaches or players from the teams. I am not writing real life fanfiction and I would not want to write and presume to know the personalities of these men. This also gives me more room to move in describing the current demographics of the team – such as how many players are retiring etc. Ultimately you need to give me some rope here because yes I strive for realism but this is HSM fanfiction and in order to make it realistic I actually need to kind of shape particular elements of these prospective teams. I go roughly by the rankings, I'm not going to depict UCLA as being a terrible team or suggest that some team who is at the bottom of the ladder is actually really brilliant. But when it comes to team recruitment strategies and the turn over and the consequent needs that a team may potentially have for Troy/Chad – all of that stuff will be modified.

* * *

**Chapter 36**

_Fire burn all our uncertainties  
Water wash away impurities  
Contradictions and predictions abound  
Yes I believe that we can turn it around  
My life I've been waiting for this moment  
All life I've been waiting for this moment, to come_

**Fear Factory 'Millennium'**

**

* * *

**After bidding his mother a somewhat tearful farewell at the airport that morning, Troy and Jack Bolton had disembarked from the Albuquerque airport bright and early Friday morning. It was only a short flight to Denver, where they had an hour layover before their flight to Indianapolis. It was about a two and a half hour flight but after factoring in the time difference, they were due to land just before 3pm.

They'd bought food in the layover at Denver. On the flight to Indiana, Troy's iPod had been turned up as soon as they were signalled that electronic equipment was permitted. He'd fallen asleep for a little while but a bout of turbulence had jerked him awake and Troy was now feeling a little antsy. He peered out the window, only able to see blue skies and white fluffy clouds. He sat up in his seat, peering around the cabin. He shuffled through the belongings in the seat pocket in front of him.

"Troy?" Jack asked, glancing up from the Sports Illustrated magazine he was scouring.

"How much longer?" Troy asked, his tone border lining upon a whine.

Jack glanced at his watch. "About a half hour. They'll start preparing for landing soon, I imagine."

Troy let out an irritated sigh. A half hour wasn't that long really. In a game of basketball it went by as fast as you could click your fingers. But while cooped up on an aircraft whilst awaiting one of the most important weekends of his life, a half hour seemed like forever.

"Why don't you read over some of your study notes for midterms next week?" Jack suggested.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yeah. _That's_ gonna happen."

He was filled with this mixture of nervous and excited energy. He wasn't completely in the dark about what to expect. When he'd gone for his unofficial visit to New Mexico State, it had still been an official recruiting weekend. However there was something different about this weekend at Butler. It was his first official visit, a school from interstate was interested enough in him to pay for him to fly over and scope out the situation. He'd never been to Indiana, he didn't know a lot about Butler, and he had forty eight hours to decide whether this was a contender for being _the _school. He'd been rather blasé about it, indicating that he wasn't highly interested in Butler. But as it came closer and closer to actual decision time, every option was a valid option that should be taken seriously and given reasonable thought.

As Jack predicted it wasn't long before the flight attendants turned on the seatbelt sign and began to prepare the cabin for landing. Troy packed away his belongings into the small backpack he had beneath the seat in front of him, his cell phone ready in his pocket to be turned back on. He began to peer out the window, watching as they began to gradually descend. The flight path took them in a circle over the city.

"Hey dad, that must be the new football stadium," Troy said, nudging his father.

Jack leaned over and peered out. "Must be."

Troy's foot was jiggling impatiently as they came into land. He stood up immediately after the seatbelt sign was turned off, practically pushing his father into the aisle. They'd both only brought carry on luggage, Jack pulling down his small suitcase from the overhead locker and handing Troy his bag. The moment they emerged from the corridor into the terminal Troy flipped open his phone to turn it back on, waiting impatiently for it to load. He allowed his father to navigate the way to the baggage claim area, the designated meeting spot with the Butler representative.

"I just have to make a quick call."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Miss Gabriella already?" he asked, his tone a little condescending.

"I just want to call her before she goes back to class," Troy said defensively, speed dialling his girlfriend and glancing at his watch, confirming that they'd landed on time. She was expecting his call, he'd told her he'd call if he landed on time.

* * *

It was lunch time at East High and Gabriella, Kelsi, Jason and Zeke were sitting together in the cafeteria. With Chad being absent, Taylor had found herself without much of a reason to be in the cafeteria and so she and Martha had decided to study in the library. Gabriella had her cell phone out sitting on the table and was glancing at the time anxiously.

"Gabriella, he won't have even landed yet," Jason pointed out.

"He should land in a few minutes," she said. "He texted me and told me that his flight was taking off on time and I checked online and they've gained a little bit of air time."

"He'll call you. He might wait til after school. He'll be busy like, getting off the plane and meeting whoever is picking them up," Zeke said.

"She just misses him," Kelsi said teasingly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I saw him less than a day ago, I'm not that bad. I just like to know when people have landed."

"She misses him," Zeke said, nodding and agreeing with Kelsi.

Gabriella reached over and slapped Zeke's arm playfully; he laughed at her reaction and flinched. "You're pretty strong for such a tiny chick."

And then Zeke was saved by Gabriella's ring tone. "Ooh! You're lucky!" she exclaimed, snatching up her phone. She didn't need to look at the caller ID, the ring tone telling her it was Troy.

"Hey!" Gabriella exclaimed. She didn't say anything to her friends, just made her way out of the noisy cafeteria.

"_So I literally just landed, my dad is giving me dirty looks for calling you already."_

Gabriella giggled, reaching the corridor. "Well I appreciate you calling. You could have just texted, though."

"_Nah it's cool, I might not get to call you until later on."_

She found the closest empty classroom to duck inside of. "How was your flight?"

"_Okay. It felt really long, I had cabin fever."_

"So what happens now? You meet this person from Butler?"

"_Yeah, I gather they're bringing like a van because there's other people they're picking up from the airport."_

"Are you feeling nervous?"

There was dead air for a moment. _"Yeah... a bit. It's not too bad."_

They'd discussed his nerves the day before, Troy telling her that he was feeling okay but suspected that the next day it might hit him. Gabriella knew that it perhaps wasn't the greatest idea to push him to talk about it while he was walking through the airport, his father at his side, minutes away from meeting other players and a Butler representative.

"Just be yourself Troy. This isn't about you selling yourself. They've paid you to come out. They want you to pick them. All you have to do is be you and enjoy the weekend and have some fun." Gabriella paused before adding cautiously, "But not too much fun, not tomorrow night."

Troy's chuckle came over the phone. _"Thanks Gabriella. Anyway I should go so we can go find this guy."_

"Call me tonight, whenever you get the chance is fine. I'm not doing anything."

"_I will._"

"Love you."

"_Love you too."_

* * *

No sooner than Troy had hung up his cell, feeling a little better for having just heard her voice, Jack gestured toward where a man wearing jeans and a navy and white Butler polo shirt was holding a sign that read 'BOLTON, MCMASTER, SMYTHERS.' Troy took a deep breath and lead the way, shoving his cell phone into his pocket and readjusting the strap of his bag to pull it up a little higher.

"Hi, I'm..." Troy began to say, extending his hand.

"Troy Bolton!" the tall, brunette haired Butler rep said brightly, and took Troy's hand to shake it with enthusiasm.

"How did you know?" Troy said, raised eyebrows.

"Well, I've seen your photo. But your jacket was the first thing that gave it away," he said with a grin.

Troy glanced down at his red and white East High track jacket that he was wearing over a white v neck t-shirt.

"Oh, right. And this is my dad," Troy said, gesturing toward Jack.

"Jack Bolton," Jack said, the men exchanging handshakes.

"I'm Michael O'Brien, I'm on the coaching staff and work as a liaison with the recruiting team. Jeremy Smythers and his parents have already landed, they flew in from New York about twenty minutes ago and they're just at the gift shop. And Anthony McMaster and his mom came on your flight actually, the Denver – Indianapolis leg anyway, so they..."

"Are right here," a voice said from the side.

A very tall, scruffy blonde haired guy had responded, a woman who one could presume to be his mother just behind. "Anthony McMaster. Tony," he said, holding out his hand.

Introductions were exchanged between the Denver based centre, his mother and the Bolton father and son duo. A minute later Jeremy Smythers and his parents returned from the souvenir store where they had been killing time whilst waiting for the Denver flight to land. More introductions were exchanged, Troy learning that Jeremy was a forward from Massachusetts.

The greetings were cautiously friendly, a little wary. None of them wanted to be too forward about their intentions and backgrounds, they were all wanting to appear interested enough in Butler to command Michael O'Brien's attention and fuel his belief that they were a legitimate pick to be given a decent offer. And they all were in the position of wanting to suss out one another, check out the competition. Troy was familiar with the vibe from his weekend at New Mexico State. Troy was particularly interested in obtaining any information that Jeremy might have about Boston University and the stage they were at with their recruiting process.

The players and their parents were led to a white van, luggage being piled into the storage area beneath. From the first impression and the drive into the city, it was evident why Michael O'Brien was in this position as a liaison. He was friendly and engaging, almost with tour guide like qualities. In the brief period of the twenty minute drive, he managed to not only charm the parents, sell Indianapolis as a city worthy of being made home and encourage discussion among the group; but to also efficiently outline the agenda for the afternoon. There were eight potential recruits attending the weekends session. Three had already flown in and been picked up about two hours prior. The other two were locals who were attending on an unofficial visit status – but nevertheless being given the same sort of VIP treatment, minus the all expenses paid portion of the weekend.

The plan was for the entire group to go straight to Butler for a group introduction and meet and greet with the coaching staff and team. The parents were then being taken into the city to the hotel where they were being put up, while all the boys would be allocated to the dorm rooms they were being invited to share.

Beyond that, the agenda was being left to be outlined specifically in the first meet and greet and information session, however Troy had already been told that they'd have a campus tour, attend a lecture, and attend a training session - all in all, it was a packed afternoon, evening and weekend that lay ahead.

* * *

Standing on the balcony of their two bedroom park view suite at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City – Ryan Evans felt extremely satisfied in his surroundings. He loved the luxuriousness of the suite, he loved the smell, he loved the fine detailing of the furnishings.

There was no doubt that Vance Evans was a wealthy man. Ryan didn't really know the particulars of the monetary situation or the intricacies of his father's business. But he knew that his family was very well off – after all, his father enjoyed arriving at a casual game of golf in a helicopter just to make an entrance. Ryan wasn't someone who had allowed his upbringing to cause him to become judgemental or snobby. When he'd been living at his parents' house, his favourite room was the basement which they'd converted into a dance studio. He preferred to retrieve his own snacks, to tidy his room himself, he didn't take advantage of the housekeeper or cook.

But on this particular occasion, the best thing was that this particular hotel was smack bang in the middle of New York City, just a few minutes in a cab from the Lincoln Center, home of The Juilliard School. Ever since he'd first visited New York City as a boy, Ryan had been in love. The honking cabs, the giant pretzel stands, the incessant traffic jams, the subway, the bright lights of Times Square, the theatre culture – everything that was quintessentially New York.

He was there for his sister, and despite Sharpay's seemingly genuine concern that he may not have come, ultimately, Ryan was never going to turn down a weekend away in New York City.

"Duckie?" Derby Evans called out.

Ryan took one final breath of the smoggy fresh air and turned around to enter the apartment. "Yeah mom?"

Derby gestured to the sofa bed which Ryan had already pulled out and began to set up. "Are you sure that you're okay on this sofa bed?"

"Definitely, it's more than fine," Ryan assured her. "Sit on it, it's totally comfortable. Besides, Sharpay will want her privacy to rehearse tonight."

Derby had taken the master bedroom, of course, and Ryan had immediately gestured for his sister to take up residence in the guest room with the queen bed. The living room was completely separate from the kitchen, and it wasn't as though they would be sleeping in. The sofa bed was likely more luxurious than many people's beds at home. And Ryan was partial to the view.

"Are you sure? You can share with me, that is, if sharing with your mother doesn't bother you."

"I appreciate the offer and it doesn't bother me, but I'm fine here, I promise."

She nodded. "Just promise me you'll come crawl in next to me if it does turn out to be uncomfortable, okay?"

Ryan laughed. "Promise."

"Excellent." She beamed happily at her son. "I'm glad you came sweetheart, I think this weekend is going to be a lot of fun. And of course it's important that you're here for your sister and her audition tomorrow."

"Like I told her, there's nowhere else I'd rather be," Ryan said, very seriously.

"Wonderful," Derby said warmly, squeezing her son's arm affectionately. "Okay, can you go and find out if your sister is almost ready? We should leave for our reservation in about twenty minutes."

Ryan exited the living room and moved toward the bedrooms. Sharpay's room had the door open a crack, and Ryan knocked politely.

"Shar?"

"Yeah?" her somewhat distracted voice returned.

He pushed the door open and found Sharpay sitting in the plush chair in the corner of the room, some pages in her lap which Ryan could only presume to be a script or song lyrics.

"You almost ready to go out for dinner?" he asked.

Sharpay bit her lip. "Maybe I'll just stay here and order room service."

Ryan sighed, not surprised that she was making such a claim but nonetheless concerned by it. "Shar, you know this stuff like the back of your hand. You should come out with us, you can't just stay in here and stress yourself out."

"The smog may not be good for my vocal cords," Sharpay said weakly.

Ryan snorted. "If that is the case then I don't know why you'd even want to attend Juilliard." He snatched the script from her lap.

"Hey!" Sharpay exclaimed, reaching out to attempt to yank it away from him. Ryan held it as far away from her as possible.

"Get ready," he said firmly. "We're going for dinner. If you feel the need to come back here afterwards and keep rehearsing that is fine, but you have to come out for dinner. Mom got these reservations just for you, remember?"

Sharpay sighed and stood up. "Fine. But I'm just going to the restaurant and then straight back here, don't try to drag me around the city with you two."

She began to gather things to put into her clutch purse.

"Shar?" Ryan said softly, touching his twins' arm gently. "You're ready for this. You couldn't be more ready. It's up to fate now, if it's meant to be, then it'll be."

* * *

Troy hadn't paid much attention to the scenery as they drove in the minivan from the airport toward the university. His dad nudged him and pointed out the window at the football stadium they'd seen from the air but Troy's care factor was pretty low. Behind him he could hear the mothers of the two other potential recruits in a gush fest about their sons and their achievements. Despite reservations about Jack cramping his partying style, Troy could at least rely upon his father to not be a complete embarrassment, not in this field. He knew the recruiting process, he knew that a bit of discretion was important, and so Jack was focused more so upon making conversation with Michael who was up front in the van with the driver; the men engaged in an animated discussion about the college ball competition.

Finally they arrived at the university, the van navigating through private university roads as Troy gazed out the window. They could see students fraternising around the place, even the January Indianapolis chill not preventing them from sneaking out for a cigarette between classes. The van pulled up outside one of the buildings and the group was instructed to leave their luggage in the van and come straight through.

They were brought into a conference room with a large round table. There were already players seated at the table, and in chairs just behind their sons a scattering of parents were gathered. Troy tugged at his East High jacket, eyes flicking around the room. Jack gestured for him to go over to the other side of the room where there was a seat available. Troy recognised some of the guys, one he'd played against the year before when he'd been on the New Mexico state team at the south western regional finals, some of them he'd seen on the Hoops basketball website. There was an information packet on the table in front of him, the room fairly quiet as most of the guys were glancing through the paperwork. Troy exchanged a brief nod greeting the guy sitting in the seat beside him before also choosing to flip open the paperwork.

Before he could get further than, 'Dear Potential Bulldog' with the letter on the first page, the coaching team came into the room, all the potential recruits snapping to attention, sitting up a little straighter.

"Welcome potential Bulldogs."

Troy didn't even realise he'd been holding onto his breath, and exhaled slowly. It shouldn't be so nerve wracking, talking about basketball, playing basketball. And yet it was. He'd tried to tell himself that there was no pressure, but he felt it regardless and the nerves had arrived with the pressure. He had just under 48 hours to soak in as much information as he possibly could, to be that metaphorical sponge, to obtain enough knowledge to allow him to decide whether Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, was somewhere that he could see himself spending four years of his life.

No pressure at all.

* * *

It was the first night in a good few weeks that Elena and Gabriella Montez were both at home for dinner, at a regular hour, to have a home cooked meal with just the two of them. Ryan had been staying with them for three and a half weeks, prior to that they'd been away with the Bolton's in Colorado and before that with family for Christmas. Somehow it felt quiet without chaos around them. Elena had marinated some chicken breasts with a honey soy garlic combination, while Gabriella had assisted with tossing a salad and peeling some potatoes to boil and mash. They'd sat down at the kitchen table, a Michael Buble CD playing in the background as they proceeded to eat and talk.

"Well, this is nice," Elena said, glancing over at Gabriella who was slicing into her chicken breast. "Just you and I, it rarely seems to happen these days."

"It is nice," Gabriella agreed. "Although I suppose you'll have to get used to the idea that I won't be here in about six months time."

"This is true," Elena said with a nod, a bittersweet smile crossing her face. She was completely proud of her daughter and her accomplishments; ecstatic that Gabriella was going to have so many opportunities to choose from; and knew that regardless of which she selected a bright future would lie ahead.

However there was that part of Elena that just wanted her little girl to remain her little girl, to never grow up. She swallowed, not wanting to even think about the prospect, choosing to change the topic of conversation. "I would've thought you and Taylor might have made plans for this weekend, even if it was just to study together, with the boys being away."

Without even knowing it, she'd selected a conversation topic that Gabriella had been avoiding with her mother all week. The younger Montez winced. "Um... I'm studying with Kelsi, and I think Jason and Zeke are going to come along."

"I thought you took more classes with Taylor?" Elena said, furrowing her brow. Practically it would make more sense that if Gabriella wanted study partners, that Taylor would be the one. They might not be in the same classes for all their subjects, but they had a decent number in common and the same material would be covered.

"I do."

Gabriella wasn't relenting, but neither was Elena. She wasn't about to harass her daughter, but she sensed that she was holding back and one eyebrow being raised was enough to tell Gabriella that one way or another, her mother was going to drag the story out of her and so she might as well save time and be forthcoming now.

"Taylor and I had a fight earlier in the week. We're not really talking at the moment," Gabriella said, feeling a little saying it. 'Not talking' with someone seemed so childish, she'd been witness to other girls getting into fights and proceeding to 'not talk' to each other and she'd always thought it to be ridiculous.

"When did you have this fight?"

"Um, on Monday," Gabriella said, hesitating.

"And it's Friday and you're still not talking?" Elena said, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Pretty much."

"I see."

Gabriella stabbed a cherry tomato somewhat violently, shoving the small fruit into her mouth to buy time to respond appropriately. She chewed, swallowed and then sighed. "It's not a big deal mom, people get into fights and the world keeps turning."

"What was it about?"

Gabriella shrugged, answering casually with, "Me not doing the decathlon. Spending time with Troy instead of her."

"Well... you do spend a lot of time with Troy," Elena said tactfully.

Gabriella sighed impatiently. "I know that, but he's my boyfriend, what does she expect? And it's not like she doesn't spend lots of time with Chad, and I don't begrudge her for that."

"But does she spend time with Chad because you give her no other option?"

"All she ever wants to do is stuff for school. Maybe if she just wanted to go shopping or watch some movies it would be different."

"Maybe she thinks that because you're so busy, the best way to be able to spend time with you is doing something productive, like school related things," Elena theorised.

Gabriella pursed her lips and pouted a little. "You're my mother, you should be on my side."

"I'm not on anyone's side here sweetheart, I'm offering a different perspective," Elena said objectively.

"And I was going to ask you about something but now I think you're just gonna say no," Gabriella grumbled, half talking to herself and half to her mother.

"What were you planning to ask me?"

"Well... I was going to ask you whether there might be any possibility of me going to California one weekend to visit Stanford," Gabriella said hopefully.

"Stanford?" Elena repeated.

"Yes. In Palo Alto?" Gabriella supplied teasingly. "The college?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Very funny. I uh... correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that you actually are rather decided about your college choice?"

"Not officially. I've said for a while that MIT and Stanford were my top two picks," Gabriella said defensively. "And for all I know, I'm leaning toward MIT because I went on a visit there most recently. I think it is only fair that I go look at Stanford again to make sure I make the correct judgement."

Elena chewed slowly on a bite of chicken, processing her daughter's words.

"I don't suppose your inclination to give more thought to Stanford has anything to do with this sudden Berkeley development with Troy's college search?"

"Troy doesn't know anything for sure about Berkeley yet, he hasn't even been out there," Gabriella pointed out.

"But he is going out there in about three weeks time, from what I hear."

"Well yeah, he called the guy who was at the championship game and they're in the process of setting up the details..." she was a little confused and interrupted herself mid sentence to enquire, "How did you know that?"

As soon as Gabriella had asked the question she knew that the answer was obvious and her query had been redundant.

"Lucille might have mentioned it."

"Right. Of course she did."

"I'm not judging you sweetheart, I think I'm rightfully entitled to be concerned. I've been so incredibly proud of the way that you've been able to ensure that your college search is about _your_ needs and desires."

"And it still is, mom, I swear. I'm not..." Gabriella exhaled, and said firmly, "I'm going to make this decision for me. It doesn't matter whether Troy decides to play at Butler or UConn or U of A or Berkeley. But I still think that it is only right that I am completely sure about my decision, and right now I'm not. It's not because Troy suddenly has an offer in the San Francisco Bay area, because I've been thinking one of either these two colleges since a long time before he had this offer."

Elena studied her daughter carefully, her words and tone seemingly completely genuine.

"Okay," she said simply. "You come up with a couple of different options for when would be best for you, and I'll arrange it."

"Really?" Gabriella's tone was a little surprised.

"Really. I think you are right with your logic of wanting to be sure. Just... as long as that truly is your logic."

"It is. Really truly," Gabriella said vehemently. She stood up and moved around the dining table to throw her arms around her mother in a tight hug. "Thanks mom."

"You're welcome."

Gabriella moved back around the table and began to gather items from their finished meal to take into the kitchen.

"Gabi?" Gabriella looked up. "I think you should talk to Taylor."

Gabriella let out an exasperated sigh. "But mom..."

"Listen to me, mija. I know you haven't told me the full story here but I can suspect it is about what Troy brought up at dinner last Saturday, that you hadn't actually talked to Taylor about it?"

Gabriella hesitated, and then nodded shamefully, her head hanging a little. "Yes. That's part of it."

"She has the right to be upset about that, as your friend, yes you should have spoken about it with her earlier. You've spoken about it with me a few weeks ago, I imagine you'd been thinking about it before then, am I right?"

Once again there was a hesitation, then a nod. "I'd been thinking about it, and then with everything that happened with Ryan, it just confirmed it all for me."

"I don't know what you argument has been about in detail, I know that when girls fight all sorts of issues get surfaced and that things are said that perhaps you do mean but they are said in an unnecessarily harsh manner. But I do know that you're a little bit at fault here, if only because you didn't talk to her about the issue earlier and that she has the right to be upset about that. You should talk to her."

Elena Montez was many things, she was a passionate woman, she loved baking, she was very proud of her heritage, she loved her family.

She was also a wise woman and, nine times out of ten, she was right.

This was one of those times.

Gabriella pouted a little, but she didn't have a comeback, she didn't protest.

"She just really hurt me," Gabriella admitted. "She said horrible things... I would've just been able to talk it out but then she said horrible things and I said horrible things and... and now we haven't talked since then. And it's horrible."

"Do you really want the current situation to keep going?"

Gabriella pouted a little, before conceding, "Not really."

"Then it's up to you to change things."

* * *

Taylor was in a good mood. She was one of the few people in the universe and beyond who actually didn't mind studying. In a way she was glad that the events of the week gone by meant she wasn't having a study weekend with Gabriella. When they were going over their coursework, Taylor could see the boredom in Gabriella's eyes. Whenever they'd studied together in the past, Taylor knew it was more or less an obligation to Gabriella, she was doing Taylor a favour by helping her revise. Martha may not have _wanted_ to spend all weekend studying but at least she felt the _need_ to and so was amiable to Taylor's suggestion to sleep over on Saturday night and spend the day time of Saturday and Sunday studying and have Saturday evening dedicated to chick flicks and popcorn.

Martha was due to arrive around lunch time – she'd had a family obligation in the morning – and so Taylor had woken up bright and early to do some revision for calculus, since Martha took trigonometry instead, and around 11am had taken a break to head out and purchase some much needed supplies for the weekend. Study food supplies from the grocery store – not too junky, instead purchasing crackers, cheese, carrots, celery and dip – and then decided to head to the bakery to grab some fresh jam donuts which Taylor declared to be the best jam donuts in the world, Krispey Kreme included.

And to Taylor's utmost surprise, when she entered the bakery, she found Zeke serving behind the counter.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her brow furrowed. She wasn't annoyed, just surprised.

"I work here as of last week," Zeke told her proudly. "Best bakery in town."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Taylor asked.

Zeke shrugged. "Dunno. Hasn't really come up."

"That would be your job, to bring it up," she pointed out. She kneeled over, peering through the glass window at the delicious treats on display for purchase.

He sighed. "Okay. I guess... a part of me didn't want the guys to know."

Taylor's confusion was compounded further with this explanation. "I don't understand. They're cool with the whole baking thing. If anything they leech off you for it."

"Yeah, that's as a hobby. As a profession? That's a bit different."

"And meanwhile all Chad and Troy know that they want to do with their lives is toss around large orange spheres. As least you have prospects for the future that expand beyond the next four years." She paused. "Don't tell Chad I said that."

Zeke laughed and mimed zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

"So what brings you here?"

"Jam donuts are calling. Martha and I are studying this weekend for midterms and we will need brain sustenance."

"There's a fresh lot about to come out of the oven, if you can hang around for about five minutes," Zeke offered.

Taylor glanced at her watch. "I can do that. Has it been busy?"

He shook his head. "You're my first customer in like, a half hour."

"Yeah it was pretty quiet in the grocery store."

"Have you heard from Chad?"

Taylor nodded. "We talked on the phone last night. He was all high after training with the team. He said the city is pretty standard, they took them on a city tour as well as a campus tour. But he seemed really excited about everything with the team... he went on about it but I didn't understand most of what he was saying. I do remember him saying that they're going to Arcos Arena today after seeing the Sacramento State home game and that he was complaining that the Kings didn't have a home game this weekend."

Zeke laughed. "Sounds good though. I always thought Chad would hang around New Mexico, to be honest. All he's ever talked about is U of A, suddenly that changed."

"Because Troy started looking outside of U of A maybe?" Taylor supplied.

"Maybe. Maybe we all started talking about going away so he took it seriously. Back when they talked about U of A, Jason wasn't talking about film school in California."

"What about you Zeke? What are your plans? You hardly ever talk about them," Taylor said.

He sighed. "Yeah... there's this culinary college I'm hoping to get into. But... I don't know. If I don't get in... I'm not liking the idea of any of my back up schools. I'm kinda just hoping for the best and I'll deal with it once I know."

She nodded, completely understanding his sentiment. "I get that. Completely."

Their conversation was interrupted by a customer coming in, Taylor moved over to sit on the waiting chair while Zeke retrieved a birthday cake that had been pre-ordered for the gentlemen and rang up the purchase.

"So you're studying with Martha?" Zeke asked, after the customer had left. "At your place?"

She nodded and rose to her feet again. "Yes. You know, you're welcome to come after work if you want some study help."

Zeke hesitated, before answering a little awkwardly, "Um, I'm going to Gabriella's."

Taylor's face clouded over, but she forced a smile. "Oh, okay then. That's cool."

"It's only because Kelsi is going and of course Jason wants to be with her; and me and JC have classes together. Besides, he studies more on my level – studying to pass, you know?"

"Can't say it's a concept I comprehend, but yeah, I know what you mean," Taylor said wryly.

An oven began to buzz out back and Zeke excused himself to go check on the goods that were baking. He returned a few minutes later with a tray of freshly baked donuts.

"How many?" he asked. "I'll do you a good deal."

"How good of a deal?"

"I'll do it at staff rate... so half off."

"Oooh. Umm... a dozen," Taylor answered decidedly.

Zeke began to place the sugary treats into a white takeaway box. "Keep the lid open for a bit, yeah? They need to cool off and you don't want them getting all condensated and yucky."

"Condensated? Is this an official baking term?" she asked teasingly, handing over cash to Zeke.

"It is in my world."

Taylor picked up the box off the counter. "Well if you change your mind about studying, you have my number."

"I do," he said with a smile, and then hesitated before saying, "Tay?"

"Yeah?"

"Just... for the record... I kinda don't blame you for being mad at Gabriella."

"You... come again?" Taylor said, a little incredulously.

"She shoulda talked to you about the decathlon thing. There's no doubting that. And I know that she's been all googly eyed about Troy because it's the same with him, probably worse. And I know it can be annoying. So yeah, in your situation, I woulda been pissed and I probably would have said something."

"Thank you. I've been uh... kinda feeling like other than Martha, no one gets where I'm coming from. I mean Chad says he does but... I'm not sure."

"I can tell you that Troy gets where you're coming from, he even told Gabriella that she was a little wrong. And Chad does get it. And JC... well he probably doesn't get either of your positions, he just goes along with everything. Even when Kelsi went off at you, it was because of everything that's happened since the original fight."

Taylor sighed. "Maybe."

"But you know what? Gabriella isn't evil. She didn't mean to screw up. Everyone screws up some time or another."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "We've just had a perfectly nice conversation, and you wanna ruin it by telling me what to do?"

Zeke held his palms up defensively. "I did no such thing just.... making a point."

* * *

Gabriella was lying stomach down on her bed, propped up by her left elbow with her lower legs bent and in the air. A small smile had filled her delicate features as her right hand was cradling her cell phone by her ear.

"_... And these guys are really really good, babe, I mean I know you don't know much about basketball but seriously, it was fucking incredible. The coaching staff are awesome too. And their gym makes U of A look like a piece of crap."_

"Sounds like it's going a lot better than you expected," Gabriella commented.

He'd called her the previous evening to reveal the details about his campus tour, the lecture he'd attended, the training session and the dorm situation. They'd talked for approximately a half hour, most of it Troy gushing and Gabriella listening.

"_It is... except this afternoon is when I get my one on one with the coaches. The only real problem with Butler is that I don't think I'd get to start, well, I know I wouldn't get to start. They have a few really awesome freshmen lined up to take over from the retiring players. And the hush hush word is that Simpson is gonna put his name up for the NBA draft."_

"Are you realistically going to find any school where you'll get lots of game time in freshman year?" Gabriella asked.

Troy sighed. _"Not sure. Maybe not... I'm happy to just go with the flow but dad is being annoying and keeps pressuring me into making a decision sooner, to decide this weekend if Butler is yay or nay."_

"He's frustrating you, I take it?"

"_I dunno. It could be worse. Mom could be here and she'd be like, gushing to all the other moms that are around." _

Gabriella laughed, being able to envisage Lucille doing exactly that. "It's your decision Troy. Don't forget that. At the end of the day, you're the one who'll be at this school for four years. Not your father."

"_Yeah... It's also really fucking cold here. Don't know if I could handle it."_

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Troy, you'd get used to the cold. You're probably not wearing the right clothes to handle it. What are you wearing now?"

"_Jeans, and I'm wearing three layers on top! A t-shirt, and a button up, and a sweat shirt." Troy changed the topic. "So how are you? Did I even ask that?"_

"I'm fine. Kelsi and Zeke and Jason are here."

"_They are? Am I keeping you from studying?"_

"It's okay. I'm kind of tutoring them in math, but Kelsi has it all under control. So you have your meeting with the coach, and then the party tonight?"

"_Yeah... I have a few hours spare in between, we're doing some more training, like an unofficial scrimmage. But the party should be good."_

Troy was keeping his tone aloof but Gabriella knew he was looking forward to it. "Don't forget you have to face your dad in the morning," she reminded him.

"_He knows what we do on these visits, he's not stupid. He's been through the recruitment process himself, sure like twenty years ago, but I bet not much has changed."_

"So, can I expect a phone call later tonight?" Gabriella asked coyly, blushing a little as she asked the question and recalled back to the last phone call she'd received from an inebriated Troy at a college party.

She could hear his breath hitch over the phone. "_Maybe. And you'll be at home this time. Kelsi isn't staying over, is she?"_

"No, she and Jason are going to the movies tonight and we're all going over to Jason's to study tomorrow. So I'm home tonight."

"_And Ryan is in New York?"_

"And my mom is home," Gabriella reminded him pointedly, her cheeks flushing at the insinuation he was making.

"_Mmm you can be quiet."_

"Troy!"

"_Well you're the one who put the idea in my head. I'm just saying, if I call you later on..."_

"I'm going to hang up the phone now," Gabriella warned.

"_That's okay I have to go anyway. And you should go study."_

"Yes sir."

"_Ooh submissive. Kinky."_

"Troy!"

"_It's your fault! I wasn't vocalising my thoughts about sex at all until you brought up that phone call!"_

* * *

Troy's face was filled with a lazy smile as he flipped his phone shut. He'd enjoyed the last 24 hours immensely but it also had been an intense whirlwind of thought provoking information that was almost too much to take. Talking to Gabriella was therapeutic – not only did it calm him, hearing her voice; but being able to just talk and vent about the things which they'd been doing was highly beneficial. She didn't try to push him toward making a particular decision, she just listened and commented where she felt she could. His father had been bombarding him with further thoughts, listing team statistics and drawing comparisons to Troy's other prospective colleges. Troy knew he was only trying to be useful and that his intentions were good, but ultimately all Jack was succeeding in doing was placing further pressure upon his son.

Ultimately Troy wasn't going to be bound to anything. It wasn't uncommon practice to make a few different verbal agreements with schools, nothing was set in stone until the NLI signing period at the end of April and May. He didn't have to make any definite decisions this weekend. And Troy's approach was to make sure he had an understanding of all his options and to then make the decision. Jack seemed to be anxious for him to make a decision as soon as possible.

A knock came at the dormitory door and Troy stood up from the makeshift cot that was squished into the room and peered through the peephole to see his father. Troy opened the door.

"You ready? Your meeting is soon," Jack reminded him.

"Yeah I know, I've got a bit of time. I was just on the phone. Give me a minute."

"How is Gabriella?" Jack asked with a teasing smirk.

"She's great," Troy shot back, and gathered his coat and satchel to take with him, taking care to lock the dorm room behind him.

"Now Troy, when you go into this meeting, you need to be careful about what you say. It's really important that you..."

Jack's words of advice fell upon deaf ears, Troy in fact choosing to block his father out. He nodded and said 'okay' at appropriate points, but other than that, Troy wasn't really taking this on board.

Gabriella was completely right about one thing. It was his decision, a decision he needed to make on his own.

A decision that could potentially be the most important of his life thus far.

* * *

**AN2 – **

Yes. More of me rambling. I have a bit of a promotional duty.

The Inaugural **High School Musical Fanfiction Awards** have arrived! :D

**Nominations are currently being accepted** in a range of categories for your **favourite fanfics**.

These awards are being hosted by the newly formed High School Musical fanfiction LiveJournal community, which you can find at **communitydotlivejournaldotcomslashintothelines** (replace the dots and slashes with punctuation...)

If you don't have a LJ account, it is really really really easy to set one up. You don't need to actually prettify or use your LJ to participate, but you'll need to be logged into LJ to be able to nominate and vote.

There are lots of really amazing authors out there who selflessly spend the little free time they have writing wonderful fanfiction for us all to enjoy. Show your appreciation and support by participating and getting behind the authors of your favourite stories :)


	37. Chapter 37

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN:**

I offer the following as an explanation, not as an excuse. There is no excuse for the delay on this chapter, nothing to make it excusable. I don't have a sob story. I've been working but not millions of hours. I have been on winter vacation from uni so I haven't been studying. Simply between real life being busy, my muse being uncooperative and then delivering this to my beta reader right as her own life was so incredibly busy, this chapter has been a monster in the making. It's not even worth the wait, it seriously isn't, it's one of those filler chapters and under normal circumstances I can defend their place within a story – the journey from A to B isn't always very exciting and that reflects real life – but after not updating for so long, I hate that **this** is all I have to deliver. I told myself I'd never apologise for chapters being late and really mean it, if I've ever apologised before it's been a bit token and I've honestly believed that I have the right to update as often as I like and am capable of doing so. But when I say sorry now, I mean it very sincerely.

The nominations list is now up and voting has opened at the High School Musical FanFiction awards at **communitydotlivejournaldotcomslashintothelines.** Whereas I am grateful and humbled by the nominations I have received, I do not offer this as a form of self public relations because truly right now I don't think I deserve any sort of accolade at all. Rather I offer this information so that you guys can go and support all of the other amazing authors out there that I am so in awe of, who have this ability to deliver brilliant work on such a consistent basis.

* * *

**Chapter 37**

_I've seen that bright light  
And it's shining on my destiny  
Shining all the time, and I won't be afraid  
To follow everywhere it's taking me  
All I know is yesterday is gone  
And right now I belong  
To this moment, to my dreams_

**Hilary Duff 'Someone's Watching Over Me'**

* * *

Gabriella bound down the staircase after finishing her phone call with Troy on Saturday afternoon. Kelsi, Zeke and Jason were all seemingly hard at work at the dining table.

"Sorry about that," she said brightly, not really feeling particularly sorry.

"How's Troy's weekend been going?" Zeke asked.

"Good. He was a bit stressed. He's going to meet with the coach one on one soon."

"Eh, he'll be fine," Jason said dismissively. "He'll go in and they'll love him and offer him full tuition and a Porsche and a spot starting as point guard and a captaincy in his second year."

Gabriella raised her eyes. "Okay, um, he's my boyfriend and even my belief in him isn't so naive to think that would happen."

"Okay, maybe not the Porsche," Jason conceded.

Zeke snorted slightly and Kelsi hid a small smile.

"Anyway. Let's get back to work. From what I hear, there's plenty to do," Gabriella said, putting on her school teacher voice on. It was a voice that she tended to adopt whenever leading her friends in some sort of study tutorial. "Zeke, why don't you show me the questions that you've done since I went upstairs?"

She hadn't been on the phone for that long, but it was long enough that he should have at least attempted a handful of his math questions. Zeke coughed and then cleared his throat. "Well... uh... I was um... I was stuck so..."

He was attempting to shield his work but Gabriella peered over to see some highly skilled margin doodling, borderline being a piece of artwork. She let out a sigh. "Jason, what about you?"

Jason didn't attempt to be coy, but informed her proudly, "Well, I didn't get any of the math done, but I did do this stuff for my film exam." He gestured to the notes that he'd made.

"Guys, I thought the whole point of today was that you wanted tutoring in math!" Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. She had no problem helping out her friends – she liked being able to utilise her intelligence for something good. But she didn't want to have to act like a school teacher, reprimanding the guys and having to coerce them into studying.

"We do!" Zeke said, nodding firmly. "We just... needed to warm up our brains, you know?"

"And doodling in your margins is the way to do that?"

He grinned sheepishly at her and shrugged. "I'll start now. I promise. I just like having you here so that if I get stuck then I can help. You couldn't help while you were upstairs."

"You won't have me in the exam," she reminded him.

"I know. I'm starting now," Zeke said, gesturing to where his pen was now actually on the main section of the page. "See?"

Kelsi was keeping out of the discussion. She'd anticipated this from Jason and Zeke. She was merely concentrating on doing her own work, attempting to tune them out. In fact she'd separated herself, sitting down the opposite end of the dining table. She wasn't there to be tutored, she and Gabriella had just decided to study together and the boys had tagged along.

Gabriella was pacing backwards and forwards behind where Zeke and Jason were sitting side by side, keeping a constant eye on their pages.

"Gabriella? You don't need to baby sit us," Jason said finally.

"I'm not babysitting. I'm... supervising," Gabriella said tactfully.

"Which is also totally not necessary," Zeke added.

"Guys, you asked if you could come study here so I can help you. I leave you alone for ten minutes and you get nothing done. What do you expect me to do?" Gabriella asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to get stuck into my own work because I like to work without being interrupted. And I don't mind being asked questions, but it just means that I'm going to supervise if that is what I feel like doing."

"You'd be an awesome teacher, you have that school teacher tone down really well," Jason mused. "It's like... firm, but caring. It's good."

"Um... I can't decide if that's a compliment or an insult..."

"It's a compliment."

"Actually, you and Taylor both totally have that tone down..." Jason continued to contemplate.

The room went quiet, Kelsi glancing up from her work and eyes widening slightly. Zeke elbowed Jason, who let out a grunt. "What the hell was that for?"

Zeke made a face at him, trying to silently explain to his sometimes dense friend that bringing up Taylor was not a great idea.

Gabriella sighed. "You don't have to tread on eggshells around me. I'm not going to like, start crying or go into a bad mood because you mention Taylor. It's fine. Really and truly."

"Gabriella?" Zeke said a little hesitantly. "I've stayed out of this but can I offer my opinion just once and once only?"

Gabriella folded her arms across her chest as she sat down across from the guys. She'd indicated that she was blasé about the whole matter but the tense expression which filled her features indicated otherwise. "Okay, go ahead," she said, somewhat warily.

"Talk to her," Zeke said simply.

"Talk to her? That's your opinion?" Gabriella said, eyebrows cocked.

"Yes. Talk to her. You're not some wicked bitch from the west and neither is she. It's been a week. Talk to her. "

Gabriella softened a little. "Let's say I wanted to talk to her... I don't know if she'd listen. It seems to me like Taylor is happy to just forget that I even exist."

"No she's not. I talked to her today... I ran into her near the grocery store," Zeke explained. "And we talked and.... she doesn't want to forget that you exist. Really."

"Did she say that?" There was no mistaking the hopeful glimmer in Gabriella's tone.

"Well, not directly, but I can feel it either way. It's like you're both over the actual issue and this is all just both of you being stubborn and you're playing some weird game with each other, waiting to see who is gonna make the first move."

"You know, I talked to Martha last night," Kelsi said quietly. "It made things a bit better."

"You did? That's really good," Jason said, smiling at his girlfriend.

"Yeah, she called me to apologise actually, and it sounded really genuine. But I've kinda been feeling like something has been up for a while so I guess that's different."

"You keep saying that but you also keep avoiding talking to her about it," Jason pointed out.

Kelsi sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm glad that Martha apologised to you Kelsi, but I think that you're dealing with an entirely different scenario," Gabriella said.

She was attempting to be tactful, but Kelsi wasn't stupid. She narrowed her eyes. "You know something."

Gabriella blinked. "Um, yes, I know lots of things. I know that pi is 3.141592653589..."

"I've been telling you for ages that I feel like something is up with Martha and you know what is going on, don't you?" Kelsi said incredulously, ignoring Gabriella's nervous and pathetic attempt to divert her attention. She rose from her place at the head of the table and moved to sit beside Gabriella.

"Look, it's none of my business," Gabriella said, a little desperately. "So I'd rather you just forget I said anything."

"Well now I can't forget because you're admitting it! It's not a figment of my imagination, there is something going on, and it is something to do with me. Isn't it?"

Gabriella winced. "Umm..."

"It is! I knew it!" Kelsi was partially triumphant and partially freaking out and partially desperate to uncover the truth. "You can't just tell me this much, you have to tell me now, you have to tell me everything that you know because this is not fair because Martha is meant to be my best friend and yet she's keeping secrets from me? What the hell is up with that?"

Jason and Zeke weren't even pretending to focus on their study notes, instead blatantly watching the exchange between the girls.

"Kelsi, I really cannot tell you."

"Gabriella. I've spent the last week supporting you and defending you, I picked a fight of my own with Martha and Taylor. You _owe_ me this." Kelsi didn't like using this as a form of inducing guilt from Gabriella because it had been her decision entirely to become involved in the Taylor and Gabriella dispute in the way she had. But that was her point of desperation. Obviously Gabriella had loyalty and had been entrusted with particular information, but Kelsi was livid. She had to know. There was no option _but_ to find out.

"Kelsi... I can't... not... not here..." Gabriella said, clutching at straws. "Let's talk about it later, okay?"

"No, we're talking about it now." Kelsi propelled herself out of the chair and grabbed onto Gabriella's hand to pull her up too. "We'll go upstairs if you can't talk about it here." The petite musician was pulling Gabriella along, a wave of stubborn determination having overcome her. She'd been worrying about this matter for weeks now, and it was time to put it to rest. She glanced back over her shoulder. "Don't you two even think about eavesdropping! And study your math stuff! Now!"

"Yes ma'am," Zeke said, saluting.

"That was kinda hot, Kelsi being all... dominating..." Jason said lowly to Zeke, watching after the girls.

Kelsi dragged Gabriella upstairs and into her bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Kelsi..." Gabriella began to say.

Kelsi raised her hand, palm facing up, silencing Gabriella. "I know you don't want to tell me because you've been told to keep a secret but... this is so unfair. I... I just really need to know."

Gabriella bit her lip. Truthfully, she thought that Kelsi had the right to know. And the guilt trip had worked, she did feel a certain loyalty toward Kelsi at that moment.

"If I tell you..." Gabriella said slowly. "You have to _swear_ that you're not going to tell anyone that I told you. In fact, just swear that you'll keep it to yourself. Because it's really not a big deal. I mean at first it's going to sound like a big deal, but it's not."

"I won't tell anyone! I swear! I just need to know!"

Gabriella nodded. "Sit down," she said, gesturing to the edge of her bed.

Kelsi complied obediently, staring up at Gabriella as she paced and wrung her hands.

"Okay. So... you haven't been imagining things. Martha may have been inadvertently seeming like she was acting a little strangely toward you. It's not really about you though, it's... vicariously about you," Gabriella attempted to explain. "She's not mad at you, in the slightest. In fact it's the opposite, she's very loyal toward you, and..."

"Gabriella," Kelsi said quietly, urging her to get on with it.

Gabriella took in a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then sat down on the bed beside Kelsi.

"Since you and Jason first began to go out... Martha... she um... okay. I'll just say it. She began to develop feelings for Jason."

Gabriella stopped talking, allowing her words to sink in. Kelsi's expression was one of pure shock, her eyes widened, mouth gaping open a little. "Martha... likes Jason? My... my boyfriend Jason? Martha my best friend?"

Gabriella nodded, gnawing at her lower lip. "I found out about it just before Christmas. It hurts her a lot, I think she... I think her crush is pretty serious. But she doesn't do anything about it, she's not planning to. You know Martha... even if she liked a guy that wasn't seeing someone, I doubt she'd have the confidence to actually do something about it. But she feels guilty, you know? Because you're seeing him."

Kelsi was floored. Of all things that had crossed her mind, this was not one of them. She really wasn't sure why it wasn't something she'd ever really thought about. Jason was attractive, he was popular, he was a really nice guy. Sure there were times when he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but that didn't matter to Kelsi and so it surely wouldn't matter to other girls. But of all people, Martha, to have to face this predicament against.

"I don't know what to say," Kelsi said quietly.

"I guess the important thing is that you shouldn't be mad at her... I think that's what she's scared of."

"I'm not mad," Kelsi said immediately, shaking her head vehemently. "That's... that's insane. You can't help how you feel about someone. It's just... weird. Awkward, kinda."

Gabriella nodded. "Exactly what it's like for her. Awkward."

"You know when things make sense in hindsight? This... this fits. I can think back to times when she suddenly said something off or weird.... it was always when I was talking about Jason, you know?"

"Yeah," Gabriella said quietly, sympathetically.

* * *

Sharpay was sitting on a toilet seat, lid closed, in the Juilliard bathroom. She'd had one of the most intense mornings of her life. She'd been allocated to her room according to last name, with two sets of group warm ups taking place simultaneously. They'd had some time to ask questions of some existing Juilliard drama students, been allocated their individual audition time, and then the group warm up had taken place. Sharpay's individual audition wasn't scheduled until noon to her absolute dismay, and she'd intended to segregate herself in the corner but found herself talking to the other auditionees as they waited, surprising herself by enjoying herself and keeping calm. It was nice being surrounded by other people as driven as herself. Her audition finally arrived, the entire thing a blur. She was one of the final auditions, and then there was going to be at least a half hour wait until the list of performers who were being selected for the March call back would go up. After a half hour, they were told another fifteen minutes would be required, and it was officially the longest fifteen minutes of her life.

And then finally, the sheet went up. There were only a handful of names on it.

Barrett, S

Chang, P

Evans, S

Matheson, T

Sharpay had blinked, rubbed her eyes – forgetting she was wearing make up – and then stared at the sheet again.

She'd done it. Round One, completed. She had nailed a call back.

She hadn't screamed, she hadn't cried. People were around her, patting her back and shaking her hand and congratulating her. And Sharpay had escaped to the bathroom, escaped to find some solitude, needing the peace and quiet to allow the information to completely process.

She slipped her Blackberry out, the cool metal feeling so natural against the skin of the palm of her hand, and dialled one of her speed dials.

* * *

Zeke and Jason had obeyed Kelsi for a little while, both actually working on a couple of their practice questions. But then inevitably they both became distracted.

"They've been up there for ages," Jason commented.

Zeke shrugged. "Eh. All this drama. Better off to keep it up there. It's probably nothing, it's probably like... Martha stole one of Kelsi's hair scrunchies and she feels guilty. And it's escalated into all this crap that you and I, my friend, are better off staying far away from."

"You're probably right," Jason agreed.

Zeke's phone began ringing, and he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced down, surprised to see the caller ID.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, answering the phone and heading to move out of the room.

"_I got a callback,"_ Sharpay's small, somewhat shaken up voice informed him.

"You... you got a call back?" Zeke repeated.

"_Uh huh. I... I got a callback. Me. I got a call back."_ It was as though as she was informing him, the information was sinking in. _"I got a call back!"_

Zeke was fascinated by her innocent incredulousness, her disbelief. Sharpay so frequently presented the guise of being so confident that when a lack of self belief shone through, it stood out. But he was too excited for her to contemplate it.

"Sharpay! That is incredible!" Zeke exclaimed. "You should be jumping up and down excited crazy happy out of your mind!"

"_I'm in shock," _her truthful answer came. _"I'm... I kind of can't believe it. I pinched my arm thinking that maybe it's a dream and I haven't actually auditioned yet."_

"Well if that's the case then we're both dreaming and having this dream where we talk to each other on the phone."

"_I... I got a call back. They liked me. They want to see me again."_

"You sound surprised!"

"_I kind of... I had to build myself to believe that I wasn't going to get in. Just in case I didn't..."_

"Well you're halfway there."

"_I... I should call Ryan."_

"He's not there?"

"_No, my mom and Ry are somewhere nearby waiting for me to call them."_

"Then go! Go call them," Zeke insisted.

"_Okay... I will... but... Zeke?"_

His breath hitched. "Yeah?"

"_Thank you."_

"I didn't do anything, though."

"_You did a lot without even realising it. And I really um... I appreciate it."_

It wasn't a common occurrence for Sharpay to thank someone, to acknowledge that someone helped her. Zeke knew that, and hearing those words from her meant a lot to him.

"You're welcome," he said simply. "Now go on! Go call Ryan. Have a great weekend celebrating and I'll see you on Monday."

"_Okay. I'll text you later."_

A silly grin plastered on his face, Zeke could have practically skipped back into the dining room. Just as he reentered the room, Gabriella and Kelsi were taking their seats back at the table. They had slightly solemn expressions on their faces.

"Is everything okay?" Jason asked Kelsi.

She nodded. "Yeah... it was nothing. Just like you've been saying."

He grinned broadly. "Told you." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Everything is gonna be fine."

Kelsi's smile was a little forced, but Jason didn't realise that anything was different to normal.

"Guess what?" Zeke asked excitedly, before adding quickly, "No don't guess, I'll just tell you! Sharpay got a call back! Juilliard want her back for the next round of auditions in a couple of months!"

"Oh wow, that's amazing! Good for her!" Kelsi exclaimed, genuinely happy for her. Despite all differences between the drama queen and the quiet composer, they shared a commonality of a desire to get into Juilliard and Kelsi knew just how exclusive the school was.

"How did you know that? Didn't she like, just audition this morning?" Gabriella asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Um, yeah. She just called me," Zeke said, hesitating a little. He'd been so excited to share the news that it had sort of slipped his mind that his friends didn't actually know that he was on close speaking terms with Sharpay.

"She called you to tell you that she got a call back? Like, right after she would have found out?" Gabriella repeated.

"Umm yeah. We've..." Zeke exhaled. "We've been talking a bit lately. And I helped her one day this week with her audition piece so I guess maybe she just wanted to let me know. We didn't even talk long, just really briefly just then, ask JC, I wasn't on the phone that long. She had to go call Ryan to tell him."

Without realising what he'd just said, in his attempt to defend himself, Zeke merely put himself under a more intensive microscope.

"She called you _before_ she let her twin brother know?" Gabriella asked, eyes widening further.

"Dude!" Jason said, clapping his friend on the back. "I don't like all the secret keeping going on here today, but dude, nice! Have you hooked in?"

"We're just friends!" Zeke said quickly nad firmly.

"Friends... and you've been to the movies and she calls you before she lets her brother know about the most important thing in her life?" Kelsi asked, eyebrow cocked.

"What... what about the movies?" Zeke asked, slightly taken aback. "How... how did you know about that?"

"Sharpay might have told me."

"Sharpay told you?! Sharpay was talking about me? What did she say?" Zeke asked desperately.

"She was coy but I think she just wanted to tell someone about it. She'd commented about seeing me and Jason at the movies and it came out that she'd been there with you," Kelsi told him truthfully.

"I can't believe you hadn't told me! You knew about this?" Jason asked, looking straight at Kelsi. "So you had this secret, and Zeke was keeping a secret, and Gabriella has some secret. Why don't I know any of these secrets?"

"Because you blab secrets accidentally," Zeke said, rolling his eyes. "And seriously, it's not a big deal. So like, there's no need to make a big deal out of it. Or to tell Chad and Troy."

"Why don't you want Chad and Troy to know?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"Because they'll give me shit about it, like they always have. And... and we're just friends."

"But you're into her?" Jason asked.

Zeke looked a little sheepish. "Well yeah."

"That's great! Who gives a fuck what Troy and Chad think? It's your life," Jason said vehemently.

"Zeke... I don't know Sharpay that well, but I can tell you that you must be pretty important to her if she called you personally, before calling Ryan, to tell you that she got a call back," Gabriella said seriously.

He blinked, somewhat taken aback. "What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying... I don't know. Just saying exactly what I said," Gabriella said.

"She's saying that you should go for it!" Jason said, exasperated. "You tried baking her cookies and fawning over her and it never really worked. And now she is into you and you're pussy footing around talking about how you're just friends? Dude, grow some balls!"

"Is that what you're saying?" Zeke asked Gabriella, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I don't know if I would have said it like that but... kind of," she admitted.

Zeke was feeling a little overwhelmed. There were times when he allowed himself to believe that maybe she really was into him, when they'd have those moments of electricity. But he pushed it aside because this girl had been plaguing him for so long that he didn't trust himself to be entirely objective. But hearing these words from other people... his brain wasn't quite sure how to process the information.

"Let's study," he said, deciding that it wasn't the place or time. "I can't... I don't want to think about this now. I need to study." He glanced toward Kelsi and Gabriella. "Are you girls cool, by the way?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," Kelsi said quickly. "Let's just study."

The Montez dining room became quiet once again. However there was a thickness to the air. Kelsi looked troubled. Zeke was deep in thought. Gabriella was feeling a horrible feeling in her tummy, guilty for having revealed the secret to Kelsi, and also having Zeke's pleas that she should bite the bullet and just talk to Taylor plaguing her mind.

A half hour can make the world of difference.

* * *

Troy was gingerly making his way around the college party at Butler. The boys had pulled off a commanding win against Cleveland State, and they were celebrating in style – and with copious amounts of alcohol. Midterms were coming up for both the high school visitors and the college students, and a good spirited party was in order to get everyone through the upcoming weeks. There was a live covers band and both jungle juice and beer was utilised both for average consumption out of red plastic cups, as well as through beer hats, and within the context of various drinking games. The January Indianapolis chill hadn't kept away a number of scantily clad girls who were choosing to keep warm by dancing and rubbing up against a dance partner of choice.

Troy wasn't innocent, he'd drank, he'd been drunk, he'd engaged in public displays of affection – but he could only imagine what March Madness would be like at Butler.

"Hey kid, come play some pong!" a merry voice called to him.

Troy glanced over at a game of beer pong that was taking place just beyond a couch where there were two couples who had escalated their activity from making out to something more.

"Um, maybe later, just gonna go take a leak," Troy lied, making up an excuse and escaping from the area, heading toward a bathroom to at least put up the guise that he did in fact need to use the facilities.

It was Troy's fourth college party – not a bad total for a high school student. He'd been to one in this junior year not long before Christmas. A couple of the seniors on his basketball team were friends with some ex Wildcats who were freshman at the University of New Mexico and they'd scored entry to a gathering. He'd also been to a party over summer hosted by some of the Redhawks – although he hadn't really been able to enjoy it, knowing at the time that his friends and girlfriend weren't particularly happy with him. The third had been at New Mexico State in Las Cruces where he'd had an awesome time, a significant reason for that being that it was him and Chad, hanging out, having an awesome time.

Two out of three had been a good score, and he'd been hoping to make it three of four. However a couple of hours in and Troy had to admit he wasn't particularly having the greatest time. It was fine, he'd completed the contents of his red plastic cup a few times, each time going back for a refill. But he just didn't quite feel like he belonged. He had a buzz, but his mood hadn't really elevated. Instead he was finding himself wishing that he was with his friends and girlfriend.

Cup of beer in hand, he found himself wandering down a hallway until he was far enough away from the music that he could both think and hear, and he fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialled a familiar number, and to his surprise, upon the other end picking up, all he could hear was noise at the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Troy said questioningly.

"_Hoops? Is that you?"_ Chad's slightly slurred voice came over the phone.

Troy smirked. "Yeah man. Having a good night?"

"_Hell yeah! Fuck man, why aren't we sneaking into college parties every weekend?"_ Chad asked.

Troy laughed. "Um, because our girlfriends wouldn't allow it?"

"_Okay fair enough. But I.... yes!!! Chug chug chug!"_ He was somewhat distracted, breaking off midsentence.

"You sound pretty hammered," Troy said with an amused chuckle.

"_Fuck... Hoops... I don't even know how many beers I've had," _Chad slurred. _"Why aren't you more hammered?"_

"Um, I will be. I've had a few," Troy said casually. "I have to see my dad in the morning, remember."

Chad laughed. _"That's right. Sucked in."_

"Shut up. So you like it up there?"

"_Troy... dude seriously... I think this is it_." Even in his drunken state, Troy could sense the seriousness in Chad's tone.

"That's awesome man."

"_You liking Butler?"_

"Umm... yeah it's fine," Troy said, not particularly excited.

"_You don't sound that into it... oh beer pong! Yes!"_

"Dude, you go. Have a great night," Troy said, deciding it was pointless trying to maintain a conversation with Chad.

"_You too! Drink more beer!"_

Chad's parting words in mind, Troy headed back into the party toward the keg, making some small talk along the way to refilling his plastic cup. But ultimately he knew that his heart wasn't in it and instead of immersing himself back in the party, he found himself upstairs and into the dorm room he'd been frequenting. As he walked, he pulled his cell out of his jeans pocket once more, flipping it open and smiling at the sight of the wallpaper. When he reached the dorm room, he perched himself onto the edge of the low fold out bed and traced his finger lovingly over the photo. It was a simple candid, a photo he'd taken of Gabriella one day at lunch when she was in the midst of a giggle fit at something Chad had said.

It took about a second of contemplation for Troy to dial her number.

"_Hello?"_ Gabriella's greeting was a little tentative.

"Hey baby," Troy greeted her.

"_Should I be worried that you're calling me from the party?"_

Troy laughed, knowing she was recalling the teasing conversation from earlier in the day. "No. Can you hear any noise in the background?"

"_No. Which just means that you're already in the dorm room. Although, you do sound rather sober..."_

"I am in the dorm room, it's impossible to hear down there and I wanted to talk to you. And I've had a few drinks but that's all."

Gabriella twigged instantly that Troy wasn't feeling himself. _"Troy? What's wrong?"_

"Nothing is wrong!" he insisted. "I just... I don't know."

"_Talk to me." _Her tone was insistent, yet soothing. _"I can hear you're not feeling right. You can tell me now, or I can pry it out of you, you choose."_

He sighed. "Maybe it's because I know I have to see my dad in the morning. I don't know. It's just weird. I'd rather be partying with my friends, you know? These guys are nice and everything but I'm not a part of their clique and the social interaction feels a bit forced, like they feel obliged to be talking to me. I had so much fun at the New Mexico State party because Chad was there and we were running around being stupid."

"_There's no rule that says that you have to get smashed and have an awesome time at this party. I know that they make it a part of the tradition, but you wouldn't actually choose a school on the basis of its party culture, would you? A party is a party, beer is beer, music is music."_

"Yeah, I know. I was just looking forward to it. Jason's party next weekend should be awesome though. It won't just be me wandering around trying to fit in."

"_College will be a culture shock for you, won't it? Having to work out where you fit in..."_

Troy swallowed. "Yeah. I try not to think about it. I don't know how you've done it time and time again."

"_I didn't. East High is the first school I've really felt like I belong at for a few years."_

Troy smiled sadly. As grateful as he was that his girlfriend had found a home at East High, it didn't please him hearing about the troubles of her past.

"Are you busy? I don't want to keep you from anything," he said, voice filled with concern.

"_Just reading. The plot isn't going to change if I leave the book until later. I'm all yours."_

"It's funny, even when you're not at a party I'm at, I find myself escaping to hang with you," Troy noted ironically.

"_You'd better be careful or you'll lose your party boy rep,"_ she teased.

He snorted slightly. "Party boy rep? Hardly. More likely the rep of the guy who disappears a few hours into the party with his super hot girlfriend."

The young couple continued to talk quietly, not really about anything in particular. Gabriella was avoiding telling Troy about any of the occurrences during her study session with their friends, knowing it was all information she'd rather not talk about over the phone and especially not while he was a little tipsy.

"I keep thinking about Thursday afternoon," Troy said, somewhat abruptly.

"_Thursday afternoon as in, when we were at your house in your room Thursday afternoon?"_

"Yup," Troy said, popping the 'p' sound. "It was... really really hot."

"_We um... didn't exactly do anything different."_

"It's always hot."

"_Troy... why are you talking about this?"_

"You haven't thought about what we were talking about..."

"_I thought you were kidding!"_

"Don't you think it would be hot to do this? To listen to each other... don't be coy, I know you do it. Not as often as me, sure, but..."

"_In theory... okay. I guess I admit it would be hot. But... I... my mom is here Troy!"_

"So you've never while she's been home?" Troy countered.

"_But that's different! I... I need to keep quiet. And you want me to... to talk to you and..."_

"I can do all the talking baby," Troy urged. "Go lock your door."

He could hear her sigh and shuffle, and then heard a click. _"Okay... fuck... I can't believe I'm doing this..."_

"Cursing... that's hot," Troy said with a smirk. "Tell me what you're wearing."

* * *

As she pulled up outside of her house late Sunday afternoon, Taylor was in an excellent mood. She'd had one of the most productive, study focused weekends of her life. She'd always enjoyed studying with Martha, going back quite a few years they'd studied together and partnered up for various projects. It had been a productive weekend and she was actually pretty good head into midterms. She knew her mother wasn't meant to be home until a little later and so when she turned her key in the front door and it was unlocked, she frowned, not quite understanding.

"Mom?" Taylor called out.

She slipped off her flats at the door and placed them neatly into the shoe rack. There was no response, no sign of life even. It was possible that her mom had just failed to lock the door when leaving, but rather unlikely. She headed through the house straight toward her room, keeping her ear open for where her mom might be. When her presence was lacking, Taylor determined that she must have just forgotten to lock the door properly.

And so when she swung open her bedroom door, seeing a figure lying on her bed came as somewhat of a surprise, and she let out a shriek.

"Taylor!" Chad exclaimed.

A hand flying to her heavily beating heart, Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy crap! I thought you were a robber or murderer or something!"

"No, I'm just me," Chad said, smiling cheekily.

He sat up from his position sprawled out on her bed, rising to greet her with a soft kiss. She reciprocated, smiling into his warm kiss, before hitting him lightly on the pectoral. "How did you get in here?"

"Well no one answered when I rang the bell, and honestly I didn't feel like sitting outside and since I know you guys are really not original and keep a key in that flowerpot by the front door, I used it and came in and waited for you up here."

"I didn't see your car outside," Taylor commented.

"Oh, I drove my mom's car because she wanted to drive my car."

Taylor was a little mystified but she couldn't be bothered to probe him about the matter. She pressed another kiss to his lips, and as had been occurring of late, innocent, chaste kisses between the couple would develop into something more. Chad deepened the kiss, lips parting, tongues entwining, fingers threading through hair. They pulled apart a little breathless, foreheads touching before he pressed one final light kiss to her lips.

"I missed you this weekend. I had the most amazing time and I wished you were there all the time," he murmured.

"So you're feeling good about it? Sacramento?" Taylor asked, pulling away and sitting on the edge of her bed.

Chad sat beside her. "I am. I just... I can't explain it. I feel like it might be right for me. They're... they haven't got the greatest track record by far, and they're rebuilding this year, bringing in a lot of fresh blood, and from what they're saying, I'll get serious game time, I'll get to _start._ I'm good, but I'm not that good, and I'm not going to get that opportunity at many schools. And there really is a lot of promise there, like a serious amount. Oregon have called me but they aren't doing great either, they're at the bottom of their conference. New Mexico State are doing a lot better but the WAC is nowhere near as competitive and... I dunno... I just... it was a _vibe_. I don't know how to explain it."

"Sounds to me like you've practically made your decision," Taylor said with a small smile.

"Oh no, not by far. There's a lot of contemplating left. I wanna go on my unofficial visit to U of A, and Oregon, and maybe even check out one of the Division II schools that contacted me."

"But so far... you're moving to California."

This was the first defining moment when there was some aura of certainty to where each half of the couple may find themselves for freshman year of college. Taylor being so vehement about Harvard; Chad being excited about the prospect of attending Sacramento State.

"Taylor... don't think about it now. I don't know for sure. And for that matter – you don't know for sure where you're going to be."

"No, I don't," Taylor confessed.

Silence fell between them, a look exchanged. A look of sadness, a look of love, a look of want. Taylor pressed her lips to his once more, needing to feel him, needing his touch to make it all go away.

"When is your mom coming home?" Chad murmured in between kisses.

"Later. She's out with friends," Taylor responded a few moments later.

From chaste to deep, from deep to passionate.

"Don't you want to study?" he asked, fingers toying at the buttons of her blouse.

"After."

"After what?" he asked teasingly.

"After this."

"And what is this, precisely?"

Taylor pulled away from him, breaking away from all body contact. "Well if you need me to define it then maybe it isn't meant to happen," she teased back.

Chad grabbed onto her arm and brought her toppling down onto the bed with him, Taylor squealing as she landed on her back and he hovered above her.

"Or maybe you'll need to just remind me very specifically through actions."

* * *

Martha wasn't feeling a whole lot of pressure with her midterms. She liked to do well for personal reasons, it felt good getting back good grades in return for her effort. But in terms of grades and references counting for colleges – none of it mattered for her. She was in. She'd gotten her early acceptance to Sarah Lawrence, she'd accepted, she was in.

And so on Sunday night when her first midterm was the next morning, she had a last minute pile of revision notes to go over right before bed – under the guise that the last thing you see before you go to sleep being retained within your memory – and other than that, she was pretty much relaxing. She had some music on in the background and was chilling at her computer, flicking from her Facebook to AIM to a celebrity blog.

When her cell phone began to ring, she was fairly surprised. Taylor had left her house not that long ago and she didn't exactly have the most comprehensive list of numbers in her phone. She bit her lip upon seeing the caller ID before sighing and answering in a slightly false cheery tone.

"Hey!"

"_Martha... dude... I need your help,"_ Jason pleaded.

"Jason, dude, with what?" Martha said, making fun of his calling her dude – but in reality it was something which stung every time.

"_Math. I need you to teach it to me. I spent hours with Gabriella and Kelsi and I still don't get it."_

With a sigh, Martha reached for her textbook from the year before.

"What page are you on?"

* * *

Although Troy would never admit it aloud to anyone, he was really glad to see his mother waiting at the gate at the airport. The weekend had been fairly surreal, given him a lot to think about and contemplate, and he was craving a sense of normalcy. And so being engulfed in a hug by his mother and having kisses pressed to his cheeks, as embarrassing as it was, it was precisely what he wanted – the norm.

"Mama," Troy complained, wiping at his cheek furiously where she'd most recently kissed it.

Lucille ruffled his hair playfully, seeing the smile on his face and knowing that he didn't really care and that more than anything it was a show.

"Come on, let's go, I don't want to have to pay for parking," Lucille prompted. "If we're in and out of the parking lot within twenty minutes then we won't have to pay. I parked just outside the airport until about five minutes after I saw your plane landing so we should be able to make it."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Don't I get a greeting, your loving husband who has also been away for the weekend?"

"Of course, welcome home dear," Lucille said, kissing Jack a prompt kiss on the cheek before continuing to head toward the exit of the airport. She wrapped an arm around Troy's shoulder, mother and son falling into sync with their steps. "So how was it?"

"Yeah it was... it was okay."

She clucked slightly. "Why does that not sound positive to me?"

"Oh no, I had a great time," Troy clarified "Playing with the guys was awesome, beyond awesome.. But yeah... listening to the coach I don't know how much game time I'd get. And I just... I don't know... I don't know if that was the school."

"But it wasn't 'the one'?" Lucille asked, her tone sympathetic.

"Something like that. I'm waiting for that feeling that this is the place I'm meant to be at."

"You'll get it," Lucille said confidently. "I know you will."

"I hope so," Troy said quietly. He shrugged and added optimistically, "But you know, as far as back up options go, it's not a bad one."

"Not a bad one?" Jack said. "A rather brilliant one. They're ranking just outside the top ten, higher than any of the schools that have contacted you."

"UConn are in the top fifteen," Troy pointed out. "And rankings aren't everything. I don't want to sit on the bench for two years waiting for my chance to go on when people are injured."

Troy pulled out his cell phone, shooting off the predictable message to Gabriella to let her know that he'd landed safe and sound. They reached the vehicle in the parking lot and Jack filled the first half of the trip home with commentary about his thoughts on the various teams who'd approached Troy and their competition statistics. Troy's eyes were glued to his cell phone, his girlfriend having replied to ask him about his flight and opening the door for a conversation. Lucille noted the agitated expression on Troy's face as she glanced back at him in the rear vision mirror, sitting in the back. As soon as she could, she interjected Jack's drone of basketball related chatter to tell a story about her work shift a couple of days earlier, much to Troy's relief.

However within moments of entering their house, Troy's swell of appreciation and love for his mother had been tossed out the window.

He had gone into his room after entering from the garage with his parents, calling behind him, "So, if it is okay with you, I was just gonna toss my stuff into the laundry and then go over to Gabriella's. You know, to study." Troy wasn't really asking for permission, as long as he wasn't making plans to do something crazy like join the circus or go bungee jumping, his parents were generally fairly liberal about allowing him to come and go and he pleased.

_Generally _being the operative word.

"Actually, I do mind," Lucille said. Her tone was gentle, knowing Troy wouldn't be receptive. But she had anticipated this from him, and known that she needed to put her foot down.

He blinked, taken aback, and dropped his bag to the floor before marching back out of the room to where his mother was in the kitchen. "Uh, excuse me?"

"I was thinking that we could have a nice family dinner, and then I think it is best that you stay home to study for your exam tomorrow."

Troy groaned. "But mama..."

"Don't but mama me."

"For real? You're being serious?" Troy exclaimed, his cobalt eyes narrowing.

"Extremely. I have no doubt that if you go over to Gabriella's, that there will be less studying and more..." Lucille couldn't bring herself to say the words that were on her mind, and instead finished the sentence with, "procrastinating."

"Gabriella is very studious. She possibly cares more about my grades than you," Troy said very seriously, not exaggerating. Gabriella wasn't naive, she was fully aware that Troy's grand hopes of achieving brilliant grades were beyond what he was prepared to dedicate himself to achieve. But as the concept of a basketball scholarship had dangled in front of his face, essentially removing the necessity to achieve high grades, she'd kept him in line, serving the constant reminder that he still needed to pass everything.

"Well if you need her help then I'm not going to stop you from calling her," Lucille conceded.

Troy pouted. "This is so unfair."

"You'll thank me when you pass your midterms." Lucille was firm on the matter, there was simply no room for negotiation.

"What makes you think I am anything less than a hundred and ten percent prepared for them anyway?" Troy asked.

Lucille rolled her eyes. "Troy, don't forget that your father teaches at East High and that every day in the staffroom is like a parent teacher interview for him."

Jack was over by the fridge in search of a beverage, and in that moment he wished he was far away. He could feel the momentary glare from Troy. Over the years, this precise matter had been an issue that Troy had faced, that it wasn't fair that just because he had a parent teaching at a school that he should face additional scrutiny. On the whole, Jack respected that. Troy's teachers would feel the need to 'just let him know' about all sorts of incidents over the years, every time that Troy and his buddies were talking in class, every time his homework had been substandard, every time that he was tardy. Jack wouldn't react to any of it. A lot of the time he wouldn't even relay it to Lucille. But over the last few weeks, it had been evident that a couple of Troy's teachers were concerned that he was facing the potential for things to go downhill right at the end, with that syndrome of 'end of school-itis' that many regular seniors faced, seniors who actually were relying upon their academic records for acceptance into college.

Troy's eyes clouded over. "Which is totally unfair. You don't see Chad or Jason or Zeke's parents being kept regularly up to date with how they're going."

"Yes well, life is unfair. And your father and I don't harass you about it – unless some official communication takes place. But Troy... from what I hear... these midterms will be pretty important for you in a couple of these classes. You will survive not seeing Gabriella tonight. You'll regret it if you fail an exam and put yourself into a position where you might fail a class, all because you couldn't wait twelve hours to see your girlfriend."

"To see my genius girlfriend who will help me with all this studying," Troy reverted back to his original argument.

"You can argue about it and slam your door and sulk in your room all you like, but I'm not negotiating about this with you."

She was calm, and Troy knew that he was defeated. And so he did precisely what she had given him permission to do, huffing toward his room and slamming the door behind him so hard that the walls shook a little. He pouted, pacing backwards and forwards as he pulled out his cell phone and dialled her number.

"_Hey!"_ Gabriella said brightly. "_Home safe and sound?"_

"My mom is a bitch," Troy complained, not even acknowledging her remark.

"_Why?"_ her wary question came.

"She said I have to stay home and have dinner and study."

"_Well it is like 7 already, and you did _just_ get home. I kind of don't blame her."_

"You're meant to be on my side!"

"_I am on your side, you know I always want to see you. But it's okay. I'll be getting an early night tonight, and surely you're tired after your busy weekend. I can help you with anything you might need for our exam on the phone, but its drama tomorrow, something tells me you'll be fine."_

Troy sighed. "I just wanted to see you, even if it was only briefly. I was all prepared for it. So I'm annoyed."

Gabriella made a soothing sound. _"Tomorrow morning, Troy. Go to sleep early tonight and then it won't be far away at all."_

"Maybe to cheer me up... we could uh... you know... repeat last night?" Troy asked suggestively.

"_No."_ There was no room for negotiation in Gabriella's tone, she was even firmer than Lucille had been about Troy not going out.

"You didn't like it?"

"_I did." _He could practically hear her blushing.

"Ohh I'm so glad you admitted that. Although you may regret it. I will use that against you, you do realise?"

"_What happened to my sweet, loving boyfriend? Was he abducted just after we first made love and replaced with this sex fiend?"_

Troy contemplated this. "Yes."

She giggled lightly. _"At least you admit it."_

"It's your fault though," he said, his tone deadly serious.

"_It's my fault?"_ she repeated.

"Yes. Entirely. You see, because this sex fiend guy – it's all about _you_. He's addicted to _you_. He can't get enough of _you. _If you weren't so perfect and sexy, he wouldn't be here. And you'd have your old Troy and you'd have sweet conversations and hold hands and share lovely kisses. If you want him back we can probably find him, if that is the kind of thing you want."

"_How is it that you manage to flatter me and defend your horniness all in one go?"_

"Because I'm very clever." She laughed again. "Seriously Gabi... last night was... holy fuck. It was really... umm... it was hot. And... I promise that for being the hottest, most amazing girlfriend on the planet, your efforts _will_ be rewarded."

Troy smirked as he could hear her breath hitch. _"Umm... good?"_

"Rethinking that firm no to a repeat of last night now, are you?"

"_No?" _she said somewhat questioningly. _"Ryan is due home any minute, and you just got home and your mom will want to pry you out to talk..."_

Realistically, Troy knew that she was right, but the slight bulge in his pants was thinking otherwise. He pouted. "You're right... which I totally hate."

Gabriella mocked a gasp. _"You hate me?"_

"I could never hate you," Troy said seriously. "There is nothing you could ever say or do to make me hate you."

"_What if I told you I was having an affair with Chase Crawford?" _Gabriella teased.

Troy narrowed his eyes. "I don't know why you like him anyway. What is with his hair?" If Troy wasn't mistaken, he heard a stifled giggle at the other end of the phone. "What was that? Were you laughing at me?"

"_Never,"_ Gabriella's deadpan reply came, before her tone softened. _"You know I love you. I would never leave you for Chase Crawford."_

"Really?"

"_Ed Westwick, on the other hand... he's fair game."_

A knock came at Troy's bedroom door, and he said, "Hang on, Gabriella..." before calling out, "What?" in a bitter tone.

The door opened and Lucille was there looking at him. "Troy, dinner is ready."

"I'm not hungry," Troy said sullenly – and with the most unfortunate timing, his stomach betrayed him and grumbled.

Lucille wasn't offended by his grouchiness, and she was amused by the expression of annoyance on his face as he glanced down at his stomach angrily. "I hear otherwise. You can sit at the table and ignore me all you like, but I want you to come out now. You can call Gabriella back later."

She made a point of leaving the door open and walked back toward the kitchen.

"Did you hear that?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"_Yes. Go have dinner. And talk to your mom – she's not a bitch. She's just being a mom. She probably wants to hear about your weekend."_

"Fine. I'll call you after I eat," Troy promised.

"_Study for a little while first, please?" _she requested.

"What if I need your help?" Troy asked.

"_Troy, tomorrow is our drama exam. Something tells me there isn't much I'll be able to do to help you anyway."_

"I bet you have Chase Crawford at your house and I'm just interrupting you," he teased.

"_Exactly. So go away."_

"Fine then, I will!" he retorted, mockingly upset.

"_Good!" _she played along.

"Gabriella?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Love you."

_"Love you too."_

* * *


	38. Chapter 38

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **

Here's another chapter guys (finally, yeah yeah, I know...) hope you enjoy :) **Please** let me know your thoughts.... pretty crucial chapter here...

If you're not already, check out my other little mini-series that I'm writing, it's called **The Simple Need** and I kinda f'love it :D

Thanks **Audrey** for your fab beta work/poking me with a stick/honest opinions. Mwah!

* * *

**Chapter 38**

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
_

_Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
_

_While you're far away and dreaming  
_

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
_

_I could stay lost in this moment forever  
_

_When every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_Don't wanna fall asleep_

_Coz I'll miss you babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_**Aerosmith 'Don't Wanna Miss A Thing'**_

* * *

It was only exam number one that was complete, but Troy nonetheless felt a wave of relief. Drama was his only subject that he actually felt confident with the material; and was the only subject where he was striving not to _maintain_ his GPA but to actually _improve_ it. And so it was an incredible relief walking out of exam number one on Monday morning, feeling as though he'd actually done not only okay, not only good, but actually really great.

East High had a fairly strict policy overseeing all of its block exams that took place during mid terms and finals. Classes were cancelled for a week and in place exams were scheduled for various points throughout the week, students only having to attend when they had exams. There was a zero tolerance, rigid behavioural policy. Students were required to be quiet and courteous in the corridors to respect students who were taking exams.

As they emerged from their drama theory exam, Troy's arms engulfed around Gabriella from behind and he began to walk along with her without breaking the pose, shuffling along as he was attached behind her.

"I don't think I've ever walked out of an exam happy before. This can't be a good sign," Troy murmured quietly into her ear.

Gabriella giggled quietly, her hands enclosing over where his rested on her abdomen, squeezing lightly. "I'm sure it's a great sign," she said quietly.

He removed a hand just for long enough to sweep her ebony tresses to the left of her head, leaving the right side of her neck exposed and consequently allowing him to lean down and press sweet, soft, sporadic kisses against her warm flesh.

Gabriella wasn't quite paying attention, instead her line of vision was directed toward where Taylor and Chad were walking arm in arm slightly ahead. She couldn't deny the slightly bitter pang that had become ingrained within her reaction to Taylor being within proximity, like some sort of defence mechanism, her brain automatically thinking negative thoughts. But she also couldn't deny the pang of longing. The impulse was to call after her, to ask how her exam was, to talk about their weekend. The defence mechanism then kicked in and the negative thoughts brought the reality of the situation back.

Troy was oblivious to Gabriella's thoughts, instead still pressing the occasional kiss onto her neck as the majority of their class was headed toward the open aired quad where they were free to speak freely about the exam without fear of recrimination from teachers due to hallway decorum during exam block.

The moment that they hit the open air, in one fluid series of movements, Troy released his girlfriend from the embrace from behind position, his hands falling upon her waist, turning her round to face him, and he picked her up and spun her around, Gabriella shrieking as she clutched onto his arms.

"One exam down!" he declared excitedly.

"And how many to go?" she reminded him.

"I'm being optimistic," he reprimanded her.

She smiled in return, but Troy finally noted her faraway gaze, following her line of vision toward where Taylor and Chad were talking with Zeke and Jason not so far away.

"Hey," he said softly, his fingers gently tilting her chin up, and her gaze soon returned back to his sympathetic eyes. "You know... you could talk to her."

"I want to," Gabriella admitted. "I do..."

"But?" he prompted.

"I can't," she whispered. "I just... I just can't."

"Okay, that's fine," he said simply.

Troy had faith that Taylor and Gabriella weren't going to fight forever, and that they had to resolve things in their own time. He wasn't going to push his girlfriend, understanding that no amount of other people pushing was going to help; rather it had to be an internal decision.

"You think I'm being stupid and girly and making more out of this than what it is, don't you?" her soft voice enquired.

He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to offend her, choosing upon responding with a balance of honesty and delicacy. "I don't know about the stupid and girly. But as for the other, I think that's what everyone does when a fight with someone gets personal, you know?"

"I guess," Gabriella said dubiously.

The whole experience of the argument with Taylor was very foreign for Gabriella. She wasn't accustomed to having friends that she was close enough with that getting into a disagreement would cause such a personal fight. The emotions she was experiencing were removed from her realm of expertise. And as the argument and stalemate portion was foreign to her, the 'making up' portion was equally foreign.

"Hey, it's all gonna be fine, I promise," Troy said quietly, earnestly, and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss of comfort.

"Hey guys," Ryan said cheerfully.

Gabriella quickly pulled back from Troy, blushing a little. Ryan didn't even appear phased that he'd interrupted them, but Kelsi who had come along with him was averting her eyes. She'd tugged on Ryan's arm and insisted that Troy and Gabriella appeared to be having a private moment but Ryan had equally insisted that they wouldn't care.

"Sup," Troy greeted them, his arm slipping around Gabriella's waist.

"How did your exam go?" Ryan asked.

"I was really stoked with mine, I think I did well," Troy declared. "Which is probably a bad thing."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, having already reprimanded him for making that assumption. "Some of the thematic questions were fairly subjective," she said diplomatically. Gabriella didn't like to give away when she felt confident leaving an exam – because truthfully, she very rarely felt unconfident and if she let people see that then she was concerned it may come across as arrogant.

Kelsi nodded in agreement. "But I think Ms. Darbus is open to different interpretations, as long as they are justified."

"It's pretty much my only exam that I've done a lot of study for," Ryan confessed. "So fingers crossed I did okay."

"I told you I'd help you get through your exams and I will," Gabriella said, nodding firmly and squeezing Ryan's arm.

"And when Gabriella says she'll do something, you know she will," Troy said, pressing a kiss to Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella blushed slightly. "No pressure on me or anything."

The foursome continued to chat for a little while, discussing some of the intricacies of the exam and also upcoming tests throughout the week.

"What's that about?" Troy remarked, glancing across the quad to where Sharpay and Zeke were now talking. The dynamics of conversation groups had shifted; Zeke, Jason and Martha had been in a conversation and Sharpay had pulled Zeke slightly away from the other two.

"They're friends," Ryan said loosely.

Gabriella and Kelsi exchanged a knowing glance which wasn't lost on Ryan, but which Troy remained oblivious to.

"He should just give up," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

Ryan, Kelsi and Gabriella chose to ignore Troy's comment, being saved by Jason and Martha making their way over to the rest of the group.

"Hey, who's up for heading to the mall to grab lunch and then coming back here for a group study thing?" Martha asked. "Chad and Taylor have taken off, but Zeke said he's up for it, and Jason already volunteered you Kelsi."

Jason grinned impishly at his girlfriend, who merely smiled back at him.

"I'm actually going home with Sharpay this afternoon and we're studying together," Ryan told the group. "Well, she doesn't know we're studying yet. She thinks we're going to start working on her call back audition for Juilliard."

Troy snorted slightly. "I thought that wasn't gonna be until like, March?"

"That's right," Ryan said calmly. He'd expected Sharpay to become excited about her call back. She'd already allowed her focus upon the school detract her from studying throughout the first half of senior year, and getting a call back was merely exacerbating her Juilliard tunnel vision.

"You guys wanna come?" Jason asked, glancing from Gabriella to Troy.

Gabriella glanced at Troy, who cleared his throat and said, "I think I may need some individualised study help for physics. We might catch up with you guys later on though, if you're still around."

"Fair enough."

They said their farewells and the couple headed hand in hand to cut through the quad toward Troy's locker.

"Okay, so individual physics tuition. Do you want to get your books and then we can head to the library?" Gabriella suggested.

Troy smirked, pausing before they re-entered the corridors He pulled her close toward him and then leaned forward, pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and murmured by her ear.

"I do need tuition but I kinda just wanted to ditch them because I was thinking that maybe before we study, we should uh... celebrate."

They were standing close together with both hands adjoined.

"Celebrate what?"Gabriella asked, already suspecting exactly what he was inferring.

"That we finished an exam," Troy said. "And that we're back together after being separated for a whole weekend."

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle at his persistence as he pulled her toward him and pressed a soft kiss to her neck, right at the point that caused her knees to wobble a little.

"We also have a bunch of exams to go," Gabriella reminded him.

"Yeah, so? We can study later. Right now, we have two empty houses, babe. We should be taking advantage of that. I'm very stressed about my exams, you know, and I think I need to destress. Which is something that you can definitely help me with."

Gabriella glanced at the slim silver watch which adorned her wrist. "Troy, it's 11am."

"So?"

She cleared her throat. "Well... all of our parents are at work all day."

"Exactly," Troy said, not understanding her point.

"How do I say this delicately..." she pondered out loud, before glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. She finally responded tentatively. "We do need to study. And... since the parents are at work all day, and the houses are going to remain empty for the whole afternoon... how about we study for a couple of hours, and then take a break and then we can go home to... celebrate? It's not like we're going to need all day."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "You're insulting my stamina!"

"No, I'm not," Gabriella insisted. "I knew you'd take it that way though."

"Well how am I supposed to take it?"

"Just as a statement of fact. It doesn't take hours and hours, no matter how great your stamina is! So we should go study and then you can think of it as a reward or something," she said, attempting to negotiate with him.

"Oh it will be a reward, believe me," Troy said confidently. "But not for me. For you. It will be a reward for your incredible tutoring. Because you know, I've been working really hard on this issue and I won't have you mocking me."

"You've been working hard on it?" Gabriella repeated, her face clouding with confusion.

"Yes. There's exercises and things. And techniques..."

"Oh." Gabriella was touched that Troy was concerned about the issue, but also worried that she may have been the cause of his concern in the first place. She glanced around again, feeling a little peculiar conducting the conversation at all, let alone on the edge of the quad where students were spread out all around them. "Troy... I wasn't insulting your stamina. You're seventeen! I don't expect stamina. I couldn't have imagined a more thoughtful and caring person to... you know... share myself with. Just the fact that you care about... the outcome... for me – that's all that matters."

"Thoughtful and caring, such lovely words. How about, sexy and absolutely mind blowing?"

"Does it occur to you that maybe I consider thoughtful and caring to be sexy and mind blowing attributes?" Gabriella asked, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever."

She couldn't tell if he was actually feeling dented or if he was playing, perhaps procrastinating from studying. She narrowed her eyes, attempting to read his expression. A hand came up to cup the side of his face, before she stood up on tip toe and pressed her lips to his, coaxing his lips apart, initiating a steamy kiss.

"Troy? Remember Thursday afternoon?"

A grin filled Troy's features at the memory of the amazing afternoon they'd shared. "Yeah..."

"Did I sound like I thought you were anything less than sexy and mind blowing?"

"Well no. But maybe you were faking."

"I would never fake!" she exclaimed indignantly, slapping him on the arm lightly.

"Look, this is seriously bothering me. I think we need to go back to your place right now so I can prove myself," Troy said firmly.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes once more, and then let out a small gasp. "Troy! You're not even upset about this, are you? You just wanted me to agree to blowing off studying to go have sex!"

"Did it work?" he asked cheekily.

"No it did not," Gabriella said firmly. "If anything I'm now more determined to make sure you study."

"Not even with my promise to totally blow your mind?" Troy asked, once again pressing a kiss to her neck and momentarily suckling at her skin.

He heard the slight intake of breath that Gabriella took, smirking slightly at her involuntary reaction.

"Study first... then... maybe, and I mean _maybe_... we can do something," Gabriella conceded.

Troy sighed, but nodded in concession. "Okay."

"To the library?" she said.

"To my locker, then... can we go up to the roof?" he asked, giving her an imploring look. "I don't feel like being cooped up."

* * *

Taylor glanced around cautiously as she swung open the door that read 'roof access.' She felt a little like she was encroaching upon someone's private space, although Troy and Gabriella weren't the only students who accessed the roof. The Garden Club met up there once a week, various members would visit to give the plants a daily check. And given the lack of security, it wouldn't surprise Taylor if one day she heard of students being busted smoking up there.

But on Monday afternoon, she knew it was Troy and Gabriella who were up there. Well, she knew from their friends that they'd said they were at school studying, Troy's truck was still in the parking lot and she hadn't found them in the library, out the front of the school or in the quad. She wasn't sure exactly what they spent their time up there doing. Gabriella had insisted to her in the past that it wasn't anything kinky, that they'd never been beyond kissing and heavy petting while in their rooftop sanctuary. Most of the time it was just talking, relaxing and spending time in each other's presence. Nonetheless Taylor found this hard to believe and almost wanted to cover her eyes as she warily walked along the darkened corridor and then up the stairs.

If Troy and Gabriella had been within the confines of the roofed area at the top of the staircase then they would have heard Taylor's footsteps earlier. However as she emerged into the light and glanced around, she spotted them sitting over on one of the garden beds in the middle of the open area, having found the spot where maximum sunlight was providing warmth. Troy was sitting and Gabriella was lying along the ledge, her head resting upon Troy's thigh and her ankles crossed. She was clutching onto a textbook. His fingers were lightly running through the loose curls of her half up half down hairstyle.

"Stop cheating!" Gabriella said. "You so didn't know that, you had to have looked at the book!"

"I would never cheat!" Troy retorted indignantly.

"Then tell me how you quoted that word for word?"

"I have a good memory."

Taylor couldn't help but smile to herself, and a part of her was contemplating turning around and leaving them in peace. But she knew that the hardest part about this process had been deciding to approach her. If she turned around now, she may not do it again. And it wasn't exactly the first time that a Wildcat had interrupted Troy and Gabriella – and it wasn't as though she was barging into Troy's bedroom.

And so she stood looking out at them and cleared her throat.

Both members of the couple looked up, Gabriella having to tilt her head backwards as she was lying facing away from Taylor.

"Um... hi," Troy said awkwardly.

"I'm... sorry to interrupt," Taylor said, equally awkwardly. "Especially... up here."

Gabriella immediately sat up, and then rose to her feet. She was staring at the ground, not quite sure what she should say – what she _could_ say.

"Um, that's okay. We were just studying. Gabriella was quizzing me," Troy explained, gesturing to the book which Gabriella had placed onto the ledge.

Taylor nodded and tentatively moved forward, down the few steps and toward the couple. "Do you um... do you mind if I talk to you?" Her eyes looked straight at Gabriella, no doubt as to who the 'you' was referring to.

There was an instinctual response which bubbled at Gabriella's lips to retort somewhat bitterly, 'I suppose I can make some time' or 'Only if it is convenient for you.' However she noted the look on Taylor's face – obviously this wasn't easy. And ultimately, Gabriella wanted to talk. And so the instinctive response was quashed and instead, she said quietly, "Um... yeah. Sure."

Gabriella hesitated; she picked up her purse and was about to suggest that she and Taylor go find somewhere quiet.

Troy cleared his throat and rose to his feet. He picked up his textbook, propping it beneath his arm. "Um, you know what, I'm gonna go to the library. You guys talk up here."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked, her voice soft and questioning. Even though Troy had emphasised to her that she could view his hide out as being as much hers as his own, she didn't want him to feel as though she was intruding upon his space.

"It's fine. I uh... wanted to get that book out anyway," he assured her, referencing a book all three of them knew was non-existent.

Troy leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his girlfriends cheek, squeezed her arm, and then did an about face. He gave Taylor a small smile and then made his exit down the stairs, leaving the two girls alone. They were facing one another, still a safe distance between them. It was Gabriella who took a few steps forward.

"So... this is the rooftop," she said with a tiny smile.

"Um... yeah. I've been up here before," Taylor said, glancing around. "Not for a while though. I can see why Troy wants to claim it as his own. I can see why you come up here with him all the time."

"It's prettier in spring. In a few months it'll be gorgeous," Gabriella commented. "All the flowers will be out."

"Yeah," Taylor said.

Silence fell between them for another moment, before Gabriella gestured toward the covered area. "Let's sit."

Taylor nodded and wordlessly followed Gabriella, walking up the few steps, and then sat down as far away from each other as possible on the wooden bench by the top of the stairs.

"I just... okay. I'm... I'm still upset with you. I'm still... I'm hurt about things that you said... that I said... that _we_ said," Taylor said, speaking slowly, meticulously, trying to express her thoughts accurately. "But, I don't want things to be like this. I want to fix them."

Gabriella nodded. She immediately felt this swell of relief. It was exactly how she was feeling – exactly the thoughts of being a bit upset but wanting to fix things. "I agree. And... thank you for... you know. Starting things off. I kept thinking that I should but... I'm not good at this. I've never had a fight with a friend, not since I was little and fighting over Barbie dolls or... whatever we fought about." Taylor cracked a smile. "If you weren't my best friend, I wouldn't have gotten angry about the things that I got angry about. It's only because you're so important to me that it upset me, you know?"

Taylor nodded, understanding completely. "I do understand."

The girls sat in silence for a moment, not looking directly at each other, both staring at the ground and sneaking glances at the other.

"What now?" Gabriella asked, her voice small. She hated the lack of control, the lack of knowledge, the lack of a formula to apply to the scenario. There was no prescribed set of rules to follow, a dummies guide on 'how to mend a broken friendship.'

"I'm not mad at you because of the decathlon. I overreacted to that... piece of information. I'm disappointed and I kinda think you're making the wrong decision to not participate. But that's... the decathlon is whatever. I overreacted last Monday because I was upset at you about other things," Taylor said quietly.

"Because I've been a sucky friend in general," Gabriella supplied, hanging her head. "I know that, Tay, I know I have. I'm not good with the.... balancing parts of my life thing. I've never had to do it before. And that's totally not an excuse but it's the only way that I can explain it. I don't intentionally do it. I just get... wrapped up in particular parts of my life and I sorta... I hope that the rest is okay. I know that things have been good with you and Chad, and you've been busy doing lots of things with Martha and so it was like my brain knew that you were okay... or... something."

"Gabriella? I always need you," Taylor said. "I know that we haven't really known each other for that long but... you get me more than anyone I've ever been friends with. And I know that you've got Kelsi and Ryan and..."

"Stop right there," Gabriella interrupted. She shifted over along the bench, her hand gently resting on Taylor's leg. "Kelsi is not you. Ryan is most _definitely_ not you. I always need you too. I've never had a best friend before, and I didn't even know until I came here that I'd been missing anything by not having that kind of friendship. I know I've been spending lots of time with both of them lately but that's because for starters, Ryan lives with me! And I have been working on lots of things for student council and the drama club. And if you say that you're okay with me not doing the decathlon... then you have to understand that that's not going to change. But that doesn't mean that I don't need you. I just... every time that you wanted to do something with me, it was always because you wanted to study or work on the yearbook or whatever."

Taylor let out a sigh. "And has it occurred to you why I was always suggesting those things?"

"Because you're a very focused person, which I love about you, but sometimes..."

"No, that's..." Taylor paused, and took a breath. "Do you know why I'm disappointed that you don't want to do the decathlon?"

"Because you don't have any confidence in your own abilities?" Gabriella guessed.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "No, Gabriella. It's because... it's because the decathlon is our thing!" Gabriella blinked, not reacting immediately. "You have the drama stuff with Kelsi and Ryan, you have student council stuff with Ryan. And now, _everyone_ but _me_ is doing this talent showcase thing. Even _Chad_ is doing it. And... and I could deal with that because I don't care about having a thing with everyone else – but I like having something that is ours. I know that Martha is in the team properly this year but I still feel like... I feel like the decathlon is ours, you know?"

As Taylor had explained, Gabriella's mouth had opened slightly – suddenly things made a whole lot more sense.

"Taylor, I..." Gabriella was a little speechless.

"It's okay, Gabriella. You don't have to like... change your mind or whatever. It's cool."

"I wasn't planning to change my mind," Gabriella said truthfully. "Taylor... I don't feel like you and I need a 'thing' you know? We didn't become friends because we are both smart and like doing extra-curriculars. We just clicked. Decathlon or not, you're my best friend and nothing can change that. I feel like... I feel like you and I are actually going to be friends... forever. It doesn't matter where we wind up next year, I could go to Alaska and you to Australia and I think we'd still be friends."

"This last month aside... I've felt like that too," Taylor confessed. "Some other people... I don't know. Everyone leaves high school and promises to stay in touch but... like, my older sister hardly talks to anyone that she went to school with."

"I've never stayed in touch with people from my old schools," Gabriella pointed out, a tint of sadness permeating her tone. "I Facebook a few people but that's it. But I couldn't bear it if you and I ever lost touch. This last week... even though I was upset with you, I still really missed you."

"I really missed you too."

The girls were glancing at each other somewhat tentatively; Gabriella made a move but then held back and asked carefully, "Can we hug now?"

"Yes, we can hug, we need to hug before this gets any sappier," Taylor said with a slight laugh, leaning over and embracing Gabriella in a tight hug.

"I promise I'll stop being a bad friend," Gabriella said earnestly, arms wrapped around her friend, clinging to her a little.

"You're not a bad friend. And... I was a bitch. And I'm sorry for that."

The girls pulled away from each other, one set of slightly teary eyes meeting the other.

"Crap, I'm wearing mascara today too," Gabriella said, carefully wiping beneath her eyelid and sniffing the tears back. "Do I have any smudged?"

Taylor examined her face. "You're fine."

* * *

Troy had contemplated going to the library but instead found himself moving back toward the quad where he found Zeke, Jason, Martha, Kelsi and Chad all sitting around together, various books scattered among them.

"Hoops," Chad called out.

"Hey man," Troy greeted him.

"So I guess Taylor found you guys?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah., we were up at the roof. I left them up there talking."

"And they didn't kill each other first?" Zeke asked with a smirk.

"Nah," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "I think they're both ready. It was just a matter of who made the first move. Kudos to Taylor because I don't know when Gabriella would have done it."

"So everything can go back to normal?" Jason said, sounding relieved.

"Hopefully," Chad said. "I don't think I could have handled much more of it. "

**

* * *

**The girls had pulled apart from their hug. Things weren't perfect; time would be required to heal the wounds from their encounter. But it was a start, and a start was the most important thing.

Gabriella swallowed and then asked tentatively, "Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

She bit her lip. She didn't want to rock the boat but she also didn't want to leave issues unresolved. While they were being open and honest, it seemed like the best time to deal with things.

"Umm... okay. I just... I have to ask."

Gabriella paused and Taylor glanced at her warily. "Go on..."

"Are you... do you... have an issue with Troy?" Gabriella bit her lip, waiting for Taylor's response. Her expression was unreadable.

"No," Taylor answered truthfully. "I don't have an issue with Troy. He's a great guy. I'm glad I've gotten to know him. But I won't lie – you spending all your time with him is a part of all this... stuff. You get so wrapped up in him and that's when you sorta... tend to forget other people exist."

Gabriella sighed. "I love him, Taylor. And I don't know if you understand that. I sometimes see you looking at me like I'm crazy, being seventeen and thinking about Troy in this way. But I love him."

"I get it," Taylor said softly, knowingly.

"You do?" Gabriella asked, inflection rising. It wasn't Taylor _saying_ that she sympathised - Gabriella could hear the pure understanding in Taylor's tone.

Taylor nodded. "I do."

"Have you told Chad?" Once again Taylor nodded. "And he told you?" The small smile that crept onto Taylor's face was indicative of her affirmative confirmation. "It's wonderful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Taylor confessed.

"When did this happen?"

"Um, last weekend." Taylor hesitated. The Monday before, she'd felt this desperate urge to tell Gabriella about the events of the weekend. She was once again bursting to reveal, but a certain part of her wanted to keep it to herself, on some level wary of whether she really considered Gabriella as someone to be privy to her most intimate thoughts. In the spirit of moving on and striving for normalcy, Taylor made the split second decision to quash thoughts of keeping it private and indulge the gushing girl within. She took a deep breath, continuing quietly. "Right before we... um... made love."

Gabriella's eyes widened, double taking. "You... You and Chad..."

Taylor nodded. "Last Saturday night. My mom was away and... we did it."

"Well?!" Gabriella pressed, still a little shocked and not sure what to say. She wasn't surprised that Taylor and Chad had taken the step, it was more so that it had happened more than a week ago and that she'd had no idea.

"It was wonderful," Taylor said simply. "It's been wonderful since then. I... I'm not telling you because I want us to sit here and have a girly gush about it all; we can do that another time. The point is that... I do get it, Gabriella. I know that you were wrapped up in him before and I know that you're even more wrapped in him now. And even after a week, I can imagine how it is that you're continuing to get more wrapped up in him. I get it completely. And it is just all really ironic that a part of the reason why I overreacted last Monday was because I really wanted to share with you about Chad but I felt like you were too busy with your life to even allow me five minutes to talk about him. And yet the last week, I've spent so much time with him... and I've gradually gained perspective of how easily you could have gone to that place."

"I never thought I'd be the seventeen year old girl gushing about her brilliant boyfriend and how much she loves him but... I've become that girl. That doesn't take away from you and I, not at all. But... I'm not used to this Tay. I've never had a best friend to balance with life. I've never had a boyfriend to balance with friends. All I can do is promise to try harder, a lot harder. Just because you get it, it doesn't make it right. This last week... I've learnt from this. I truly have."

Taylor nodded. "That's all that matters really."

"But in return... I need you to understand something."

"Okay..."

"When we were fighting... what really got to me of all the things that you said was when you said that I put Troy first _all_ the time. Like... you couldn't conceive any scenario where I put anyone else, myself included, first. And that... it really upset me."

"But you do, Gabriella, and I'm not saying that is always a bad thing but that maybe sometimes instead of it being Troy, Troy, Troy then other things; the other things should come second – and sometimes they should come first."

Gabriella closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "You're not listening to me. The fact is that I _don't_ always put Troy first. And... the fact that you of all people don't understand what I am saying... that is what hurt me. Because I'm making the most important decision of my life and I'm making it for me."

"What? College?" Taylor said, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. And in terms of my relationship with Troy... that decision is crucial. Taylor... I've told you before that I'm making that decision for me."

"You say that but... are you seriously telling me that the concept of Troy getting a scholarship to Berkeley isn't influencing your decision to go to Stanford?" Taylor asked.

Confusion clouded Gabriella's face. "Huh?"

"Well Chad told me Troy had mentioned that things may work out perfectly, since Berkeley is a great school and Troy always had hoped for a west coast school to want him; and that you are just waiting on a Stanford acceptance which, cut the bashfulness, we know it's coming."

"Troy said this?" Gabriella said, somewhat baffled.

"Well... I sorta got a short version via Chad, but yeah."

"Taylor... I... Stanford is in my top choices and I actually want to go out there and look at it again just to make sure that I'm making the right decision, because I haven't been out there recently, not since early junior year. But..." Gabriella paused, and took a breath. "At the moment... I'm leaning toward MIT."

Taylor's mouth gaped open. "MIT?"

"Yes." Gabriella's reply was firm.

"In... Massachusetts." Taylor was dumbfounded, which was evident from her tone.

"Yes," Gabriella said, her tone a little wary.

"What if Berkeley works out? I know he hasn't even been there yet but... Troy would struggle to get into a school that great on the basis of his grades. Presuming the basketball side is fine, he'd be _crazy_ to go anywhere else."

"I know." Gabriella had thought this herself. Troy had maintained to her that he wanted a school that could be about more than just basketball. As far as she could see, of all the opportunities lying before him, Berkeley was looking like the shining star of the lot.

"So..."

"I don't know Taylor! I don't know yet," Gabriella exclaimed, a little exasperated. "I... I haven't made any decisions but at the moment, even knowing that Berkeley is a strong possibility, I'm thinking that MIT is where I want to be. I just feel... I can't explain it. It feels right."

"And does Troy have any offers on the east coast?"

"He's going to UConn next weekend. I know he was trying to contact both Boston and NYU. Boston College was interested in him but he didn't have any interest in them at all."

"And you'd actually go to MIT when you could go to Stanford, which is probably an hour away from Berkeley?" Taylor said incredulously.

"Like I said... I'm making this decision for me. That's... that's the only way that I know how to do this. If I make this decision for anyone but myself then I'll regret it, I know I will."

"But you guys are supposed to have the white picket fence and the dog! You're... you're meant to be the ones who come back to our ten year reunion with the perfect lives."

"You make it sound like I'm breaking up with him or something," Gabriella said uneasily.

"You honestly think you can make a relationship work from opposite sides of the country during college?" Taylor asked doubtfully. "Like... seriously?"

Gabriella swallowed, her delicate hands gripping to the wooden bench on either side of her. That was the question of the hour, the question that she and Troy had avoided like the plague. The underlying assumption was there that regardless of what happened, it wasn't going to impact upon their love or their commitment. But it was a valid question, more than valid.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Thinking about it scares me. And that's why... I think on a certain level... If I have to make a decision between spending time with different people... sometimes I allow myself to get wrapped up in the moment with Troy. Because on a certain level... I know that the future is so uncertain. And he's like... my world, you know? And it's like I want to savour each and every available moment with him. I would never, ever want to look back and regret not spending time with him, regret not experiencing something with him."

"Gabriella... you need to talk to him about this," Taylor implored.

"I will!"

"When? In August when your bags are packed and you're saying goodbye at the airport?" Taylor asked.

"No. Soon. I... I want to wait until after he's been to Berkeley, after I've gone to visit Stanford again. There's no point in dredging all this stuff up until I know for sure what is going to happen."

"And meanwhile, he's telling Chad that everything is going to work out, thinking that you would choose Stanford if he was to be at Berkeley?"

"And I might! I don't know for certain that I wouldn't!"

Taylor shook her head. "Gabriella... you're so wrapped up in him that you're not even seeing the reality of the situation here."

Gabriella swallowed. "I see the reality I just... I'm not ready to accept it."

After a long, somewhat teary hug up at the rooftop, Taylor and Gabriella agreed that they both needed to tend to the studying needs of their jock boyfriends. Both seemed to have entered the senioritis mind frame of having priorities muddled up as a result of the clouded vision that came with basketball scholarships. They made plans to meet up the following morning to study for physics, and then for calculus after their physics exam. They also made tentative plans for a double date with the boys on Friday night, which they were both relatively certain Chad and Troy would be more than amiable to.

They'd approached their friends at the quad hand in hand, tear stained cheeks and red eyes the tell tale signs of the emotion of their make-up. Their friends hadn't blatantly commented but the smiles were enough to demonstrate their happiness. Gabriella had murmured in Troy's ear a request for him to drive her home; and she'd never seen him stand up and gather his things so quickly. Taylor then asked Chad if he would mind going with her to get food, and he easily agreed, the foursome walking out toward the parking lot in sync.

The hug between Taylor and Gabriella as the couples parted ways was monumental. A part of Troy wanted to yank Gabriella away – and had it been any other day he may have allowed his hormones to control his actions and interfere. However ultimately, it was a wonderful sight, and it literally felt as though a dark cloud had been lifted from the atmosphere.

* * *

To Ryan's utmost surprise, it hadn't taken much to convince Sharpay to put down her scripts and instead to open a textbook. As much as he was grateful for the hospitality of the Montezes and as much as he was enjoying becoming even closer with Gabriella – it was comforting being back in his family home, sitting on Sharpay's bed as they quizzed each other and attempted to unravel mathematical mysteries. Many people would rather sit a math test than sing and dance on stage for all of their peers to see. The Evans' twins had always been an anomaly.

"Hey Ryan?" Sharpay's tentative question came, not even glancing up from her book.

"Yeah?"

She hesitated. Ryan sensed her hesitation, and he had no doubt that the question which came out of her mouth was not the question she'd originally been intending to ask. "How are things with Chase?"

"They're fine. You were there when I spent half the weekend texting him," he pointed out with a sly grin. "He's trying to organise to get this weekend off so he can come up for the party on the weekend."

"Oh okay. So Jason is pretty much letting anyone come?"

"Pretty much, as long as he clears it. You're coming, aren't you? I know you're not really into parties but you said you were going to come for a little while?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah I um... I think I'll come."

Ryan grinned broadly. "Awesome. I know if Chase comes he'll love having someone else to hang with."

"What does Zeke act like at parties?" Sharpay asked.

His brows furrowed. "Act like?" he repeated.

"Yes. Act like."

"Well I haven't been to that many. You were hanging out with him at Paula's party when you... you know..." Ryan trailed off.

"Got drunk?" Sharpay supplied, rolling her eyes.

"Yes."

"And then he slept with his ex-girlfriend," Sharpay recalled darkly.

"Um... yes. And you were the one hanging out with him at our after party. And weren't you also hanging out with him at Marcus's party?" She didn't respond, staring down at her bedspread. Ryan was careful with the tone of his next sentence, keeping his voice soft. "Shar... if you like Zeke..."

"I never said that!" she interrupted defensively, eyes widening.

"Sharpay, this is me," Ryan said patiently. "You don't have to pretend. I know you like him, and I know that you _really_ like him or you wouldn't be like this. You'd be just going after it – kind of like how you did with Troy."

Sharpay's eyes shot up from the bed, glaring at Ryan slightly. "I did really like Troy."

"Then what's stopping you from just going after Zeke?" Ryan prompted. "You weren't afraid to go after Troy."

"Exactly," she admitted quietly. "I went after Troy. Look how well that turned out. Obviously direct doesn't work."

This made perfect sense to Ryan – he understood Sharpay better than anyone and yet he suddenly felt like he understood her even more. "Shar, the reason that things didn't happen with Troy is because he's in love with Gabriella," Ryan said softly, but directly. "But Zeke is crazy about you! It's totally different!"

"Has he said so?" she asked.

"Not directly, but... come on Shar, it's obvious! He's been crazy about you for like, a year."

"Except that blip where he went out with that cheerleader skank," Sharpay said, miffed.

"Yeah, to try to get over you, and then it didn't work out," he pointed out.

"If he likes me, then why isn't he making a move!" Sharpay said, slightly exasperated. "It's not like he hasn't had the opportunity. I talk to him all the time. We've hung out. Even outside of school. And I pretty much told him that I like him. So why isn't he making a move?"

Ryan wasn't sure how to respond. The truth was that although he'd suspected for a long while that things had been developing between the pair, Zeke had been fairly tight lipped about the entire scenario, and Ryan didn't know how to advise her.

"Maybe he's just... scared like you. It's not easy taking that step – especially not when you have turned him down before."

"But I wouldn't turn him down this time," she admitted, voice quiet. Her face lit up slightly, being struck with an idea. "You can talk to him for me!"

Ryan winced. "I don't know Shar... I think you should just maybe be a bit more forward. Hint some more, if you want him to have to ask you out."

Her bottom lip stuck out, pouting. "But Ry! You're my twin. And I don't ask a lot of you but I would really really really love you forever and ever if you would do this for me."

"You should love me forever and ever just because I'm your twin, not because I do you some favour," Ryan pointed out.

She rolled her eyes and clapped her hands excitedly. "Whatever. You're talking to him for me, okay? Fabulous." Her disposition was suddenly a lot brighter once she had the solution to the problem.

"I can... try... I suppose," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. He wasn't a particularly strong proponent of her idea, but he knew his sister and he knew that she was not going to relent.

"Try to wait until the end of the week, but before the party," Sharpay mused. "I'd like to spend time with him at the party, but I don't want it to be awkward during the week."

Ryan gave her a look. "I'll be doing it whenever I get the chance, _if _I get the chance."

Sharpay's expression softened and she reached out, her hand clasping over her brothers. "Ryan? I really like him. So... I appreciate this."

* * *

The more experience they had with one another's bodies, the more pleasurable the experiences were becoming. It had been about two months since Troy and Gabriella had first officially consummated their relationship, and those two months had proved to be filled with many experienced becoming attuned to the intricacies of one another. Their phone encounter on Saturday night had brought temporary relief, but in the long run merely heightened sexual tension. This combined with a Troy who was determined to remain true to a promise, was a formula certain to result in copious amounts of ecstasy.

Troy wasn't even completely undressed when Gabriella's bedroom was first filled with the mewls, pants and ragged gasps that were synonymous with her climax. They almost fell into rhythm with Gabriella discarding his red and black cotton boxers to return the favour; having come to the general conclusion that the downfall of Troy's excited teenage composition – a lack of longevity – could be improved with an early arrival and then taking advantage of the upside of that same composition – quick recovery.

They had both developed a healthy curiosity and will to experiment with the ways in which they could derive pleasure from the union of their bodies. Troy had taken the lead, feeling a little cautious about what he had wanted to initiate but nonetheless eager. To him it was a stepping stone toward something else he wanted to initiate one day which he was even more wary about – wary about the reaction she might have.

She'd felt a little apprehensive as he'd settled himself lying on his side and guided her to lie on her side facing away from him. She wanted to be looking at him, not out at her balcony. It was almost silly but for Gabriella, one of her favourite parts about their intimate encounters was just looking at him; gazing adoringly into his eyes as he looked back at her with an equally loving expression. Her eyelids would flutter closed as they kissed but she was aware that all she had to do was open her eyes to see him. And so Troy settling himself behind her was a little unnerving, like something was missing from the equation. But then she felt his warm, tantalising hands make contact with her skin. His left arm snaked beneath her to reach out in search of her hand, their fingers lacing together for a moment. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

"I love you," he murmured by her ear and pressed a kiss to her left shoulder.

"Love you too," her automatic reply came, right hand reaching behind her to find the back of his head, needing to feel him, to connect with him.

His right hand ghosted over the curves and crevasses of her skin, squeezing her right breast, running down her side and over her hip. Her beauty never failed to amaze him, never failed to attract him. She was soft and yet firm, sweet and yet sexy.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured throatily. "Fuck..."

His touch and the sound of his voice were soothing agents, washing away the apprehension and allowing Gabriella to relax. His hands removed themselves from her skin and she mourned their loss for a moment. She could still feel him though; she could feel his presence, feel the way that his eyes were drinking in her body. He shifted a little and she could feel his erect length make contact with her upper thigh. There was a slight rustle as he tore open a condom wrapper and discarded of the packaging. A soft kiss pressed to her shoulder once again as he pulled back a little further to roll the rubber onto his length.

It took a bit of wiggling and experimenting, eventually Troy found himself propping himself up with his left elbow and lifting her right leg on top and support her thigh to allow him to find the angle of penetration. He'd shifted his body a little further down the bed, allowing him to slide his hardness into her from behind and below; hips thrusting in an upward propulsion. It was a little awkward at first, Gabriella biting her lip as she adjusted herself to the sensation, to being held in such a manner, to feeling fairly exposed due to physically being held open. Troy was experimenting with trying to find some sort of rhythm, he'd thrust up and then slipped out a couple of times. She heard a light curse emit from his lips and she shushed him lightly.

"It's okay," she murmured, reaching behind her to graze her hand in a swoop over his side.

He persevered, his hips finally listening to his brain and falling into a rhythm. The awkwardness drifted away and Gabriella found herself being drawn into the throes of ecstasy yet again, thanks to the hands and lips and body of the incredible man she was united with. His thrusts were fairly slow, allowing her body the time to respond and allowing his body to not race ahead as it tended to do. Her hand reached behind her, fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. His lips pressed delicate, teasing kisses to the skin of her shoulders and neck, which she found to be surprisingly sensual. He thrust into her as steadily as he could, Gabriella clutching to him and gasping as he found the angle which was most directly stimulating, indicating to him to continue in that same manner. She shifted a little, leaning back a little toward him. She tilted her head back and searched for his lips which quickly came down to meet for a soft kiss.

Pleas to higher beings and rapturous utterances of the others name cut through among the increasingly ragged breathing.

He drew his right knee up, foot flat against the bed, and carefully set down her leg and coaxed her to part her legs, her right knee bent and drawn a little toward her chest. He slipped out momentarily and he carefully found his way to continue with his rhythm. A throaty groan emitted from his lips, this position making her feel tighter around him.

"Oh fuck Gabi... that's... oh my God..." Troy groaned.

His strokes were now slower, more languorous. Now with his top hand free, he was able to reach over and lightly apply a teasing pressure to the bundle of nerves that lay among her sex. A throaty gasp emitted from her throat as she felt the pressure being applied. The slow, steady strokes of his member were driving deep within her core, at the very beginning and end of each stroke, feeling the sensation of his length rubbing against her most sensitive inner wall. The addition of his fingers against her clit was intoxicating.

"Troy... oh my God Troy..." she panted.

Her eyes rolling back into her head and once again turning her head back in search the feel of his lips pressing lovingly to hers. Her left arm had bent backwards, her head resting against the flesh of her upper arm and her hand was gripping to the comforter beneath. Her right hand reached behind her, finding the hard, warm flesh of his backside, fingers kneading at the flesh of his ass cheek.

He was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the sensations, thrusting into her tight, warm depths; feeling her hand clutching at his skin; hearing her voice as she panted and mewled and murmured and cried his name; the sensation of thrusting up against her ass. He was biting his lip, knowing that his orgasm was approaching but also hearing within the gasps of his lover that she wasn't too far.

"Gabi..." he gasped warningly, stating without directly stating that he needed an indicating of how long.

An incomprehensible moan escaped her lips before she managed to utter pleadingly, "Harder... need you... harder..."

The only way that he could deliver was to release the pressure from her clit so he could hold her leg again, opening her up to him. He murmured throatily by her ear, "Touch yourself for me, baby."

She more than willingly obliged, the switch from his rougher fingers to her own slim digits taking place. He took a moment to enjoy her body, to run his hands over her thigh and over her side and to caress her breasts, worshipping the skin of this Goddess who fused so perfectly within his body. He then once again used his right hand to lift and support her leg, allowing the room to move and to increase the pace and force of his thrusts.

"There... right there..." she gasped as he connected perfectly with her sensitive inner wall, before breathing a series of short sharp breaths which rolled over into a desperate moan.

Ragged breaths, ecstasy ridden cries, the slight creak of the bed and the soft thwacking of skin meeting skin filled the space.

His fingers applied more direct pressure to her bud, flicking steadily, quickly, in time with his thrusts. She'd been hanging on the edge and finally she was sent over, her climax arriving. There was no sound better in the world to Troy, noting he liked to hear more than her ecstasy ridden moans, no feeling better than her clamping around his hardened length. That was all it took, and moments later, Troy reached his own peak, the pair simultaneously existing in a rapturous place.

Her room was silent with the exception of a bird chirping outside and the sounds of ragged post orgasmic breathing. Gabriella shuffled until she was lying on her back, allowing more direct access for their mouths to meet in a slow, lustful kiss. His eyes were closed, his hands roaming lightly over her abdomen and up the sides of her slim frame.

"Can you pass me my cell?" Gabriella asked softly, pressing a lazy kiss to his chest.

Troy obliged, sleepily rolling away from her so he could reach behind him to grab her cell that was resting upon the bedside table. Those few moments where his body moved away from hers, she craved him, missing the warmth and comfort that came from being in his immediate proximity. When her cell phone dangled in front of her, she turned back onto his side, allowing her to nestled back into the warmth of his body, his arm tucking securely around her waist and drawing her even closer. She tapped away at the keys.

"Whatcha doing?" he murmured, his tone sleepy, Gabriella sensing the post orgasmic slumber was close to overcoming his body.

"Setting an alarm," she murmured. "A short sleep is allowed, and then we really do have to study. I'm sure you didn't study at all while I was talking to Taylor."

"Not true. Martha was trying to teach me. I wasn't learning, but we were trying." Troy's voice was fading, the light strokes of his hands along the sides of her arms stilling.

They fell quiet for a moment, Troy's lips pressing a light kiss to the back of her neck as he nestled himself into her pillow.

"I don't know how I could ever go without feeling like this for longer than like a week... it was too long between Thursday and now," Gabriella murmured.

"You don't have to," his faint, mumbled reply came. "Not ever."

* * *


	39. Chapter 39

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **

Apologies for the delay on this. Massive writers block hit me. No excuse other than that. I also can't make any promises about when the next chapter will be up. I'm working lots, have some major uni catch up to do, and have some personal life stuff going on.

Thank you times a trillion to Audrey who beta read this even while drugged up on Vicodin. Love you xo

I don't like to ask for reviews but I'd really really really to hear your thoughts and opinions about this chapter. There's also this little part of me that really, really, _really_ wants to break 2k in 40 chapters... *Dani blushes* Yes. Sad that I care about these things. No but seriously... some major stuff in this chapter and I'd really like to know what you're all thinking about it.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviews/gives me their support in various ways. I read every single review that I receive and each one means the world to me xoxo

* * *

**Chapter 39**

_I guess nothing turned out like I planned  
Everything's sure to fall out of hand  
And it takes a lot to find it  
And it takes a lot I know  
To believe that there is meaning  
Inside this moment  
In the winds of change_

As it turns you upside down  
As confusing as it seems  
Keep your head high and your feet on the ground  
And turn and chase your dreams  
In the winds of change

**Winds of Change 'Lifehouse'**

**

* * *

**"Oh my God it's really all over!" Taylor exclaimed, elation in her voice. "It is really all over right? It is Friday afternoon? It's not Thursday and I've gotten confused with all the studying and I have another test in the morning?"

Kelsi and Gabriella, who were flanked on either side of her, chuckled. "It really is Friday and it really is over," Kelsi confirmed with relief.

They were meeting the whole crew out the front of the school as people trickled out of their various exams; having made tentative arrangements to head to the Coronado Center to grab a late lunch from the food court. All of the senior exams were completed by 1pm on Friday.

"It's such a relief knowing that there's nothing more you can do," Gabriella said.

"Now it's the anxious wait while the teachers mark everything," Taylor said nervously.

She began to bite at her thumb nail and Gabriella was quick to swat her hand away.

"Stop it."

"Sorry, bad habit," Taylor said sheepishly.

Kelsi halted her gait, Taylor and Gabriella pulling up when they realised she'd stopped. She was gazing pensively out toward the fountain, looking straight at where Jason and Martha were engaged in what appeared to be an animated conversation. Her expression was pensive, Gabriella attempting to read her thoughts.

"Kelsi?" Gabriella said carefully.

Taylor was also watching Kelsi carefully, her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced back and forth from Kelsi and Gabriella.

Kelsi glanced back up, a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry. I uh... spaced." She gestured toward where Zeke, Ryan and Sharpay were talking not far away from Martha and Jason. "I need to talk to them about the show."

Taylor's eyebrows rose as she and Gabriella continued to walk slowly toward the fountain. "What was up with that?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Who knows?" she said dismissively.

Gabriella was saved from a potentially awkward conversation of Taylor speculating about why Kelsi had been caught staring at Martha and Jason in a scrutinising way by the arrival of their boyfriends. Chad was the first to alert them to his presence, grabbing Taylor from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her slightly from the ground. She shrieked, surprised at first but then realising who it was.

"Chad put me down!" she declared.

Chad obliged but not without turning her around and promptly pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Mid terms are over baby!" Chad exclaimed. "No more studying!"

Taylor gave him a look and was about to give the predicted speech protesting that he needed to continue studying through until finals, but Chad's index finger pressing to her lips silenced her. He didn't need to say anything, and it was enough to tell her to be quiet, not press the matter, and allow Chad to enjoy the feeling of the week being over.

Troy was a few paces behind Chad; the afro headed boy having run over to scoop up his girlfriend. Troy's approach was a bit more suave, a smile playing on Gabriella's lips as she and Troy gravitated toward each other and narrowed the gap. They reached out, both hands clasping to their partners as they narrowed the final gap between them, a sweet, soft kiss being exchanged before his forehead came down to rest upon hers.

"Well?" Gabriella murmured hopefully.

Troy bit his bottom lip, his shoulders shrugging. "I'm not sure. Not a failure but... maybe not as good as I'm thinking I'm gonna need."

Gabriella's thumbs rubbed against the backs of his palms, their hands still entwined. "You don't know yet."

"I can assume though."

Between escaping to their empty houses when they weren't in exams, and studying, there hadn't been a lot of free time throughout the week. However there had been enough time for Troy to do enough basic research about the University of California, Berkeley, to realise that the school which he'd come to prematurely think of as being the potential 'one' may be a distant dream – even as an a basketball player being accepted through an athletic scholarship, the GPA which Cal typically expected its applicants to have may be a stretch for him. As an athlete he'd be given certain leniencies to be accepted, but if he wanted a scholarship, there may be a minimum GPA above his current score.

"All you can do is keep studying, ask some teachers about whether they might have extra credit projects available. And plus you do have a few AP courses up your belt..."

"Thanks to you," Troy pointed out.

"You picked last years all of your own accord," Gabriella said, blushing slightly.

"No, that was my dad pushing me."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss him chastely. "There's nothing you can do but keep working hard and wait until you head out west in a few weeks for your visit and find out what their expectations are. For all you know, you'll get there and it won't be the place for you and all this stress will have been for nothing."

He smiled coyly. "Even though Stanford is only thirty..."

"Troy..." Gabriella said warningly, interrupting him with a stern look.

"Yes I know. You haven't decided to go to Stanford yet," Troy said, his tone a little bored.

"I really haven't Troy," Gabriella said seriously. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Of course," his tone was dismissive, but upon seeing her raised eyebrows and her right hand dropping his to instead place onto her hip, he added a little more genuinely, "I do understand that. I really do."

He broke the gaze by pulling Gabriella with him back over to Taylor and Chad.

"Yo, you guys still up for tonight?" Troy asked, breaking into their quiet conversation.

Chad looked a little blank. "Tonight?"

"Yeah, the girls decided that the four of us are going to hang out tonight, they told me, I suggested ten pin bowling..."

"And Taylor forgot to tell Chad," Taylor confessed sheepishly, giving Chad a pleading smile. "But that sounds like fun, doesn't it? The four of us haven't hung out in a long time."

"I'm game. Ten pin bowling?" Chad said with a gleam.

"That's right. I have to kick your ass again," Troy said smugly.

"You're a dirty cheat Bolton. Last time we played, he was messing with the score board," Chad said accusingly.

"It's an electronic score board!" Troy protested, rolling his eyes. "You just can't hack it that I beat you not just the last time that we played, but the three times before that as well!"

The girls rolled their eyes but inwardly both found the competitive macho routine somewhat appealing.

"Maybe bowling isn't the greatest idea," Gabriella said to Taylor quietly.

"Bowling is a fantastic idea," Chad interjected. "Get ready to go down Bolton, that's all I'll say."

Meanwhile over closer to the fountain, Martha and Jason had been engaged in their animated conversation when Jason noticed Kelsi talking with the twins and Zeke.

"I think it's going to be awesome! Documentaries aren't really my thing but if I can find the right narrator then this really could be a cool project," Jason said.

"You'll have to try lots of different people to read for the part," Martha said. "Male, female, different ages."

"It might be pretty boring, I don't think lots of people will really want to do it," Jason pointed out.

Martha shrugged, before adding carefully, "I wouldn't mind. I think it'd be fun!"

"Do you really?" Jason said enthusiastically. "You'll totally have to read for me once I finish up the script. That's always the hardest part for me."

"I can give you a hand with that if you like," Martha offered.

"Are you sure? I know you're busy with yearbook and dance lessons and stuff."

"Hey, what's one more project?" she said brightly.

Jason grinned broadly. "Dude, you're a legend, you totally rock!"

All Martha could do was try her hardest to not blush. She knew that his words were directed at her as a friend but she couldn't help her natural reaction to Jason's reaction and subsequent comments – they made her feel happy and giggly inside.

"Oh, I don't know about a legend," she said playfully.

And then all it took was one moment for the playful exchange to come crashing to a halt, Jason's eyes falling upon where Kelsi had just began to talk with Ryan and Sharpay.

"Kels!" he called out.

Martha closed her eyes for a moment, and when she looked up Kelsi had broken away from the Evans' twins and Zeke, and she and Jason were greeting with a hug and then a chaste kiss. Her instant reaction was to stand back slightly, feeling suddenly crushed. Her arms folded across her chest in a subconsciously defensive pose, her eyes shifting to stare at the pavement. There were times when seeing the guy she liked with someone else physically hurt – even if that someone else was her best friend.

"Hey Martha!" Kelsi said. Her tone was excited and Martha detected a hint of force but didn't really read anything into it other than that perhaps she was tired. The girls hugged. "Isn't it awesome? No more mid terms!"

"Absolutely!" Martha said, her forced tone mirroring Kelsi's.

"So how did my brilliant girlfriend go in her last exam this morning?" Jason asked.

"I'm happy with how I went, at least I think I am," Kelsi said hopefully. She'd had her AP Music Theory that exam, which for her was the most important of all her exams. If she didn't get into Juilliard, getting accepted into a performing arts program at a regular college to study a music major was her next best option.

"I'm sure you were awesome," Jason declared, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Hey guys, I'm going to head back inside, I forgot to swing by my locker," Martha said abruptly. No one liked to be a third wheel, and for Martha, being a third wheel to a cute exchange between Jason and Kelsi was a sickening thought.

"Oh... you are coming to the mall with everyone, right?" Kelsi asked.

Martha nodded. "Definitely, it'll be fun! I just have to grab something. If everyone wants to go and I'm not back out, don't wait for me, I can text someone when I get there and see where you are."

Kelsi hesitated. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Martha observed as Jason's arm wrapped around Kelsi's waist a little tighter as the two stood side by side. She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. You guys hang. I won't be long anyway."

And before either of them could protest, Martha had about faced and headed quickly toward the building. As she passed by the Troy, Chad, Taylor and Gabriella group, Taylor's arm reached out to snag Martha's.

"Hey, are you okay?" Taylor asked, cocking her head.

Martha gave her a tight lipped smile. "Fine. Just heading to my locker. See you guys at the mall."

"You want me to come with you?" Taylor asked.

Martha just shook her head and kept going.

"She looked agitated about something," Troy commented off handedly.

Taylor and Gabriella exchanged a glance. "Maybe I should go after her," Taylor said quietly.

Gabriella bit her lap. "I don't know... maybe... maybe just leave her alone?"

"No I... I think I'll go after her," Taylor said decisively. She gave Chad a quick kiss before calling back after her, "Go ahead to the mall; we'll call you when we're there."

Chad and Troy both appeared a little mystified but not concerned enough to enquire further about it, which Gabriella was grateful for.

"Come on, let's go say hi to everyone else," she said, and lead her boyfriend and his best friend the short distance over to the fountain where a bunch of students were gathering.

* * *

"And they were totally giving each other googly eyes. Sharpay was so preoccupied that she didn't even do anything to annoy me!" Chad exclaimed.

"She's so into him, I never thought it'd happen. You've gotta give the guy props, he persisted for so long and now she finally seems to be warming up to him," Troy mused. "I got the feeling they've been hanging out, did you get that feeling?"

They were sitting across from each other at a booth in a burger place, each with their girlfriends beside them. They'd been laughing over something funny that Jason had said that afternoon while they'd all been hanging out at the mall, and it had led to the guys gossiping about Zeke and Sharpay – literally gossiping. Taylor had rolled her eyes at Gabriella, who merely smiled in amusement at the exchange.

Chad nodded. "Totally. And he didn't even tell us, the dirty dog."

"Why would he tell you?" Gabriella asked, reaching over to pick a fry from Troy's plate which she popped into her mouth.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

"If I were Zeke and I was into Sharpay, I wouldn't be jumping to tell you guys," Gabriella elaborated.

"Why not?" Troy asked, eyebrows cocked. Gabriella reached over to take another fry and without speaking he promptly took a handful and dumped them onto the edge of her empty Caesar salad bowl.

"Well, the two of you haven't exactly been kind to him in the past about his feelings for Sharpay," she pointed out.

"Yeah? So? It's _Sharpay._ It's our job to set our friends straight when they're a bit... off path," Chad returned.

"No," Gabriella said patiently, but nonetheless rolling her eyes. "It's your job to respect and support your friends decisions. Tell me, if someone questioned your decision of who you wanted to date – which don't tell me hasn't happened because I know it has – what would you tell them?"

"To get fucked," Chad said bluntly.

"Word," Troy agreed, nodding. "It's my decision of who I want to date, not theirs."

Gabriella was validated, a slightly triumphant expression on her face. "Exactly."

"Yeah but... Gabriella... _you_ are _good_ for me. You can spin it however you want but the fact is that I wouldn't be taking these AP classes or studying as hard or bothering to look beyond U of A if it wasn't for you. Zeke's a good guy, a great guy, and Sharpay is..." Troy trailed off, searching for the right adjective.

"Evil? Spoiled? A princess?" Chad supplied.

"I was gonna say complicated."

"Who are you to judge whether Sharpay may or may not be good for Zeke?" Gabriella asked. She looked at Taylor who was sitting across from her. "Taylor, back me up here."

Taylor hesitated. "Well... I uh... I see your point. But I also kind of agree with them."

Gabriella threw down the fry that she'd just picked up in exasperation so hard that it skidded out of her wide bowl and onto the wooden table. "Taylor!"

"I'm sorry!" Taylor said. "I just... Zeke is a really nice guy, he's sensitive. You saw how messed up he was when he had that whole scenario with Monica. Maybe Sharpay does like him but... I don't know if she's right for him."

"We're in high school, I'm not suggesting they should go get married," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes. "If he likes her and she likes him, then you should support him."

"I guess you're right," Troy said thoughtfully.

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you actually think that or are you kinda sucking up?"

"A bit of both," he confessed sheepishly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Where's Kelsi? I bet she'd agree with me."

"I don't disagree with you," Taylor said. "I just... I worry, that's all. I'm not going to like, get upset if it does happen. But I'll be wary. And she's not my favourite person, I don't particularly want her hanging around all the time. I'm sorry if I sound like a bitch for saying that but I'm being honest. And you can be your diplomatic self if you want, Gabriella, but I know that she isn't your favourite person either."

Gabriella gave Taylor a look, but she wasn't about to protest against her statement.

"No... but... I understand her more than I used to," she said, always one to look at the silver lining.

They fell silent for a moment, evidently it was an issue that was destined to remain unresolved for the time being.

"Hey Gab, are you finished with Bolton's fries?" Chad asked, breaking the silence.

He leaned over and snagged one of the fries on Gabriella's plate.

"Hey, if she's finished with my fries I'll have them back," Troy shot back, reaching over to grab one himself.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and pushed the bowl towards them, the two boys taking only a couple of minutes to devour all the remaining food on the table.

"Okay, are we ready to head to the bowling arcade?" Chad asked.

The group consensus was yes, and the girls went to the bathroom while Chad and Troy headed to the counter to pay for their meals. Troy began to sift through his wallet and his eyes boggled.

"Hey... do you have cash on you?" he asked Chad lowly.

Chad raised his eyebrows. "Wow this is a change, you asking me for money."

"I have money, it's just in a bank account that I don't have a card for. I'd need to call up and transfer it and that'll take forever," Troy justified.

"In your college savings account that you're not meant to touch?"

"Something like that," Troy admitted.

Chad handed over his debit card and requested to pay the total bill.

"What happened to working at Lava Springs?" Chad asked while they put through the transaction.

"I don't know," Troy admitted. "They were meant to start the golf program up again after winter break but I told Mr. Fulton that I wasn't going to be available a lot because of college trips and stuff. And he said that he'd get back to me about it, and that he'd call me if any temporary work came up – like when I did that Christmas party there. I probably should call him to ask about getting some work but... I don't know. It's kinda boring without you guys there. It pays well but it's out of the way and now that I've got golf assistant on my resume, it might be better to do something different. You know, get different work experience," Troy mused.

"My work is hiring," Chad said.

"What, for check out chicks?" Troy scoffed.

"Well... that's the main thing. I think there are some hours available in shelf packing too. But working on the registers is the most flexible, coz there's more staff that work in that area so it's easier to get time off if you need it."

"S'pose," Troy mused.

"Here you go," the cashier said, handing Chad a receipt.

Troy promptly pulled out a five dollar bill, the only cash he had in his wallet, and placed it into the tip jar. The guys went to the door to wait for the girls to return from the bathroom.

"It's boring but it is piss easy. And then you can say you've worked with money and shit, something different from the experience we got at the club."

"True." Troy still didn't sound entirely convinced.

"What's this?" Gabriella asked, the girls appearing from behind them.

Troy slipped his arm around Gabriella's shoulders as they walked out to the parking lot. "Chad's trying to talk me into applying for a job at his work."

"That would be great, you should do that," Gabriella said encouragingly.

"Can you see me being a check out person?" Troy asked, eyebrow cocked.

"You'd make more money as a waiter," Taylor pointed out.

"How?"

"Tips."

Gabriella's expression clouded over. "Yeah, from hot girls hitting on you and trying to win you over with money."

"Hot girls? So you'd come in to this hypothetical restaurant?" Troy said flirtatiously.

She blushed and didn't protest as his lips came down to press against hers in a tantalising kiss; negative thoughts of a hypothetical hot girl hitting on her boyfriend floating away.

"Okay, we're going to a bowling arcade, not the movies, so you can leave that til later or we'll never leave the parking lot," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"Later it will be," Troy said, pressing one more kiss to her lips and giving her a sly wink.

* * *

The film they were watching had been long abandoned, the bowl of popcorn left resting on the coffee table, and instead of being focused on the tale on the screen, Kelsi was fixed on the lips of her wonderful boyfriend. They'd stayed in that night, she was helping him with some pre setting up for his party the following night – organising mixed CDs, deciding what the layout of refreshments was going to be. Jason hosted this party every year which served as a team party, a post midterms party and a birthday celebration.

Kelsi loved spending time with Jason. She loved hanging out and enjoying his company. He was this mix of naive and literal which frustrated some others but she found it endearing. Her thoughts had been bubbling over since they'd all met up after exams, for the first time she was seeing what she should have been seeing all along – the hurt in Martha's eyes. She'd been oblivious to it, and now that she could see it so plainly, Kelsi couldn't help but feel guilty for having not realised at an earlier stage. She couldn't help but feel responsible for perpetuating that pain; for talking about Jason with Martha, asking for advice, telling her the details of their dates.

That afternoon as they'd spent time with their friends, the natural split up into couples had occurred. Now that Zeke and Sharpay were practically dating without placing a label upon it, there had literally been Ryan and Martha left over. Kelsi had tried to change it up, pulling Gabriella out of Troy's grasp and insisting that they stop being so rude. Gabriella had obliged temporarily but it hadn't taken long for Troy to woo her back into his embrace – and she was putty to Troy's whims, a fact they all knew. And it didn't help that Jason was in a touchy mood – something Kelsi had observed would come out in particular while they were around Troy and Chad and the girls, Jason either consciously or subconsciously emulating his friends. And the touchiness had continued as they'd hung out at Jason's house that night, discussing his birthday dinner a couple of nights earlier, their friends, the current season of Entourage – all the while with gentle touches of his hand on the small of her back or holding her hand, rarely a separation between the two.

And so it was inevitable that as they'd settled down to 'watch a movie' after Jason's parents had retreated to their room, that the touchiness had merely escalated. She'd become increasingly comfortable with the gradual developments in the closeness of their physical relationship. She wasn't about to plunge in and tear off her clothes and demand that he take her there and now, but she wasn't blushing at the sensation of his erection pushing against her thigh. Instead of feeling subconscious as his hands roamed relatively freely over her torso, stroking at her taut stomach, squeezing her breasts beneath his hands – she was allowing herself to let go of her insecurities and simply revel in the sensations his touch was inducing within her.

She was lying back on the couch and he was hovering over her; he'd unbuttoned her cardigan and her tank top was riding up and bunched just beneath her breasts. His hands were now liberally moving beneath the tank and feeling over the soft cotton of her t-shirt bra. She'd broken away from the kiss with the need to take a deep breath and he hadn't hesitated to proceed to suckle at her neck. She could hear herself whimpering and moaning and all she could do was try to keep her verbal reactions under control because there were still parents at home who may choose to descent the stairs at any given moment.

And then all it took was one moment of her mind wandering; one moment to bring back the thoughts that she'd been suppressing all evening. One moment where Kelsi had perfect clarity of what she _needed_ to do – even if it was the last thing she _wanted_ to do.

Her hands slipped out from where they were feeling his chest beneath his polo shirt, splayed hands pushing him up.

"No... please stop. This is... I can't... this is wrong," she stammered.

Jason's expression changed as he pulled away, at first shock, then confusion, then mortification as she scrambled her body weight to sit upright. He shifted so he was sitting beside her, fingers running through his hair.

"Oh shit Kels... did I go too far? I'm sorry I just... you're so hot and I get all... male," he apologised desperately.

"No! No you... you did nothing wrong," she assured him. She would never want Jason to think that he had pressured her when he had been the world's most patient boyfriend. And there had been nothing wrong about what he'd been doing, she hadn't felt uncomfortable in the slightest – rather it was the opposite. "What you were doing was fine. In fact... that just makes what I'm about to do even harder."

Jason was confused. He was completely ignorant as to what was about to come. "Say what?"

"Oh God," she moaned, burying her head into her hands, elbows resting on her thighs.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong? Shit, you're not sick or something are you?"

"There is something wrong, I'm wrong," she said despondently. "I'm wrong because what I'm about to do is horrible and you don't deserve it and... and..."

Jason sat up a little straighter, his body inching away from her slightly. "Kelsi?" he said warily. "What are you... I don't... please just say whatever it is you have to say coz you're scaring me."

"Jason..." Kelsi paused. Once she said these words – she could never take them back. She couldn't even look at him as she spoke, her eyes downcast, foot jiggling, hands clasped toying each other. "I think that we should stop seeing each other."

Of all things that Jason might have anticipated his girlfriend saying; those nine words were not among them. He'd heard her speak them but he wasn't quite sure that he fully comprehended their meaning. The television which had faded away during their make out session suddenly seemed really, really loud. He grabbed the remote control, quickly hit the mute button and then tossed it onto the carpet a little violently.

"Um... what?" he said, blinking.

"Of course we'll still _see _each other, we go to school together and have the same friends and everything. But... I think that... dating each other... isn't the right thing at the moment."

"Um... right... "Jason said slowly. "Uh... why? Do you uh... I uh... I guess I thought that you liked me but things change, I get that."

"I do like you!" Kelsi exclaimed. "Please don't... don't think it's about that, because it's not. It's..." she trailed off. This was the part that she hated the most. She couldn't even be honest with him about why. This had come completely from nowhere and it hardly seemed fair to leave him wondering. "It's complicated, it's so many things."

"Well... please try to explain. I'm sure I can keep up." His tone was testy – a tone that she'd almost never heard from him. She hadn't expected it to be easy, but she also hadn't expected it to be this hard.

"I just... I'm in a different place right now," she attempted to explain, biting her lip, knowing how cliché the words sounded as they escaped her lips, hearing their falseness. "I've got my Juilliard audition which is the most important thing ever, and the talent show is coming up soon, and I have to start composing for the spring show. I feel like... I just don't have enough time to put into us and you deserve more."

"Kels, me and you, we're about hanging out and fun. I don't care if you're busy, that's fine." Jason was borderline begging but these reasons she was giving made no sense, not from Kelsi.

"Yeah but... that's it. We're about fun. Jase, we know this isn't a forever thing. Next year, even if we get our worst case scenarios we're still going to be on opposite sides of the country. I don't... why put all of ourselves into this when it's not going to happen? You're popular and funny and attractive and you could be out there having fun instead of sitting around with me."

"I happen to like sitting around with you!" Jason exclaimed. "I don't want to be 'having fun' with other girls. I like _you_ Kelsi!"

"I like you too," she whispered, choking back tears. "But that doesn't change the fact that this isn't going to work."

* * *

When Troy, Chad, Taylor and Gabriella arrived at the bowling alley it was fairly quiet and so they decided rather than all playing on one lane, they'd occupy two lanes and split into teams, couple versus couple. The girls had suggested boys versus girls which their boyfriends had promptly scoffed at. They stated it was because it would be a whitewash but it was an unstated fact that they really wanted to compete against one another.

The scores were fairly even, with Troy and Chad a relatively even match and Gabriella and Taylor also evenly matched – but at a much lower rate. Gabriella had giggled and exchanged high fives with Taylor after she'd she bowled the ball right into the gutter, and then on her second turn, the ball had slowly made its way up the other end, just barely scraping away three pins on the far right side. Troy on the other hand was not impressed, giving her a glaring look as she returned to her seat beside him.

"Hoops, we're up," Chad said.

Troy held his finger up and then turned to Gabriella, speaking quietly.

"Gabi... baby..." he said, attempting to sound soothing but his teeth were gritted. "I've taught you how to bowl before. Do you remember? We had one of our first dates at this very bowling alley."

"Yes, I remember," Gabriella said, smiling at the memory. "That was a lot of fun."

"It was a lot of fun," Troy agreed.

"And that is what bowling is about. Fun," she said, not oblivious to his tone and the impending lecture.

"And you know what is really fun?" Troy asked.

"What would that be?"

"Winning," he said firmly. "Next turn, let me give you some pointers, okay?"

He didn't even wait for her response, just stood up and went to the ball return to retrieve his bowling ball. Taylor scurried over to sit beside Gabriella, rolling her eyes at the conversation she'd just overheard.

"Bolton," Chad said solemnly as Troy stood staring at the pins.

"Danforth," Troy returned. He gestured, and said cordially, "After you."

The guys each took their turn; Chad bowling a split and then succeeding to knock down one of the two remaining pins. Troy wasn't as fortunate with his first bowl, the ball curving and only five of the pins knocking over. However on his second he was lucky to knock down four and then the fifth teetered and fell, a spare being marked onto the screen.

True to his words, Troy followed Gabriella up to the lane, giving her gentle coaching and guidance, quietly guiding her form and posture.

"You should be watching this," Chad said quietly to Taylor, observing the lesson.

Taylor rolled her eyes, and ignored the disgusted look on Chad's face when she jumped up to hug Gabriella when she managed to knock down eight pins in total, the highest score that either of the two girls had achieved all evening.

"Taylor, your go," Chad said, prodding her.

"Oh! Right." She picked up her ball and was hardly surprised when, mirroring Troy, Chad came over to give her guidance.

"Taylor... I think a four step method is the best way when you're a beginner. It's really quite simple. You'll step forward with your right, then your left and you let the ball swing backwards, and then your right comes forward as the ball is at the top of the backswing – keeping your left hand out at the front to keep your balance," he explained, demonstrating the movements. "Then your body weight shifts to your left foot, you bend your left knee and the ball naturally glides forward."

Taylor rose her eyebrows. "You mean like this?"

Very carefully, she copied every movement he had made – up until the very last moment when she turned her body around to face Chad and propelled the ball down the lane through the gap between her legs. Chad's jaw dropped and Troy and Gabriella laughed as Taylor smiled smugly at him. She expected it to head straight into the gutter, and it was Taylor who was most surprised out of them all when she watched as the ball was rolled along in a faultlessly straight line, just slightly off centre – therefore with perfect direction – and promptly smashed into the pins and nailed a perfect strike.

"Yes!" Chad exclaimed with a fist pump. "You go baby!"

Taylor shrieked in elation, clapping her hands excitedly, and was swept into a hug by Chad. Gabriella also came over to give her a hug. Troy on the other hand remained in his seat looking disgruntled.

"Beginners luck," he scoffed. "That wasn't even a legal bowl! That should get disqualified."

"Oh please. She got a strike fair and square," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever," Troy grumbled. "You know ultimately it doesn't matter what scores the girls get, me and you are just going to compare our scores anyway, Danforth."

"Then why are you trying to make me feel bad about my fabulous strike?" Taylor asked, an eyebrow cocking.

"Congratulations Taylor on your very talented bowl," Troy said, deadpanned. "Now let's move on."

Taylor shook her head, bemused but not offended by Troy's lacklustre enthusiasm. The boys were standing by the ball return picking out their balls when Gabriella stood to move behind Troy, her hands gently rubbing at his shoulders.

"You're all tense, you're not going to bowl well while you're all tense," she said quietly, massaging him.

Troy sighed, placed the ball back down and turned around to face her.

"You must think I'm being dumb but this is what its like with me and Chad, we get all..."

"Immature? Childish?"

"_Competitive," _Troy said, rolling his eyes. "I have to beat him, Gabriella, plain and simple."

"The fate of the world depends upon you beating Chad at ten pin bowling?" she asked, her right hand resting on his chest over his left pectoral, fingertips stroking comfortingly.

"Yes," Troy said, not a hint of sarcasm to his tone. She gave him a look and he relented. "Well, no, but... it is important."

"Okay. Then you guys compete, but don't drag me and Taylor into this. We're here for fun, got it?"

"Hey, do you remember before that game when you uh... gave me... 'motivation' to play well," Troy said coyly, glancing down at his crotch. "When you said you'd... if I played well?"

Gabriella blushed, her tone lowering as she said, "Uh... yes I do remember."

"Well, maybe I could use that kind of encouragement now?" he suggested with an impish grin.

"Troy... regardless of what score you have at the end of the game tonight... I think we can guarantee that some motivation is going to come into fruition at the party tomorrow night," Gabriella said teasingly. "If every other party we've been to lately is anything to go by."

His eyes clouded a little as images of party encounters with Gabriella popped up in his brain. "Okay, now this is just distracting me from my game," he mumbled.

"Hoops! Are we bowling or what?" Chad called out.

"How about... we move your truck to the back of a dark parking lot after we leave here if you win?" Gabriella supplied quietly.

The clouded eyes darked to a look of determination. "I would call you on contradicting the very values that you're trying to impart onto me, except I really don't care." He picked up the ball and turned to Chad. "All right, it's on. Danforth, you're going down."

* * *

"Okay... so on top of Gabriella and Elena's DVDs... and here are some of mine as well," Ryan said.

He dumped a pile of DVDs on the floor in front of Sharpay. She was sitting cross legged in front of the DVD cabinet in the Montez living room. The pair had enjoyed the equivalent of a girly night – listening to some music in Ryan's room, discussing what each of them were going to wear to Jason's party the following evening, and then watching Rent on DVD. They had decided to watch a second movie and were in the process of selecting what was to be viewed.

"Do you have Hairspray?" Sharpay asked. "I swore I had a copy but I couldn't find it."

Ryan grinned sheepishly. "Umm... yes. But I don't have it... I uh... may have lent it to Chase?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Great."

"He's bringing it with him tomorrow though, I'll get it back to you," Ryan promised.

"So he's only staying the one night?"

He nodded. "Yup, he'll be here just after lunch time, and will leave late Sunday afternoon. It's pretty much just to come hang at the party."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Which is ridiculous because it's not like you're going to be honest about who he is or anything."

"It's not like we're like that anyway. All... touchy or whatever."

She wrinkled her nose. "Thank Goodness. You're my brother, I don't need to see that stuff."

"Hey Shar..." Ryan said carefully, and then paused.

"Hey Ry..."

"I uh... I was thinking."

"That's a change." He gave her a look and she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Continue."

"I was thinking... about inviting mom to come to coffee with me and Chase tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come?"

"You want mom to meet him?" she asked slightly incredulously, eyes widening.

"Um... I think so. Yes. She's been asking me if she can meet him and he said he's fine with it so it has really been in my court to decide when it was going to happen. But I would really like you to be there."

Sharpay nodded. "Sure," she said simply.

He blinked. "That's it? Sure?"

"Do you want me to say more?" she asked, eyebrows raising.

"No! I just uh... kind of expected I might have to talk you into it."

As they'd been talking Sharpay had been rifling through the DVDs and had created a short pile. She thrust them out to him. "Pick one of these."

Ryan sorted through, took two out, and with four remaining, he closed his eyes and proceeded to shuffle them around. Finally he stopped shuffling and selected the DVD on the top of the pile.

"Notting Hill," he announced.

Sharpay clapped excitedly. "I love that movie!"

As Ryan slipped the DVD into the player, the sound of a vehicle coming to a wheezing halt could be heard from outside.

"Gabriella's back," Ryan commented.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I don't know why Troy loves that truck so much. With the money he made at the club over summer, he so could have bought a better car."

"I think he's saving for college," Ryan said diplomatically.

Gabriella's giggle had the tendency to travel, even when the windows were shut they could hear her laughing outside, followed by a loud exclamation from Troy from which the specific words were inaudible but it was undoubtedly his voice.

The twins settled themselves back onto the couch. They had a specific routine with movie watching, a tradition built over the years. They would watch each and every trailer – even trailers for movies they'd seen more times than the movie that was to play itself. And after watching the film, they'd watch any bloopers and behind the scenes extras that were on the DVDs.

There was a small crash against the door, and Sharpay looked up, a bit concerned.

"What was that?" Ryan rolled his eyes, and before he responded a small giggle was heard. Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Oh. Right. You should put a sprinkler in your front yard which you can switch on from inside the house."

"I'd rather they were making out outside than him climbing up into her room and me having to listen through a wall," he remarked.

"Ew! Do they do that to you?"

"Only once. I'm repressing it."

Sharpay let out a small shudder. A moment later the door came open and the hushed voices of Troy and Gabriella could be heard. The couple came arm in arm into the living room.

"Hey Evans'," Troy greeted Ryan, and then spotted Sharpay. "Times two."

"Your fly is undone Bolton," Sharpay said with a straight face.

Troy's eyes were wide open as he quickly glanced down to check – observing that his fly was, in fact, done up.

"Hilarious Sharpay, hilarious."

"Well the fact that you had to check suggests that there is a chance it could have been undone."

"Yeah, I used the bathroom at the bowling alley, actually," he countered.

"Did you guys have a good night?" Ryan asked, interjecting to mediate the scenario.

"Yeah it was fun!" Gabriella said with a smile.

"Up until when Chad cheated," Troy said sourly.

"Troy..." she began to say.

"Yeah yeah. Grow up. Sportsmanship. Blah blah," he said, evidently having already heard the lecture.

"Is mom already upstairs?" Gabriella asked Ryan.

He nodded. "Yeah, she was in the study for ages and then disappeared up there."

Gabriella shook her said disapprovingly. "That's mom." She glanced at Troy. "Do you want to say hi that badly? Do I need to go ask her to come down?"

"No! I was just being polite. Thought I'd pop in. Show that I brought you home a whole hour before curfew and everything."

"Do you guys want to watch the movie with us?" Sharpay offered politely.

Troy blinked. "Are you just being polite?"

"When do I ever say something that I don't mean?" she asked.

"True that," Troy said. He eyed the trailers that were playing, attempting to discern the genre. "What movie are you watching?"

"Notting Hill," Ryan answered.

He wrinkled up his nose. "I'll pass thanks. I'm kinda wiped anyway, need to get a good nights sleep since I won't sleep at all tomorrow night. You guys are coming to the party right?"

Both Ryan and Sharpay confirmed that they were attending, and Troy said his farewells and Gabriella walked him back to the door. The twins ignored the kissing noises they could hear from the front door, in fact Sharpay picked up the remote and turned up the volume a few notches. Gabriella returned to the living room just as the trailers had finished and the warnings about movie piracy were playing.

"I love Notting Hill," Gabriella commented off-handedly.

She had been about to excuse herself to go upstairs when Sharpay said, "Watch it with us then."

"Oh... I wasn't fishing for an invitation," Gabriella said awkwardly, not wanting Sharpay to have felt obliged or forced to be nice to her and extend the offer.

"I know. It's your DVD after all; you can watch it whenever you want. But why not watch it now? It's in, it's playing, all you have to do is sit down."

"I don't want to intrude."

"You're not. It's not like we're doing some bonding thing, we're just watching a movie."

Gabriella glanced at Ryan for a moment who gave her an encouraging smile. "Um... all right then. I'm just going to grab a drink."

She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a bottle of water in her hand to see that Sharpay had paused the DVD until she returned.

"Oh, thanks," Gabriella said, the surprise evident.

Sharpay gave her a small smile. "No worries."

* * *

Kelsi was seated cross legged on her bed, a photo album and a series of photo frames scattered to her right, and in front of her she had dozens and dozens of photos spread out. Kelsi wasn't a photo taker herself, she had an old digital camera somewhere, likely with a dead battery and she didn't have a clue where her charger was. However people would tag her on Facebook and she would save the images, and just recently she'd made the effort to get a large set of her favourite photos printed. And now she was in the process of weeding through the pile to find her very favourite photos.

She'd sat down at her piano and for the first time in as long as she could remember – she'd felt no inspiration to play.

But she couldn't just sit there. She was feeling like the most horrid individual on the planet. In order to satiate the pain of a close friend, she'd hurt someone else, someone who she cared about so very much. It was one of life's greatest ironies, a damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario. But the excuses she'd given Jason to cover up for the real motivation for her ending their relationship were true – she did have other priorities, she didn't have time to dedicate to him, she did worry that she was holding him back, and she was aware of the expiry date on their relationship. And so all she could do was focus on those reasons, try to convince herself that they were real and important and true.

Kelsi surrounded herself with memories of times with her closest friends. Some of these memories were sad – seeing photographs of her and Jason which a week ago, she was planning to put in a frame on her bedside table. Other memories were comforting – a photo from the professional photographer at Lava Springs of her at the piano on stage with Troy and Gabriella singing by her side. She sorted through the stack, selecting a few to go into frames, and organising the rest chronologically to be put into her newly purchased photo album.

And then she came across a photo which served not only to comfort – but to remind her of the true motivations, and to remind her that it was the right decision. A photo of her, Gabriella, Martha and Taylor; taken by Ryan at the baseball diamond at Lava Springs over summer. She smiled, remembering back to that day. It had been such a simpler time. She remembered that Gabriella was mad at Troy, and that Taylor had been complaining about Chad's incessant flirting never eventuating into anything concrete.

But that day at the baseball diamond, none of it mattered. The boys, their relationships, what they meant – it was all irrelevant. It was about friendship and fun. The most important things.

Kelsi swung her legs over the bed, being careful not to scatter the photographs, and walked over to her desk where her cell phone was lying. Without giving it a second thought she flicked through her contacts, selected the number she wanted, and dialled.

"_Hello?"_ Martha's questioning voice came.

"Hey!" Kelsi said brightly. "It's me."

"_I thought you were hanging at Jason's tonight?"_ Martha's slightly confused tone asked.

Kelsi swallowed. "Um yeah I was, I came home early. And I was just going through those photos that I got printed off and looking at some great shots of us girls from over summer. And thought I'd call... we haven't really had the chance to just talk in a while."

"_Which photos are these?"_

"The ones that Ryan took of us at the baseball diamond, you know, when he was posing us and everything," Kelsi told her.

"_I love those shots! I had one as my Facebook profile picture for a while."_

"What's up with Ryan and posing? He got us all to pose in the Homecoming dance photos too," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes.

"_Gotta love him for it. And hey, it turns out some great photos sometimes."_

The girls fell into easy chatter; laughing, joking, reminiscing. Kelsi settled down to sit on her bed again, nestling her cell between her shoulder and ear as she continued to sort through the photos. She smiled as she looked at all the different poses, and finally selected her favourite which she promptly placed into her favourite photo frame, ready to go on her bedside table.

Her friends, the most important people in her life, who belonged in the place of honour.

* * *

**AN – **Please take a few moments to share your thoughts if you feel so inclined. It would mean the world to me. –Dani xo


	40. Chapter 40 Part 1

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN – **

**To the Fan Forum girls who requested this in one chapter - **

I had to break it in half for my sanity... I think it'll help me motivationally. Please forgive me? *flowers*

**To everyone else** –

Basically since this chapter was over ten thousand words and I've been an epic failure with updating lately, I've decided to break it up and post it in two parts. To those of you who like my longer chapters, I still consider this and what will follow next time to be the one chapter but I'm breaking it up so that you can expect an update within a week rather than within a month :) I hope you're okay with this...

Thanks to **Audrey** for being a fab beta :)

**Zachary Efron**, if you're reading this - your calendar shots were extremely distracting from allowing me to be a productive author but I will forgive you ;)

* * *

**Chapter 40 – Part 1**

Jason's long awaited annual end of January party had finally arrived. Troy slung his arm around Gabriella's shoulders, the duo walking up the driveway from his truck which he'd parked curbside to Jason's front door. It was just after midday on Saturday and they had been summoned to help Jason with party preparations.

"Thanks again for coming on such short notice," Troy thanked Gabriella yet again. He'd called her an hour earlier after a slightly confusing text from Jason letting him know that their original plans of having all the guys over to help had fallen through. "Chad and Zeke totally bailed on JC. Hey, did you know that Zeke got a job working at a bakery?"

"I did actually," Gabriella admitted. "I found out last weekend... I got the feeling he wanted to keep it to himself so I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, he told me during the week. He sounded like he was worried that I was gonna like, judge him or something," he commented. "I was like, whatever, better than my job at Lava Springs that pretty much isn't even a job."

"I guess old habits die hard," she mused. "He's probably so used to being wary of you guys knowing about his secret hobby."

"Well I would be the last person he should worry about telling," Troy pointed out with a roll of the eyes.

"Hey, did you drop your resume at Chad's work?" Gabriella asked suddenly, recalling that he'd intended to do so.

They'd reached Jason's door stop and Troy reached out to open the door. It was locked and so he shrugged and rang the bell, answering her as they waited for him to let them in.

"Yeah, before I picked you up actually. Chad was called into work – that's why he bailed on JC – and so he pointed out his supervisor to me, and I walked up to introduce myself. She seemed to like me, explained about the recruitment process, and I told her that I have college recruitment stuff over the next couple of weekends and she was cool with that."

"I was wondering why you were wearing a dress shirt today," Gabriella said with a smile, fingering the material of his black button up shirt.

He grinned. "Don't you like it?"

"I love it," she said, eyes sparkling, squeezing his arm.

Jason opened the door to see the sight of a kissing couple on his door step. "Oh ew, I didn't invite you over to spend your afternoon making out here," he said with a tone of mocking disgust.

Troy pulled away. "Sorry man..." he began to apologise, but then caught sight of Jason – who was wearing a beer hat. "Dude. Beer hat?"

"Yup! The festivities have already started!"

"It's 1pm," Gabriella observed, looking rather concerned.

"Exactly. The earlier the better. You guys want me to grab you a beer?"

Troy coughed. "Ah, no thanks, I'm driving so I'll wait til tonight."

"Gabriella?"

"No thank you," she said politely.

"So you got the booze, then?" Troy confirmed.

Jason turned and began to head into the house, talking over his shoulder as he walked. "Yeah, but that's kinda the only thing that I have organised. Oh, my mom did all the food shopping for me before they went away yesterday but I still have to move, like everything."

Troy and Gabriella followed him inside, Troy holding his arm out gesturing for her to enter before him and then closing the door behind them.

"Yeah, I'm used to the drill here," Troy said, as they entered the kitchen.

Jason had hosted a few parties over the last eighteen months, purely because his parents often went away for weekend jaunts. They were aware that Jason was host to parties, they weren't dumb and a few times they'd heard reports from the neighbours. Jason would refer to them as 'gatherings of his friends' and despite all efforts to clean up, something would be found – for example once they'd found a beer can in a pot plant outside that had been overlooked during clean up. Or something would be broken and there would be no explanation as to how it occurred.

"Hey, did you ask Kelsi to come help since the guys bailed?" Gabriella asked.

A dark look crossed over Jason's face. "No," he said shortly, and promptly took the mouth piece of the beer hat into his mouth to take another swig of the frosty nectar.

Gabriella and Troy exchanged a glance. "I texted her before and I didn't get a reply which was weird, do you know what she's doing today?" she pressed, oblivious to the reasons for his less than expected reply.

"I don't know and to be honest I don't give a shit," Jason said bluntly.

"Jason, dude, what happened?" Troy asked, looking taken aback at the venom within the normally chill Jason's voice.

"Fucking bitch can go to fucking hell," he snapped, and then gestured to the fridge and asked tightly, "Are you sure neither of you want a beer?"

"Did you guys..." Troy began to ask.

"She broke up with me," Jason said shortly. "Last night. Happy birthday to me," he said, dripping with sarcasm. "And no, I don't want to talk about it. So Troy, I was thinking me and you could get moving some of this furniture and Gabriella, if you could collect the breakable shit in my mom's display cupboard and put it away?"

"She broke up with you?!" Gabriella exclaimed, a hand flying over her mouth in shock. "Wh... what happened? Did you guys have a fight?"

"Some shit about getting ready for college and needing to focus on her music and her wanting me to fuck around or something or other. It was all bull shit. She just didn't want to have to say that she's just not into us anymore."

"You know... I doubt that," Troy said. "I mean... she's never done anything to suggest she's not into you."

"Well her excuses were a heap of bull shit," Jason said harshly. "Seriously, I don't want to talk about it. Let's just do this shit."

"Okay," Troy said agreeably.

Gabriella was about to open her mouth to press him but Troy gave her a look. He could sense Jason's determination to not discuss the matter any further and didn't want to push him.

"Um, Troy, can I borrow your keys? I uh... I left something in your truck," Gabriella requested quietly.

Troy was a little slow to catch on but when Gabriella pulled her cell phone out of her bag, he understood that she wanted an excuse to go outside so she could call Kelsi. "Sure," he said, and tossed his car keys which were attached to a squishy basketball key chain across to her.

Jason was oblivious to this exchange, as she'd hoped he'd remain, and he'd simply moved through the house. Troy followed him through, and immediately they got to work moving the glass coffee table which was the focal point of the living room, carrying it into the formal lounge which was going to be shut off. They returned back to the living room and began to shove some of the furniture around.

"Hey Jason... dude..." Troy said carefully, as he pushed the couch.

"What?" Jason said warily.

"You don't have to talk about it. But like... if you want to... you can. You know?"

Jason was about to snap that he didn't want to talk about it so it didn't matter, but he held back. Instead, he gave Troy the smallest of smiles. "Yeah I know. Thanks."

The doorbell rang and Jason looked up, eyebrows furrowed.

"It'll be Gabi, she probably forgot to unlock the door to go out to my truck," Troy said. "I'll get it."

He jogged through the house, a glance through the peephole confirming it was Gabriella, and opened the door to let her in.

"Well?" he promptly asked in a hushed tone.

"She really broke up with him," Gabriella responded quietly, sadness to her tone.

"Shit. Why?!" he asked incredulously. Jason's despondence obviously indicated that something serious had happened, however he had wondered if maybe they'd just gotten into a fight and Jason had misinterpreted the severity of the situation.

Gabriella hesitated, and Troy knew immediately that she knew more than what she was going to say. "Um, it's complicated," she responded vaguely.

"Will you tell me later?"

She bit her lip. Technically she was violating about a thousand confidences by revealing anything to Troy, but she'd also already broken those in involving herself within the scenario. "Maybe."

"Is she okay?"

"Is she?" another voice asked.

Gabriella and Troy both looked up to see Jason behind them, taking a mouthful of beer as he waited expectantly.

"Oh... Jason!" Gabriella exclaimed awkwardly, looking a little like the cat who swallowed the canary.

"I might be tipsy but I'm not deaf, you know," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"Err, I know that. I um, we were just um..." Gabriella began to say, stammering.

"How is she?" he prompted.

"How is who?" she asked feebly.

"I'm not as dumb as you all think. I know you went out to call her."

Gabriella swallowed. Jason's face looked slightly desperate and she relented, confessing, "She's not great."

For a moment Jason appeared pained, but then his expression hardened. "Good. She shouldn't be great. She should be bad."

She sighed. "Jase... I don't know much about any of this but... breaking up isn't easy on anyone. She's actually really upset about it. And she's really freaking out about whether to come tonight."

"She's actually thinking about coming?" Troy instinctively asked, snorting slightly.

"Well... she doesn't really want to but..."

"But I told her to. And she has to," Jason said. "Gabriella, you are officially in charge of making sure Kelsi comes tonight. If she doesn't come it's like she thinks that I can't _handle_ her being here. And that's bull shit. She can come or not come, and I don't really care. So she should come."

"So you don't care if she's here... and so she has to be here... to prove that you don't care?" Gabriella repeated slowly.

"That's right."

Gabriella and Troy exchanged a glance. He shrugged slightly. "Okay, let's get going with all this moving shit," he finally said.

Jason's thought process may have been a tad illogical however one thing was clear – it was destined to be an interesting night.

* * *

Standing on Jason's door stop was the last place that Kelsi wanted to be. Less than twenty four hours earlier she'd been inside the house; twenty four hours ago she'd put an end to their relationship at this very location. It was like returning to the scene of the crime. However he'd insisted that she come, the night before when he'd dropped her off at home they'd discussed the matter briefly.

"_I'll see you at school next week," Kelsi said, obligingly._

"_Next week? What about tomorrow, at my party?" Jason asked. _

"_Oh um..." Kelsi paused. "I guess... I guess I thought that wouldn't exactly be appropriate."_

_Jason hadn't hesitated to say firmly, "No, I want you there. You have to come."_

"_Jase..."_

"_Seriously," he insisted. "I'm not saying I'll wanna talk to you or that we'll hang out. But you should come. All our friends will be there, it won't be the same without you."_

And so she'd begrudgingly agreed, knowing very well that it wasn't her place but that she merely wanted to do this the way that Jason wanted to do it.

And so here she was, a fashionable fifteen minutes after the text invitation had dictated the arrival time, standing with Gabriella and Troy on Jason's door step. Gabriella had linked arms with Kelsi, silently demonstrating her support. Troy knew that Gabriella knew more to the story – he'd pressed her in the drive leaving Jason's and asked her if Kelsi had elaborated upon her reasons and she'd merely told him that he shouldn't judge her. He didn't know the full story and wasn't one to take sides, particularly when it didn't directly involve him.

Kelsi had spoken to Gabriella twice on the phone that day – once while Gabriella had been at Jason's, and then her friend had called the minute Troy had dropped her off at home. Gabriella felt awful – she was the only person other than Kelsi herself who knew the complete truth of all the details. She didn't have to be told directly that Kelsi's reasons were entirely selfless. She didn't need Kelsi to tell her that she didn't want to have to call Martha and ask for a lift. And so Gabriella had asked Troy if Kelsi could ride with them; and he'd been agreeable to the notion.

Troy opened the door to the house, the sound of music and chatter wafting through from the back end of the house where they typically contained the parties. The formal lounge at the front was off limits, with the basement, back living area and the outdoor area the primary locations.

Kelsi was well aware that news travelled fast at East High, there was an extremely effective gossip mill in place. And as they entered into the back living area, Kelsi observed what was blatantly evident – everyone was looking at her. It wasn't her being paranoid, they were actually looking. Regardless of the movement at East High toward beridding of the status quo, the reality was that she'd been lucky to ever be involved with Jason; the quiet composer simply hadn't belonged with the basketball jock. For all of his self deprecating talk, Jason was nonetheless one of the most popular guys in their class. And here she was, the girl who was so stupid to have broken up with him – and then dared to make an appearance at his party less than twenty four hours later.

It was exactly as she'd known – she wasn't meant to be there.

"Oh God, there's Jason," Kelsi said urgently, fearfully. She'd spotted him just outside on the deck, still clad with his beer hat – undoubtedly having churned through a number of beers since Troy and Gabriella had last seen him. "Maybe I should just go... this is crazy."

"You're the one who said that he wanted you to be here. All you have to do is go say hi, be polite, and then you don't need to talk to him again. It's gonna be packed here within an hour, it won't be that hard to avoid him," Troy advised. "Get it over with."

"Troy's right," Gabriella said earnestly, her arm enclosing around Kelsi's shoulders protectively. "You'll have to talk to him eventually."

Kelsi took a breath. "Okay. Let's do this."

In a suddenly bold move she traversed across the back living room, ignoring the stares of the smattering of already present guests. Gabriella and Troy followed behind her. He was standing at a table that they'd set up earlier with various refreshments; just chips, crackers, dips and other snacks. Kelsi reached out, touching his arm lightly. He turned around, and upon realising who had touched his arm, flinched slightly.

"Uh... hi," he said awkwardly. "Welcome."

Kelsi swallowed and gave him a small smile. "Hey."

Gabriella and Troy had hung back ever so slightly; but upon witnessing the momentary awkward silence between Jason and Kelsi, Troy stepped forward, clapping his hand on Jason's back.

"Hey dude! Happy birthday – again. You know, for last Wednesday. Great turn out so far!" Troy's tone was overly enthusiastic and cheerful.

"Yeah, it's great," Jason said with a grin.

"Have you kept drinking since we were here setting up?" Gabriella chastised, noticing the slight glaze to his eyes.

"Slowly, but steadily. Just a nice buzz at the moment – no need to babysit me, Gabriella," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"No babysitting, just... cautious is all," she said defensively, holding her hands up.

"Um... so maybe I'll make the rounds and say hi to people," Kelsi said awkwardly. "Is everyone here?"

"Zeke, Sharpay, Ryan and Chase are all around somewhere," Jason answered, waving his hand around.

"Cool."

"Ooh Chase is here! I have to say hi, I didn't catch him at the house," Gabriella said with a smile, and linked arms with Kelsi. "Come on."

"Wait Kels," Jason said, grabbing her by the arm.

"I'll catch up," she said to Gabriella softly. Gabriella nodded and took Troy by the hand to lead him away, leaving Kelsi and Jason alone. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure?" Jason asked, staring down at his sneakers.

Kelsi's brow crinkled with confusion. "Sorry?"

"What you said last night... are you sure?" he repeated, finally looking directly at her for the first time since she'd arrived.

He didn't want to beg. He didn't want to be that guy, pleading with her to take him back. But he had to ask. He had to be sure. If he was sure that she was sure then he could try, somehow, to accept it. But if there was any possibility that perhaps she was regretting her decision – he needed her to have that option to take it back and allow them to pretend that it had never happened.

Kelsi swallowed. "I'll never be _completely_ sure," she admitted quietly. "But Jason... I'm not going to change my mind. I know that it's right. And I know... I know that it makes no sense to you right now. But please just... please just try to accept it."

His eyes averted away, not able to look at her. "I see Liana and Monica over there, they must've just gotten here," he said, not responding directly. "I should go say hi... have a good night."

"Thanks... you too."

But Kelsi's reply wasn't heard, because Jason couldn't get away from her any faster.

* * *

Despite the dramas of Kelsi and Jason's break up and the gossip that was floating about the house, the party nevertheless went on. It was the first proper post championship celebration and for the majority of those at the party, even the breakdown of the hosts relationship wasn't going to put a damper on their night.

However the strain was evident among the immediate Wildcat crew. Chad, Taylor, Ryan and honorary Wildcat Chase were standing around in a tight circle in the backyard. Without having blatantly told Ryan so, Chase felt an immediate pull toward Ryan's closest friends; those who he'd confided about his sexuality in privately rather than in the ultimate elaborate reveal. Gabriella, Kelsi, Chad and of course Sharpay had been at the top of his 'get to know' list among Ryan's friends.

"I totally feel bad about inviting you to come up for this thing," Ryan said to Chase.

Chase shrugged, not particularly bothered. "It happens."

"Yeah it happens, but I wanted you to be able to get to know all of my friends, not be here while everyone is all awkward and walking on eggshells."

"Hey, he's getting to know us, isn't he?" Chad pointed out, gesturing toward himself and Taylor. "And we are the best ones after all."

Taylor patted Chad on the back, announcing in a mockingly proud tone, "My boyfriend, Mr. Humble."

Chase laughed and Ryan rolled his eyes. "You wish, Danforth."

"Where is everyone else, anyway?" Chase asked, glancing around. "I've hardly seen Zeke or Sharpay; and Troy and Gabriella disappeared." The majority of the party seemed to be out in the backyard; Jason had heat lamps on the deck and it wasn't too cold of an evening – although as it got later and colder and the noise needed to be contained inside, Jason would likely encourage everyone to move inside. Well, if he was thinking straight he would.

"Last I saw Kelsi was hanging with Gabriella, and we all know how whipped Troy is with Gabriella so he's unlikely to leave her side when there's a chance of getting laid tonight," Chad said frankly.

"Why don't you tell us what you really think, Chad?" Ryan teased.

"Just saying what everyone is thinking, that's all," he shot back.

"It seems like your sister is pretty into Zeke," Chase commented. Sharpay had arrived at the party with the boys, and as soon as Zeke had arrived she'd promptly ditched them in favour of spending her time with him – and he hadn't been averse to this in the slightest.

Ryan shrugged. "We'll see. She's kind of being weird about the whole thing."

"She was even talking about him at coffee this afternoon with your mom," Chase pointed out. That's a pretty big deal, when you start talking about a potential significant other with a parent."

"Oh, you met Mrs. Evans today?" Chad asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"I did. She's totally awesome. She told some really awesome stories about Ducky here," Chase teased.

Ryan glared at him. "Shut up and don't you dare say another word!"

"Ooh no, we want to hear stories!" Taylor said excitedly.

"You can tell us later," Chad said, giving Chase a wink.

Ryan felt a pair of slight hands squeezing his shoulders from behind. "Hey! We've hardly gotten to talk to you guys." He looked down to see Gabriella wedging herself between himself and Chase.

"Hey spunk bubble," Chase greeted Gabriella. "Where have you been?"

"Jason dragged Troy to go play that dumb game with the cups and the ping pong ball. Zeke was playing as well and I was watching with Sharpay. Then Zeke stopped playing and I became the third wheel. And I love Troy but there's only so much bouncing of balls into cups and loud cheering that I can watch without being bored."

"Hey, have you seen Kelsi lately?" Ryan asked, clearly concerned.

"I saw her talking to Martha," Gabriella answered simply. "What did I miss out here?"

"Not much, just hanging," Taylor said.

"So uh, where are they playing beer pong?" Chad asked casually.

"In the basement," Gabriella answered.

Chad gave Taylor a slightly pleading look, and she rolled her eyes. "Go on," she said, waving her hand toward the entry to the house.

"Thank you, love you," he said, kissing her on the cheek and tearing away from the group.

* * *

Zeke and Sharpay were sitting close to one another on a lounge in the corner of the back living room. At that point it was the chill out zone - the majority of people were out on the deck or down in the basement. When she'd first arrived with her brother and Chase, she'd tentatively hung out with them and some others. Zeke had joined that group as soon as he'd arrived and he and Sharpay had soon broken off into their own separate conversation slightly segregated from the rest of the group. She'd told him that she was rather wary of alcohol as a result of her last foray into the world of teenage partying. Zeke had suggested that maybe if she just had a few drinks as opposed to the many that she'd consumed - and at such a fast rate - like she had at the Halloween party, then perhaps her experience wouldn't be so negative. And so she'd allowed him to take her into the kitchen where he located a bottle of vodka that he knew was stashed away and mixed her up a fairly weak drink. After finishing up with his few rounds of beer pong, the two had then not returned back to the outside area with everyone else and instead were engaged within their own conversation.

"I can't believe how bad I was at the Halloween party. I feel... really horrible just thinking back to it," Sharpay confessed. "Ugh, I can't think about it actually."

"It's not like that all the time. You'll be fine tonight, I promise, I'll make sure of it," Zeke assured her.

"I suppose I should trust you, especially since you looked after me so well that night," she returned with a small smile.

"Yeah well... what kind of guy would I have been if I'd just ignored you?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't have blamed you. I mean... you do remember why I was so depressed that night, right?"

Zeke pursed his lips. He remembered all too vividly, the feelings that Sharpay had harboured for Troy. "Yes."

"You know I don't like him anymore, don't you?" she said suddenly.

"Well... I'd kind of hoped," he admitted, looking at the carpet, the beer he'd consumed loosening his tongue.

She also looked at the carpet. "You of all people, I wouldn't want thinking I hadn't gotten over him."

"Me of all people?" Zeke echoed.

"Yeah," she said.

There was silence for a moment, party noises washing over them as they sipped at their requisite drinks.

"I'm glad I came," Sharpay said, breaking the silence.

"I'm glad you came as well," Zeke returned, giving her a small smile.

"Sometimes I feel like I spend so much time working toward my career performing that I miss out on regular stuff," Sharpay admitted. "Lots of the drama club girls act like we're friends but... we're not, really. Not like how you have friends, you know? It's nice to come here and just... hang out, talk."

"What regular stuff do you feel like you've missed out on? Other than parties and stuff."

"Parties are a part of it. But you know... like... having girly sleepovers. Or like..." she downed the final mouthful of her second drink of the night before saying carefully, "like dating."

"Dating?" Zeke repeated.

"I haven't dated much," she said quietly. "A little. Mainly boys from the club. But... not really. And so I um... I'm not sure how to do these things, you know?"

"I think it's the guys who've missed out, you know, with you not dating much," Zeke confessed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

There was another moment of silence; but in this moment, Sharpay lifted her eyes from the carpet beneath her black open toe sling back pumps, and looked up at him – to see that he was looking right back at her. Subconsciously she bit her lower lip, moistened it with her tongue and then rubbed her lips together lightly. He leaned forward slightly, hesitated for a moment and then leaned forward a little further.

Until they were both broken from the reverie by the exuberant, "Yo Z!" that came from Chad. "Ohhh.... uh... sorry? Bad time?"

Zeke looked up and glared at Chad and ignored the chuckling Troy who stood a little further back. If looks could kill, Zeke would be up for murder and Chad would be six feet under.

"Welcome to my world," Troy said with a smirk.

Sharpay was too mortified to be annoyed and instead was staring at the floor, willing the two idiots to get out.

"What do you want?" Zeke asked pointedly.

"Uh... we're doing shots, if you're interested," Chad said a little lamely.

"Right now, not really. Have fun though," he said, silently telling them it was time to leave.

"What about body shots? We're about to go find the girls," Troy offered, a brief glance toward Sharpay.

Zeke's expression softened. "Maybe."

"We're going into the dining room, come if you want," Chad told him.

"Sorry about them," Zeke apologised to Sharpay.

"Body shots?" she said, raising eyebrows.

"Um yeah, you know when you do tequila shots? You use either lemon or lime and also salt and..."

"I know how they work," she interrupted. "I've never been involved in them, but I know the concept."

"And do you want to be involved in them?" Zeke asked, a little hesitantly.

Sharpay paused. "I don't really want to drink one..."

"Oh okay, that's fine," Zeke said quickly.

"But..." she continued. "I um... in the spirit of normal teenage life... I wouldn't mind um... being involved in a different way."

"So you're saying that..."

"Well you don't want to have to take a body shot off Troy or Chad, do you?" she asked, eyebrows arched.

He wrinkled his nose. "Not particularly."

* * *

Chad and Troy were on the official girlfriend hunt; Chad being determined to get some tequila shots down and begin the process of seducing his girlfriend simultaneously.

"Beer pong so early was a bad idea," Troy groaned, holding his stomach. "And I was owned; Marcus is totally fierce. The guy is a swimmer, how come he's so good at the pong?"

"Don't wimp out on me man, the tequila shots will make you feel better," Chad encouraged him. "We just need to find these girls."

* * *

Martha, Gabriella and Taylor were gathered in the kitchen. Kelsi and Martha had come out to join the rest of their friends after talking inside; and Chase had promptly begun to engage Kelsi in a conversation about music. He didn't have much musical background but was interested in learning to play the piano. With Chad and Troy having jumped ship in the quest for inebriation, Taylor and the girls were sticking together and had gone into the kitchen in the hunt for some sort of juice to put with the vodka that Taylor had brought with her.

"It came from nowhere!" Martha exclaimed. "I was trying to talk to her about it but she pretty much didn't want to reveal anything. I just don't understand whether maybe something happened or... or something. Obviously _something_ happened for her to suddenly feel like she had to end it, it must have."

"I don't think anything happened," Taylor said. "She has her reasons... sometimes relationships just don't work out. I do agree though, it was a bit random, but I guess maybe you just need to look at it from a positive point of view?"

Martha shook her head. "What, you think I'm going to ask him out or something? I would never, ever do that."

"No! I don't mean like that. I just mean... that now it won't be as bad, you know? You've said that the hardest thing is that it's her, having to watch your friend going out with him. You won't have to see that anymore."

Martha wrinkled up her nose. "Yeah but... it still doesn't make it right. Something feels off about it."

Gabriella was remaining as quiet as she could. She'd known that the break up was going to be at the centre of many conversations that night; but they weren't conversations she wanted to have a part of, and she was just hoping that they could accept that and not ask her to offer her opinion.

She wasn't going to have such luck.

"Gabriella, what do you think? You talked to her today, right?" Martha asked.

Gabriella hesitated, attempting to formulate a delicate response. "Um, only because Troy and I found out about it first from Jason. So I called to see if she was okay. She didn't talk about it much."

Which was the truth, Kelsi hadn't talked about it that much. But then again, with Gabriella, she hadn't needed to discuss it that much, to explain her reasons.

"Bingo!" an excited masculine voice said from the kitchen entry way.

"Hey guys," Martha greeted Troy and Chad who had entered the room.

"Hey M," Chad said. Both of the boys went over to their girlfriends initiating simultaneous kisses. Martha rolled her eyes and took a sip from her drink, waiting for the kissing to end.

"You taste like beer," Gabriella commented to Troy.

"That's because I had to drink a heap of it," he revealed.

"I missed you, you were playing beer pong for ages," she pouted.

"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I kept trying to leave but Jason was pretty intent upon keeping on playing. He's like, already pretty much smashed."

"So we're trying to liven this thing up. Who is up for body shots?" Chad enquired. "Zeke and Sharpay are in. I'm volunteering Taylor to be my partner and unless Gab wants Troy to take his shots from Sharpay..."

"Over my dead body," was Gabriella's immediate response.

Troy kissed her on the cheek. "Never. I'd only ever want to take one from you."

"M? You in?" Chad asked Martha.

Martha hesitated, sensing the 'couple vibe' that was emerging from the described scenario. "Um, actually, I might go back out and talk to the others. I haven't talked to Chase much tonight and he seems like a cool guy," she said, pleased to have a legitimate sounding excuse.

"Suit yourself," Chad said, shrugging.

Gabriella wasn't particularly keen on the idea of taking shots herself but she was grateful for the interruption to the gossip fest about Kelsi and Jason - and she was also pleased to have Troy back and away from the beer pong. Troy and Chad led the girls into the dining room - one of the 'blocked off' areas of the house for which they'd decided to ignore the rules that applied to everyone else since they were apparently above the regular people. Zeke and Sharpay were already waiting, standing a safe distance apart.

"There you guys are, take your time why don't you," Zeke said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh sorry, were there other things that you could have been doing with your time?" Chad asked with a pointed tease.

Zeke and Sharpay both glared at him. Gabriella and Taylor exchanged glances, curious as to whether perhaps they'd missed something.

"I'll tell you later," Troy murmured. "Okay! So we have lemon, and salt, and the tequila. Let's party!"

"I don't really want to take a shot," Gabriella said hesitantly.

"That's okay, more for me!" Chad said with a grin.

"Hey, wouldn't that be more for me?" Troy asked. "Since she's my partner?"

"How do you figure that? I'm the one who brought the tequila. You bring the tequila and then we'll negotiate that."

"Hey, shouldn't we be inviting Jason to be a part of this?" Taylor asked.

Zeke smirked. "Well, on our way here we saw him out on the deck dancing in a cheerleader sandwich with fresh cans in his beer hat. I think he's pretty happy where he is at the moment."

"Cheerleader sandwich?" Gabriella asked.

"Liana and Kayla," Zeke elaborated with a roll of the eyes.

"I think Liana wants him," Sharpay volunteered.

"Oh really?" Chad said, raising his eyebrows.

"I heard her before. She was being a bitch talking about Kelsi," Sharpay elaborated with a shrug.

"I don't like her," Gabriella muttered.

Troy and Chad began to pour out tequila shots into three shot glasses which were from a set of four that Chad owned – one had broken at a party the year before.

"All right, who wants to go first?" Chad asked.

"I will," Taylor volunteered with a smile.

He grinned. "That's my baby."

Taylor was the only one of the three girls who wanted to be involved in the actual drinking of the shots and so of course Chad made a big deal about being at the receiving end of her teasing lick of the salt on his neck, and rather than feeding her the wedge of lemon from his fingers he held it between his lips. Gabriella had watched Sharpay curiously during the exchange, the blonde a little wide eyed. However Troy was quick to initiate an equally saucy display, choosing to sprinkle salt on Gabriella's upper chest just above the line of her tank top - any lower and she would have reprimanded him. She wasn't exactly complaining as he gave a good lick and a slight suckle. Zeke was about to choose a safe route and sprinkle salt onto Sharpay's forearm when her brow furrowed.

"If you're going to do it, do it properly," she said, rolling her eyes and sweeping her hair to the side to reveal her neck.

"Oh, I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable, that's all," he said genuinely.

"That's sweet, but I agreed to coming in here, aren't I?" she pointed out, and tilted her head to the side.

The other four smirked as they observed the display - Zeke's gentle, tender lick along her neck, her closed eyes and slightly hitched breath at feeling the sensation of his warm, moist tongue; the lingering gaze that was held between the two as he was fed the lemon from between her fingers.

They continued until all of Troy, Taylor and Zeke had taken two shots each, and Chad had taken three. Just as Chad was trying to talk the others into another round, the door flew open. They all looked up a little guiltily, not really wanting to be caught by anyone in an out of bounds room, as it would open up the floor for anyone to enter any room they pleased. Lucikily it was a slightly wide eyed Kelsi.

"Oh sorry... I didn't realise you guys were in here," she apologised. She was clutching her cell phone in her right hand.

"Hey!" Gabriella said warmly. "Come on in, just close the door, we don't want anyone finding us."

She closed the door but didn't move away from it. "Oh no, it's okay, I'm just trying to find somewhere quiet to make a phone call. I might go out the front."

"A phone call?"

"Yeah, I'm going to call my mom..."

"I'll come with you," Gabriella immediately offered. Troy was standing behind Gabriella and his arms tightened around her waist a little tighter. She held her hands over his and then turned around within his grasp, standing up on tiptoe to press a light kiss to his lips. "I'll be back," she promised.

"You'd better," he said.

A slightly smouldering was exchanged, telling Gabriella precisely what was on his mind as the result of just a couple of intimate licks and suckles of her skin.

"I promise," she swore, another light kiss being exchanged. She gave him a teasing smile before murmuring, "After all, the night is still young."

* * *

**AN - **Just reiterating, this is part 1 of a multi parted chapter and the next one will be up really soon :) Thanks for your continued support everyone.

~Dani xo


	41. Chapter 40 Part 2

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN - **Dedicated to Karen in celebration of her birthday :) Happy birthday mate! xoxo Hope you and Peebey are well. :D

* * *

**Chapter 40 – Part 2 **

Gabriella followed Kelsi out of the room and Chad decided to pack up the tequila supplies – thinking that perhaps he and Taylor could have another one later on in private.

"Um, I might go out and talk with Ryan and Chase," Sharpay said, glancing toward the door where Kelsi and Gabriella had existed just moments earlier.

"You sure they'll want to be disturbed?" Chad asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at Chad, shaking her head slightly and thinking to herself that it was no wonder she didn't feel inclined to spend more time with Ryan's friends. "We're at a group gathering," she pointed out in a condescending tone. "It's not like they're 'out' about the fact that this friendship is a relationship; at least not in Albuquerque, anyway."

"Hey, I'll come with you," Zeke quickly volunteered.

"Okay," Sharpay said, giving him a small smile. She moved toward the door and Zeke went to follow her.

"Hey Zeke," Troy said lowly, and he glanced back. The basketball captain threw him the thumbs up sign and grinned in Sharpay's direction. Zeke's response was to merely roll his eyes and otherwise ignore Troy.

"It's not fair, why does Gabriella keep disappearing?" Troy complained.

"God forbid that she has friends other than you," Taylor remarked, rolling her eyes. "And Troy, need I remind you that you were the one who ditched her to toss balls into cups?"

"Hey, I was supporting Jason," Troy said defensively. The dining room door suddenly burst open, none other than a cheerful looking Jason standing in the doorway, arriving with very apt timing. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey man, sorry that we're in here but..." Chad began to apologise.

"Whatever, don't care," a merry, carefree Jason cut him off. "Come on! We're starting up another tournament!"

"Tournament?" Taylor repeated, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "For what?"

"Beer pong, what else?" Jason answered, as though there were no other possible answer.

"Why are you people so obsessed with beer pong? It's boring!" she commented with a roll of the eyes.

Troy shrugged, downing the remainder of the can of beer he'd brought in with him. Truthfully he'd been hoping for some time with his girlfriend but yet again they'd lost touch and he had time to kill until she returned. "Sounds good, nothing better to do."

"Danforth?" Jason prompted.

"Cha-ad," Taylor pouted. Her arms slipped around his waist and drew him toward her, their pelvises pushing up together. He inhaled sharply. "Don't. I want you to come with me."

"Come with you where, baby?" he enquired, staring into her eyes, confirming that he was reading her insinuation correctly.

"We can go... dance..." she murmured lowly, her hand that was on the small of his back running down to squeeze his ass.

"Uh... I'm out man. Have fun," Chad informed Jason distractedly, eyes not drawing away from their penetrating, smouldering gaze into his girlfriends eyes.

"I think they wanna be alone," Troy said to Jason with a smirk. "Come on, the beer is calling."

"Don't have sex in my dining room! I eat in there," Jason called out behind him in warning.

* * *

Meanwhile just out the front door, Kelsi was pacing backwards and forwards across the top of Jason's driveway in front of his garage. Gabriella was standing still, leaning back against the garage door, and watching her friend, almost as though watching a tennis match in slow motion.

"I don't think I can handle this much longer," Kelsi said. "Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ is giving me funny looks. Don't try to tell me they aren't. And if I'm just going to hide away, then what is the point in being here? I may as well call my mom and go home."

"Please, just stick it out a little bit longer," Gabriella pleaded. "You can't run from this. You shouldn't be made to feel like less of a person for ending a relationship. It's not like you cheated on him."

"But I did break up with him just after his birthday and the day before his party. So to them, that makes me a bitch – and stupid as well."

"Since when do you care what 'they' think?" Gabriella demanded, hands on hips. "Seriously!"

Kelsi pursed her lips. Normally, she wouldn't particularly care. Kelsi had always existed within her own world, maintaining her own set of priorities, marching to the beat of her own drummer. But in this instance, she couldn't remain oblivious to the opinions of others. "Since they might be right."

"Kelsi, they don't know the story," Gabriella said quietly. "You're not the bitch here. Your decision was entirely selfless. You know that, and that is what matters."

"Yeah but... I can't explain that to anyone. It's you and me that know that. To everyone else it is a completely different situation. And so I might as well just cower in my bedroom instead of putting on a front here."

"Stay just a little longer. Let's go hang out with Ryan and Chase, maybe dance a little, and if you're still feeling uncomfortable, go on and leave," Gabriella suggested, attempting to strike a compromise.

Kelsi sensed Gabriella's persistency and rolled her eyes, giving in. "Fine," she conceded with a sigh.

The girls migrated around the side of the house as opposed to through the house itself – at Kelsi's request – by cutting through the side gate and bypassing the indoor sector of the party, spying where Chase, Sharpay, Martha, Zeke and Ryan were now all talking. Kelsi hesitated for a moment, but Gabriella led her by the hand toward the group.

"Hello all," Gabriella greeted the rest with carefree ease.

"Wow. This is certainly difference," Ryan remarked, glancing at his watch and then giving Gabriella the once over.

Her brows furrowed, filled with confusion. She glanced down at her jeans, tank top and cardigan momentarily. "Excuse me?"

"We're an hour or so into the party and you, Gabriella, are not attached by the hip... or rather the lips," he corrected with a smirk, "to Troy."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. It was fairly novel as far as the last few Wildcat parties had gone, but it wasn't worthy of conversation, at least not in her eyes. "Well, it seems that at the moment Troy is attached by the lips to a can of beer."

"It's okay, we've got Chad and Taylor to be our new party Troy and Gabriella tonight," Zeke commented knowingly. "The looks that they were giving each other during those body shots – pure sex."

Still not particularly happy with a conversation that revolved around highlighting how exclusive she and Troy could be of socialising with others while they were tipsy and presented with empty bedrooms and a lack of parental supervision; Gabriella decided to cut off the flow before it continued.

"So, what exciting stuff has happened out here?" she asked, and took a small sip from her cup of vodka and juice.

"Not much. It's a good vibe out here, chilling, hanging out," Martha answered.

"Once in a while we can hear a shout from the basement," Chase told her with a chuckle. "It's probably best that all the craziness is contained down there, you know, to not piss off the neighbours."

The group continued to engage in small talk. Kelsi was noticeably more quiet than her usual self; she was responding when spoken to directly and occasionally contributing something to the flow of conversation of her own accord.

"I feel like dancing," Gabriella said suddenly, glancing over toward the other side of the deck near the speakers. "Who wants to come?"

"Ooh! Yes! Me, me!" Ryan was quick to agree, and waved his hand around and bounced up and down excitedly. He grabbed onto Chase by the arm instinctively, tugging lightly. "Come dance."

Chase pulled back, hesitating. There was nothing more that he wanted than to go dance with Ryan, but he also knew that Ryan was very adamant that they maintain the guise to the wider public that they were 'just friends'.

"Um, Ry? Remember low key, under wraps? I don't think dancing is going to help. If I'm going to dance with you, I'm going to want to _dance_ with you, you know?"

As it was, standing and sitting together, conversing and chatting without flirtatious touches and grazes of the arm, was incredibly hard. It involved quashing what had become completely natural interaction between them. Ryan pouted but he knew that what Chase was saying was true; and that the natural impulse to _dance_ would come from both of them and so perhaps it was best avoided.

"I might be a poor second option but I'll come and dance," Martha volunteered enthusiastically.

Ryan grinned at her. "Not a poor second option at all!"

Gabriella clapped her hands excitedly. "Kelsi, are you coming?"

Kelsi wrinkled up her nose. Under normal circumstances she would have been a little wary of dancing, the circumstances of the night merely amplifying her natural impulse to keep to herself. "Oh I um... I don't think so."

"No, you have to come!" Martha insisted. "I'll drag you out there myself if I have to."

"But I'm not a good dancer," Kelsi protested weakly.

"Who cares?" Ryan said, rolling his eyes. They weren't about to accept Kelsi's excuses, and she couldn't help but feel so incredibly grateful. Neither Martha or Ryan knew the context of the break up and yet they were both being so incredibly loyal to her – all of their friends had been really good to her throughout the evening. It touched Kelsi, and made the thoughts and opinions of the others fade away.

Ryan grabbed onto her arm, and he and Martha pulled Kelsi toward the dance floor. Gabriella turned to follow them but upon second thought, turned back to Sharpay. "Sharpay? Wanna come?" she asked.

Sharpay hesitated. She did want to go dance – she loved dancing, and at that moment there was a good vibe, a few people dancing and having fun, the grinding and making out presently not having taken over – largely because the majority of the guys were down in the basement.

"Oh... umm..." she glanced back toward Zeke, hesitating. Yes she wanted to dance – but she was also having a really great time hanging out with Zeke and didn't want him to think that her leaving him to go dance suggested otherwise.

"Go on, dance," he encouraged her.

"Are you going to come as well?"

"Someone has to keep Chase company," Zeke pointed out with a grin. "That, and, you've danced with me before and you know I can't dance." Sharpay pouted slightly – although Zeke couldn't help but notice she didn't try to convince him otherwise, that he was in fact a great dancer. "Go on!" he encouraged her. "You'll have fun and I'll have fun watching you."

"Come on," Gabriella prompted, giving her a warm smile.

Sharpay squeezed Zeke on the arm and with mixed emotions decided to go with Gabriella and the others over to the dance area.

"Just get him to dance a bit later," Gabriella said quietly, throwing the blonde a small smile.

"Huh?"

"After he's had a few drinks. If a slow song comes on it'll be easy, then all he has to do is hold you and move back and forward."

"Oh I... I just didn't want him to think I was ditching him," Sharpay found herself explaining candidly. "Because I'm not. I enjoy his company."

"I know you do. As he does yours. And I'm guessing that he _will_ be watching so you can take advantage of that," Gabriella recommended with a slight giggle.

Meanwhile back where they'd been left behind, Zeke and Chase stood in silence for a moment, watching the others as they met up and began to dance in rhythm with the music.

"So... you and Ryan," Zeke finally said, keeping his voice low.

"So, you and Sharpay," Chase returned, eyebrows raised, a smirk on his face. For Chase it had been interesting, coming in as a relative outsider and observing the interactions between Ryan's friends. From what Ryan had said, there was a lot of context to the interactions between Zeke and Sharpay. To Chase however, none of that mattered, it didn't cloud his judgement of the scenario. And all that he saw was blatant chemistry and flirtation.

Zeke shrugged. "We're friends."

"That'll change," Chase said confidently.

"We'll see... I've wanted more from her before... let's just say that I don't want to get my hopes up." Zeke didn't hold any grudges against Sharpay, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't sceptical.

"You also don't want to miss your opportunity," the older boy pointed out wisely. "Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there. Nothing ventured nothing gained, isn't that what they say?"

"Yeah. Maybe." Zeke took a long sip from his can of beer. "So you met Mrs. Evans today?" He wasn't even trying to be suave about his change of the topic of conversation.

Chase nodded. "Yup."

"I worked for their club over summer. Both of their parents are pretty intimidating. Meeting them as an employee was scary enough."

"Ryan's mother is fabulous," Chase said earnestly. "I'm a bit terrified of ever meeting his father, given how he found out about me existing and his reaction."

* * *

Troy came up from the basement a little worse for wear, staggering slightly. He had Jason by his side, the duo emerging after having been beaten not only at beer pong but a variety of other drinking games which had taken place.

"Dude, this has been so awesome... even if we were totally fucked over," Jason proclaimed.

Troy had to smile and agree. He'd become so accustomed to spending the majority of his social time with Gabriella that he'd almost forgotten how fun it could be just to hang out with a group of guys and do and say dumb things. "Need a break though. So much beer," Troy groaned. "I keep getting owned down there."

"Just suck it up man," was Jason's deep and wise advice.

"This cheap beer is nasty as!" Troy's complaint shot back.

"And suck that up also, or buy your own fucking beer."

"Hey, I gave you money."

"Not enough for some fancy beer."

The two were heading toward the deck in search of the rest of their friends. Along the way they'd passed Taylor and Chad who were in a heated liplock and moving toward the staircase, undoubtedly heading upstairs. They reached the deck and glanced around, spotting where Zeke and Chase were talking with a few other party goers. Troy's eyes automatically scanned, in search of his favourite raven haired beauty. His lips upturned when he found her on the dance floor.

Sometimes Troy just loved to watch Gabriella; to stand back and watch her as she talked and laughed and interacted; sometimes to watch her as she slept. And now, he was loving watching her as she danced. She was currently between Martha and Sharpay; and whereas the girls weren't quite up to the standards of some of the other girl on girl grinding taking place, they were close enough to spark Troy's imagination. Even Sharpay was getting into it, evidently the couple of drinks which Zeke had encouraged her to trial loosening her up just enough to feel comfortable enough with the girls to let loose a little. However Troy's focus was not on Sharpay, it was not on Martha, it wasn't on any of the other people dancing around them. He was fixed upon Gabriella, fixed upon every slight movement of her body. He was contemplating the best way to go about dragging her away from the girls and up to any empty room – a coat closet would do – when a forlorn, aggravated sigh from Jason distracted him. Troy tore his eyes away from his swaying girlfriend to glance at his buddy.

"Dude?" Troy said questioningly, worried that maybe he felt ill.

"Stupid bitch," Jason muttered under his breath.

Troy followed Jason's dark, intense stare and finally observed what was happening just a few feet away from Gabriella and the girls – Kelsi and Ryan were dancing, and they weren't just dancing, it was borderline grinding.

"Dude... it's not like that, you know it isn't," Troy consoled. He had no issue with Jason feeling negative toward Kelsi in general, truthfully it was understandable. But there was no point in Jason putting himself through additional angst that was unnecessary and unwarranted. "They're friends, drinks have been consumed..."

"Well that's great to see, she'd rather rub up to a gay guy than me," Jason said bitterly.

Troy pursed his lips. "Jase..." he began to say.

"I'm fine," Jason insisted. If he was sober he wouldn't want to hear what Troy had to say, and in his drunken state it was no different – he would merely tune out anyway. "I need more beer."

Troy shook his head. "Do you think you should take a break?"

"No. That would be the worst idea possible. I definitely need more beer right now. And look, there's Liana inside..."

Troy was about to grab Jason but in his own semi hazy state, he couldn't really be bothered. Jason was old enough to make decisions for himself and Troy wasn't one to interfere. Instead he decided upon following his original instinct since appearing on the deck, which had been to approach his girlfriend.

He was on the opposite side of the deck and quietly said hello's to a few people that he passed along his way forward. His plan was to make an attempt to be suave and sneak up behind her. She was now in a small circle dance with Paula, Sharpay and Martha. Troy's approach was from right behind her and he brought his finger to his lips in a silent gesture for the other girls to not alert her to his presence. He was prepared for her to jump and shriek, however as his warm palms came to grab her by the sides, instead he found her remaining still and falling back into his arms, her hands reaching behind her to cup the sides of his face.

"You didn't jump," he observed with surprise.

"You weren't being as suave as you were trying. I heard you say hi to someone loudly on the other side of the deck. And I saw you and Jason standing there before that."

"Oh." Troy pouted for a moment but his attention span was limited and moved on quickly, his arms enclosing around her waist and moving ever so slightly with her in time to the music. "Hi," he murmured into her ear.

She turned around in his arms, gazing up into his eyes. "Hi," she returned.

"I was looking for you," he said, his lips pressing down to hers for a soft kiss.

"You were gone for so long," Gabriella pouted. "I had to entertain myself. By the way, you now smell, taste and almost feel like beer a little."

He grinned sheepishly. "Umm, yeah... there was an incident. Do you really want know?"

She wrinkled up her nose. "No. But I guess you lost again?"

Troy looked more than a little peeved about the matter. "Yes," he said darkly. "We moved from pong to other games and I had a really bad run. Normally I'm so good but tonight I sucked."

"What a tragedy, being forced to drink a whole lot of beer," she teased.

"I didn't have to drink _that_ much," he said defensively, feeling a bit dented. He was attempting to appear as sober as possible – but evidently his attempts were futile.

Her eyebrows quirked. "Baby, you're swaying a little. And your eyes are seriously all... crazy."

He grinned, relaxing his face and dropping his attempt to mask just how not sober he felt. "Okay, maybe I had to drink a lot. You're a bit blurry right now. But you're still hot."

She giggled. "Thank you, I think."

"It's the manly competitive me, not wanting to admit how much they made me drink. You don't see him very often."

"No, hardly ever at all," she played along facetiously, rolling her eyes.

"So, you looked like you were having fun dancing with the girls," Troy observed.

"Yes, but I was wishing that I was dancing with you," she said with a small smile.

He leaned forward, breath tickling against her ear as he enquired, "What kind of dancing would that be?"

She smiled, ducking her head slightly. "Right now, or later?"

He released his hands from their place on her waist and instead took a hold of her hand, stepped back, and twirled her around. She giggled, allowing him to twirl her once, and then twice, and he then pulled her back into him; both of their hands adjoining. She stood on tip toe and pressed her lips to his softly once more, before pulling away and wrinkling her mouth.

"Beer breath," she murmured.

"Do you want me to drink some water before we make out?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes please," she requested cutely.

"Okay," he said, rolling his eyes but nonetheless willing to oblige.

Troy went to move toward the house so he could go to the kitchen, and she didn't let go of his hand and began to follow him.

"I'm not letting go," she explained. "I'll lose you again."

He merely smiled and allowed her to follow him into the house and toward the kitchen. She paused midway and glanced toward the bathroom. "Actually I may need to pee. Promise me you won't let Jason drag you back to keep drinking more beer somewhere?"

Troy grinned. "I promise. My attention is completely and totally upon you now," he said, completely truthfully. It would take a hurricane to deter him from the vibe that was currently existing between he and his girlfriend. "Do you want me to grab you some water too?"

She nodded. "Yes please."

They parted ways again, Gabriella heading to the bathroom and Troy into the kitchen through the batwing saloon style doors. He knew the houses of all of his friends almost as well as he knew his own, and even in his slightly inebriated state he navigated his way straight to the cupboard with the glasses. He winced as he accidentally clinked one against the others behind it.

"Whoops," he said out loud.

He then retrieved a water jug from the fridge and accidentally filled the first glass up too high, the water spilling over the edge. He was more careful with the second, tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as he bit down and concentrated on making sure that he didn't spill the water again.

He heard a noise behind him as someone was coming through the swinging doors and spun around, clutching onto the jug, and somehow tipped a bit of water onto the floor.

"Kelsi!" he exclaimed, seeing her in the doorway.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I startled you," she apologised quickly, and rushed forward to grab a cloth from the sink.

Troy laughed. "Whatever. It's not your fault, I think I just _think_ it may be because I'm drunk." She glanced at him and Troy noticed what he'd missed at first instance. "Kelsi? You okay?"

Her eyes were filled with tears. She bit her lower lip, willing the tears to not escape. "Um. No. But it's okay."

Troy shook his head and hopped up on the bench behind him, narrowly missing knocking over the glasses of water that he'd just poured. Even on the verge of tears, Kelsi reached out and moved the glasses away from him.

"Talk to Troy," Troy requested imploringly.

"I don't know if I want to," Kelsi said honestly.

"Why?" he asked.

"You must hate me," she said, quiet, but forward, hanging her head down in shame.

"Why?" Troy asked yet again.

"Come on Troy. Jason's your friend."

"So are you."

"Yeah but he was your friend first."

"Who gives a fuck, what's that got to do with the price of fish in China? Do you want me to hate you Kels?"

"Well, no, I don't."

"I don't hate you. I don't dislike you even. You have your reasons. If I was a bit more coherent right now I could speculate about them."

"Please don't. It's complicated."

"Gabriella knows, doesn't she?"

Kelsi nodded. "Yes."

"She's good, you know. She doesn't tell me things. She never told me about Ryan. She hasn't told me whatever is going on with you."

"That's good."

"You can tell me whatever just happened to make you upset though. Especially right now because there's a chance I won't remember it in the morning," Troy said with a grin.

Kelsi let out a half laugh half sob. "I just saw something I really didn't want to see... and I know I don't have the right to be upset about it but I can't help what I feel."

"What'd you see?"

"In the living room... Jason and Liana. She's sitting on his lap. That's all but... I feel sick."

Troy gave her a small sympathetic smile. "That sucks." He wasn't one for speeches of advice about this sort of thing. There was a conflict of interest – he'd spent the night with Jason seeing how depressed he was. It was his birthday party. They weren't going out. He had no loyalty to her. But he could also understand why Kelsi would be cut – if he was her, he wouldn't be happy seeing it, no one would.

"Yeah, it does," Kelsi agreed simply.

She couldn't ask for more from Troy, not when he didn't know the context, not when she was aware of his compromising position.

"If that's going where it's going... I really can't stay. As it is everyone is looking at me. Don't try to convince me that they're not because I know that they are."

"It's tough. If this were a party at mine or Zeke's they'd look at you. But it's worse that it's here, that it's for his birthday."

"Which makes me feel even worse that I did it."

"Like I said, I'm sure you have reasons."

They were silent for a moment. Troy, not bothered to get down from the bench, gestured to the fridge. "Can you get me a beer?"

Kelsi rolled her eyes, about to comment that he was seemingly there to get water, but decided against it, instead complying and retrieving him the beer. She opened it for him and handed it over carefully. He took a long sip. "Why'd you come?" he finally asked.

"Huh?"

"Tonight. To the party."

"I really didn't want to come, but he insisted. He seemed so adamant that he wanted me to come and to keep everything normal. At the time it made sense and it was perfectly logical. But now that I'm here... even before seeing him with her, it made no sense and I wanted to get the hell out. Now I know that I have to get out, like now. I can't see them... not if that's going where I think it's going."

"I'd offer you a lift home but that might be a bit dangerous for me to drive right now."

"I appreciate the gesture though."

"Tro-oy," Gabriella's singsong voice came just before she pushed through the doors separating the kitchen from the corridor. Immediately, Gabriella could see that Kelsi was upset. "Kelsi! What's wrong?"

Kelsi shook her head, wiping at her slightly watery eyes. "I'm fine, I was just telling Troy that I'm going to call my mom. Thank you for making me stay a bit longer, I really had fun talking with everyone and dancing with Ryan."

Gabriella reached for the glass of water that Troy had poured, giving him a silent thank you smile before picking it up to take a sip. "I don't blame you for wanting to leave. I think you'll be glad that you at least came, especially if you and Jason want to stay friends."

Kelsi nodded uneasily. A part of her wanted to talk to Gabriella about it, about what she'd seen, how she'd felt, to ask her friend to keep an eye on them and let her know but to let her know gently - but another part just wanted to get as far away from the house as possible and to hope that no one ever spoke of it again.

A high pitched giggle could be heard over the sound of music and party chatter that was floating up the corridor.

"No you!" a female voice cooed.

Moments later the saloon doors swung open again and revealed an image that none of the three already in the kitchen really wanted to see, and which one of them definitely didn't want to see.

Jason was walking backwards through the swinging doors, Liana's arms wrapped around the back of his neck and his hands rested firmly on her waist.

"I swear it was you!" Jason returned.

They weren't kissing but they weren't far away from it, and it was the not so subtle clearing of Troy's throat which drew their attention over to the corner where the other three were.

"Oh... uh... hi," Jason said, blinking.

"Wow, is this kitchen party central or something?" Liana asked, her arm moving to now grip around Jason's middle.

Kelsi couldn't not look. She was mortified and felt positively ill and yet all she could do was look. She was staring at them, staring at him, staring at Liana's hand in its possessive hold around Jason's waist.

"Something like that," Troy said with an uneasy laugh.

"We didn't think anyone would be in here," Liana said with a small smile. "It's okay, we can go somewhere else."

In that moment Kelsi felt like she could vomit all over the cheerleaders tan peep toe pumps. Instead, she knew she had to leave.

"I'm going home now, hope you all have a good night," she managed to say.

"Kelsi?" Gabriella said, voice filled with concern.

Kelsi's eyes met with Liana's. The bubbly blonde gave the quiet composer a fake smirk – a look of triumph.

Kelsi couldn't and wouldn't allow Liana to see her cry, it wasn't a valid option. She squeezed around Liana, abandoning the kitchen, abandoning the house, knowing that she'd long overstayed her welcome and that she never should have come.

She had to get out.

* * *


	42. Chapter 41

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **Thanks as per usual to everyone for all of your support. It sounds so hollow but every word of encouragement means the world to me at the moment.

I'm about a month away from the end of my university degree and so resultingly I've got two of the most important finals of my life coming up. I hope to write as a creative release/procrastination tool but if you don't hear from me – sending me a PM demanding where I am isn't going to make the finals go away ;)

I assure you that I am **100 percent** dedicated to finishing this series, even if it takes me til the year 2050.

Thanks so much to Audrey for your beta work. So incredibly appreciated *mwah*

**Happy 22nd Birthday Zachary! **

This is a little early but I really wanna update and I don't know if I'll be able to update my other story as planned in celebration of the affair. So the sentiments shall be placed here :)

* * *

**Chapter 41**

_Now don't let me leave this moment  
Hold me in this place  
Where everything is clearer  
Than of all before  
And everything makes sense_

**The Edge ' Lifehouse'**

* * *

_Kelsi's eyes met with Liana's. The bubbly blonde gave the quiet composer a fake smirk – a look of triumph._

_Kelsi couldn't and wouldn't allow Liana to see her cry, it wasn't a valid option. She squeezed around Liana, abandoning the kitchen, abandoning the house, knowing that she'd long overstayed her welcome and that she never should have come._

_She had to get out._

* * *

Without even a glance back at Troy, Gabriella tore after Kelsi, accidentally bumping into some peers in the hallway and calling out a frantic apology behind her. She headed straight toward the front door, and immediately found her friend out the front of the house, bent over leaning forward with her hands on her knees.

"Kelsi?" Gabriella said quietly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Kelsi whispered, and promptly leaned over a little further and vomited in the garden bed.

* * *

Even in his inebriated, heartbroken state, there was no doubting the forlorn expression on Jason's face as he stared at the kitchen exit where Kelsi had flurried away through the batwing doors.

"Well that was melodramatic," Liana commented.

"Maybe I should go talk to her..." Jason pondered.

"Uh dude..." Troy said, grabbing his arm. "Maybe just leave Gabi to talk to her."

"But..."

"Come on Jase, let's go back out to the party," Liana suggested, cuddling into his side.

"In a minute," Jason said shortly. "Troy and I have to talk about something."

Liana pursed her lips and then pressed a soft kiss to Jason's face, technically on his cheek but hovering closer to his lips. "Don't be long," she murmured.

Troy averted his eyes as he saw Liana's hand run down Jason's back, not particularly wanting to observe anything. A moment later she was gone, and Jason's forlorn, light brown hazy eyes were turning to Troy in desperate need of advice.

"She just ran out looking upset, didn't she?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah..."

"I'm kinda drunk. I thought maybe I was imagining it," Jason said dully.

"Look dude... you came in here with Liana, she was probably just shocked."

"You know what?" Jason said slowly.

"What?"

"Fuck her. I don't give a fuck. She should be upset. I'm upset. The bitch fucked me over. Fucking dumps me with no warning."

"What if there's more to it than what you know?" Troy asked carefully.

"I don't really care. Right now, I'm at my birthday party and I don't wanna be mooching around after her. So I'm not. I'm having fun."

"With Liana?" Troy asked with a slight smirk, questioning condescension dripping from his tone.

"What's your bone with Liana, man? She's _hot._ It's _nice_ to know what a girl wants, to know that she's into you. I've been patient as fuck with Kels and happy to be that way but you know what? Little Jason – he _reacts_ sometimes."

"I get that man, I really do."

Jason snorted. "Yeah. Totally. The guy who gets laid on a regular basis."

"Hey, me and Gabriella were going out for over six months before any of that started. I had six months of kissing her and holding her and wanting her but not _having_ her. You've _just_ broken up with Kelsi! I get that you're pissed but... Liana? Really?"

"She's..."

"Yeah, you said it, she's hot."

"That's not what I was gonna say."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "What then?"

"She's not Kelsi."

It was in that moment, as both guys were swaying with inebriation – Jason a little more than Troy – that Jason's vulnerability was illustrated more clearly than ever before. Throughout the day he'd been on the verge of anger, he'd been depressed, he'd been annoyed. But it was in that precise moment that Troy could see the simple hurt in Jason's eyes. Liana wasn't about getting some action – she was a distraction, a way of taking the hurt and trying to put it into a box to be dealt with later, at a time when all eyes weren't on Jason expecting him to crash.

Troy gave Jason a small nod. "No. She's not," he agreed.

Jason looked away, and in one swift movement he grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and turned to go find Liana.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and Troy had made his way around the party in search of something to entertain him. He was officially over the drinking games that were still continuing in the basement. He wasn't a dance floor guy unless Gabriella was with him – and even then he was agreeable because of ulterior motive. His friends were either nowhere to be seen – such as Chad and Taylor – or wrapped up in personal conversations – Zeke with Sharpay, Ryan with Chase. Troy chatted with Paula and Marcus for a little while before excusing himself and deciding that he should go and check on Gabriella and Kelsi.

Can of beer in one hand and glass of water in the other, Troy ambled out through the front door, having to set the water glass down on the floor while he opened the door. He picked up the glass and let the door close behind him. At first he didn't spot anyone and felt a little annoyed that he'd come out, neither of the girls were there and he'd now have to put the glass down again so he could open the door to get back inside. But then he heard her voice, soft, tentative, calling out to him.

"Troy?"

He narrowed his eyes, attempting to unblur his vision, and spotted Gabriella's petite form sitting at the bottom of the drive way.

She was sitting on the curb, knees drawn up toward her chest. He headed down, standing just beside her.

"Hey babe," he greeted her. "I brought your water."

She glanced up at him. "You're the one who needed to drink the water, remember?"

"We can share it," he offered with a grin.

"Thanks."

Troy carefully bent down to set himself to sit on the curb beside her.

"Woah," he said, closing his eyes briefly. "It's so weird how when you drink it feels different sitting down than standing up."

"Maybe having head spins just from sitting down is the sign that you should have brought two glasses of water with you instead of the beer and the water."

"I said that I'd share," he offered.

She gave him a small smile. Her left leg tucked beneath her, her right drawing up closer and her chest slumping to rest her chin on her arms that were resting on her knee. She stared vacantly over at the house across the street.

"Kelsi went home?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. "She was picked up by her mom about five minutes ago."

"And you've been out here alone since then? Why didn't you come back in?"

Her shoulders shrugged before deflating back. "I wanted to be out here. Sometimes I think that maybe I should be kept away from people."

Troy blinked. He wasn't sure if it was the alcoholic haze or if she was just generally confused, but he was lost.

"Huh?"

"Troy, why do I meddle?" Gabriella asked softly, gaze still vacant and across the street from the, not looking at him as she spoke.

"Meddle?"

"I become involved in other people's problems, try to solve them, tell people things I shouldn't tell them... it just makes everything worse."

"Okay so... is this about whatever it is that you know about Kelsi? And why she dumped Jase?"

Gabriella nodded, biting her lip. "Yes."

"You can tell me, you know. If you want to," Troy coaxed gently. "I'm not saying this because I want you to tell me. I'm saying it because I think maybe you need to tell someone. Get it out."

"It's telling people things that had gotten me into trouble though," she said miserably.

"Am I a part of any of it?"

She paused. "Not directly."

"Other than that it's our friends and that I may be closer to some people than others?"

"No, that is the extent of the conflict."

She felt his hand on her left knee, rubbing gently. "Vent. You know you want to. It's between you and me." Troy paused and then added, "And given how I'm feeling right now, there's a chance I'm gonna forget tomorrow anyway."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She hugged her right knee a little tighter to her chest, turning her head to rest her cheek on her forearm, looked over at him sitting to her left. She'd been leaning toward wanting to tell him everything all afternoon and now that feeling was merely amplified.

"I don't know where to start," she murmured.

"Try from the beginning?" he suggested gently, moving a little closer to her, continuing his soft rub on her leg.

She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and thought back. "It was about a month ago. Do you remember that night when the girls were at my house and you guys were hanging out and you randomly came over? Just after we came back from Colorado?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah..."

"Kelsi came later than Taylor and Martha; and before she arrived I found out that..." Gabriella took a breath, before revealing quietly, "I found out that Martha has a crush on Jason."

She paused, waiting for his reaction. At first his expression didn't change at all, but then a moment later, his eyes widened – almost as though he'd required a few moments to register and interpret the information.

"Martha... she likes... JC?" Troy said slowly, repeating it back.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Fuck."

"That pretty much sums it up."

Gabriella continued with the story, explaining that Martha had liked Jason but never told anyone but Taylor and herself. Explaining how Martha had been upset and acting strangely, and Kelsi had picked up on it and not understood why. It was when she got to the part of revealing to Troy that it was she who had finally told Kelsi that her head was hanging low. Troy, being his ever faithful self, he didn't mock, he didn't judge. He merely held her, made soothing noises, and encouraged her to keep explaining, to keep telling the story.

"And now... and now it's just shit. Jason is bummed and Kelsi is heartbroken and everyone is treating Kelsi like crap. And things really aren't any different for Martha – it's not like Jason is actually into her."

"Today, sure," Troy said simply. "And tomorrow. And probably for a week. But you know what? It'll all be okay. It's just like you say – yeah Kelsi and Jason like each other but it's not a forever thing. It would've ended anyway. They'll be okay. And some other drama will happen and the break up will be last week's news."

"I hope so. Because this feeling guilty thing? It kinda sucks."

* * *

Ryan leaned forward in his outdoor lounge chair, glanced around momentarily confirming that no one was in the immediate vicinity to himself and Chase, and murmured, "I say we blow off the party and go home."

Chase raised his eyebrows. "You think Ms. Montez will be down with that?"

"Maybe we just tell her that it was boring and go crash, she'll be asleep soon and then you can come into my room?" Ryan suggested.

"What happened to taking things slow?"

"Slow yet... that doesn't preclude _everything_," Ryan's teasing yet somewhat embarrassed response came.

"Maybe we'll be cliché and find an empty room with a lockable door later and be sneaky about escaping into that room undetected?" Chase suggested. "Since you're having such trouble keeping your hands away from me."

"My hands, my lips..."

"Naughty."

"Don't mock me."

Chase grinned, and then leaned a little closer and said softly, "If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way. And I'm kinda feeling annoyed with you for insisting that I shouldn't worry about booking a hotel room while I was up here. Because, you know, we could so be calling a cab right now..."

"You know, I'm sure some motel downtown has vacancy," Ryan said quickly, eyes darting toward the house, envisaging them tumbling out the front door.

Chase shook his head. "Too late now. Next time I'm up."

Ryan was about to make a teasing response when Chase hushed him, making the slightest gesture toward where Chad and Taylor were approaching them. A grin spread onto Ryan's face, observing the appearance of the pair.

"Oh, look whose back," Ryan remarked once they were within earshot.

Taylor and Chad weren't being very discreet about having just emerged from a bedroom. Dishevelled hair and clothes were the first glance indicators; a second glance revealing the lustful, loving gazes being exchanged. Chad grabbed a couple of chairs and brought them over to form a small circle with Ryan and Chase.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Chad said breezily, not particularly caring if they were in fact interrupting anything.

"We're just chilling, but thanks for your concern," Chase said with a laugh.

"What did we miss?" Taylor asked.

"Not much," Ryan answered. He gestured toward the dance floor where his sister and Zeke were slow dancing to a fast paced dance track. "That would be the main development."

"Oh, and I went to get us refills and saw Jason making out with that cheerleader he's been attached to," Chase said.

"Liana," Taylor supplied with a roll of the eyes.

"That's the one," Chase confirmed.

"Jason can do better," Taylor said disapprovingly.

"I don't think it's about 'doing better', I think it's a... err... rebound thing," Chad said tactfully.

"A sex thing?"

"I didn't say that."

"That's what you meant."

"I don't know about sex. A hook up? Sure. Don't blame him, either."

Taylor's mind was immediately cast back to Chad hooking up with his ex girlfriend Kayla not long after she and Chad had broken up for a little while before Christmas. If she'd been sober the thought might have stung a little harder however the bite was softened by her mellow, inebriated state. So instead she glossed over the thought and moved on.

"It's pretty mellow out here. It sounds crazy inside," Taylor remarked, glancing around.

The backyard and edges of the deck were filled with people just standing or sitting around, chatting, talking, laughing. The foursome proceeded to talk and laugh; from a distance Ryan and Chase giving the appearance of being just friends, but a close examination would reveal the flirtatious glances and listening into the conversation would be enough to indicate that there was something more to the picture.

Troy and Gabriella were next to reappear and join the foursome out in the backyard. They arrived, both with refilled beverages in hand, Troy with a plate of snacks and Gabriella with a bottle of water tucked under her arm.

"They all come crawling back, wanting to hang out with us," Ryan said with a teasing grin.

Taylor noted that Gabriella's expression was slightly downcast. "Girl, you okay?" Taylor asked quietly. Gabriella took the plate of snacks from Troy while he went to grab chairs for them.

"I'm fine," she said quietly, giving her a small smile.

If Taylor hadn't been distracted by Chad's hand that was lazily caressing her thigh, she may have pushed the matter. Troy returned with a large lounge chair. "I could only find one," he explained, dragging it into place between Ryan and Taylor.

"You couldn't be bothered to find another, you mean," Gabriella said with a knowing grin.

Troy didn't argue the point, he merely collapsed into the chair and pulled her down to nestle in his lap.

"Kelsi left, she said to say goodbye to everyone," Gabriella revealed to the group.

"Oh," Ryan said with a slight pout, though he wasn't surprised by the information.

"Hey, where's Martha?" Gabriella enquired.

"She's been babysitting Jason," Chad said, rolling his eyes.

"She comes and says hi every so often but keeps going back to either hang around with him, or try to keep the party under control. She was fiddling with the music volume, and when some of the guys tried to bring a drinking game up here she convinced them to contain it in the basement."

"Oh," Gabriella said with a small frown.

Truthfully it was good that someone was being responsible, since Jason was too far gone to care about neighbours complaining or worst case scenario, calling the police. But Gabriella, knowing the context of Martha's diligent care, couldn't help but feel concerned. A quick glance at Taylor confirmed that she replicated the concern.

The group continued to engage in chatter, other party goers coming and going from the group. Martha came over to chat briefly before acquiring Ryan temporarily to help her rearrange the stereo system speakers so that they were inside the house – her plan being to relocate the dancefloor into the lounge room and have the whole deck as a hang out area, since the cold was gradually bringing people from the backyard to the heat lamps on the deck, and in the interest of noise restrictions, it was best for the speakers to be relocated indoors.

Gabriella was quick to leap off Troy's lap and scurry up to the deck, standing right in front of a vacant heat lamp and encourage the rest of the group to set up their chairs in a circle near her.

"You cold baby? You should've told me."

"I warmed up in your lap, but then I got cold again," she said with a pout.

He promptly took his red and white East High track jacket off, wrapped it around his girlfriend and moved his chair closest to the heat lamp. He then sat down, again pulling her into his lap and rubbing his hands over her arms.

Chad glanced at Taylor. "Are you cold?" he asked.

She paused. "Not really. But if you just want me to sit in your lap so you can rub your hands all over me, I'm not going to object," she responded teasingly.

He was quick to shift in his chair and pat his lap. "Go on," he encouraged.

She smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "When I get back. I'm going to get another drink. Gabriella, can you come with me?"

Gabriella didn't respond, and Taylor glanced over to see Gabriella's eyes closed, a dreamy expression on her face as Troy was suckling and nibbling on her neck.

"Gabriella?" she repeated, a little impatiently.

"Hmm?" Gabriella's dreamy response came, before she registered and reached down to tap Troy on the leg, indicating she wanted him to cease the teasing actions. "Tay?"

"Come with me to get a drink? Please?"

It wasn't really a question, it was a request that Gabriella sensed was important. Troy's arms wrapped around her waist. "Don't go," he murmured.

"I'll bring her back Bolton, settle down," Taylor said, rolling her eyes and watching as Troy clung to Gabriella for a moment longer. He only let go once she leaned back and murmured something in his ear, rubbing his arm soothingly.

Gabriella hopped off Troy's lap, picked up her empty cup from the floor and then linked arms with Taylor as the girls moved in the direction of the house.

"Do you have your period or something?" Taylor asked lowly.

"No! Why?" Gabriella asked, eyes widening and glancing behind her, checking the seat of her pants. "Do I have something there?"

"Oh, no, that's not why I asked. Just curious given that you're still down here at the party," Taylor said with a small smirk.

Gabriella's features relaxed and she smiled slightly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "We um... we did it a lot throughout the week. I guess the urgency isn't there."

"The boy is practically fucking you with his eyes."

"Taylor!"

Taylor grinned. "Sorry. Tequila. Candid."

"Is that why you're taking me away from my boyfriend? To ask about our sex life?"

"That, and I wanted to ask you a small question."

They stepped into the kitchen where Taylor produced the bottle of vodka from where she'd hid it in the back of the cupboard, almost knocking over some tin cans as she withdrew the glass bottle. Gabriella promptly held her hand out, gesturing for Taylor to hand the bottle over.

"Okay?" Gabriella said, beginning to pour a small amount of vodka into her cup, and a smaller amount in to Taylor's. Taylor reached out and tapped the vodka bottle, wordlessly disapproving of Gabriella's attempt to mother her.

"It's about..." Taylor lowered her voice and leaned forward, whispering, "sex."

"I'm not exactly an expert, but all you can do is ask, I guess," Gabriella said, shrugging.

Taylor glanced around her, confirming that they were empty in the kitchen area. "When you and Troy... do it... _how_ do you do it?"

"How?" Gabriella repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes. How. What... uh... position?"

"Oh!" she flushed, a little embarrassed. "Um... different ones. It depends... on the mood usually."

"Do you prefer some to others?"

"That also depends on my mood."

"Do you find that there's a particular position where... where he lasts longer?"

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Um... yes and no. He's been lasting longer and longer the more that we do it. And this week – because we've done it a few times – he seems to last even longer. The longer we go between doing it, the quicker it... happens."

Taylor nodded. "Makes sense. Like.... a build up of... bodily fluids?"

She shrugged. "I'm certain he um... you know... gets himself off regularly. Daily even."

"Okay so... regardless of all that. What position?"

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Well lately... we've been uh... having him arrive earlier. And then he seems to recover pretty quickly and the second time around he lasts wayyy longer."

"He recovers quickly?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if this is specific to all teenagers or just Troy or if it stops at a certain time. But at the moment it works for us."

"Interesting." Taylor's interest was piqued.

"Having longevity issues?"

"Kind of," Taylor confessed. "Sometimes he has to um... finish me off other ways. You know?"

Gabriella nodded. "At least he does that? He could just roll over, say 'thanks Tay, that was hot', fall asleep and leave you all hot and bothered."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "He knows better. If he did that, he so wouldn't be getting any from me."

The girls giggled, both taking a sip from their drinks.

"Does it seem bizarre to you that you and I are having a conversation about sex?" Taylor asked.

"Um, like yes!" Gabriella said firmly. "This time last year, I was afraid of _kissing_ Troy."

Taylor shook her head. "Now that is insanity."

"But things are okay with Chad? You're happy with everything, not regretting it?"

"Not in the slightest. Best thing that we could have done, for our relationship, and for myself personally. I just feel like I'm in a better place."

* * *

After wrapping up their girl talk conversation, Taylor and Gabriella headed back out into the yard to rejoin their boyfriend and the rest of their friends. Along the way, they passed Ryan, Chase and Sharpay.

"Hey guys! Where are you headed?" Gabriella asked conversationally.

"I'm being picked up out the front soon," Sharpay answered.

"Oh. You're not staying over?"

The blonde shook her head, wrinkling her nose slightly. She wasn't the sleepover type, especially not at the house of someone she barely knew with a bunch of drunken peers.

"I've had fun, surprisingly, but I would much rather go home to sleep."

"Have a good night," Taylor said, politely waving.

As the boys accompanied Sharpay out to the front, Chase couldn't resist but to dig a little about the Sharpay and Zeke developments of the evening. Everyone was dying to know what was going on but dancing around blatantly asking either of them. "I seriously am surprised you're not going to stay and hang out with Zeke some more," Chase said, a little coyly.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "You are worse than Ryan. Ry, have you been putting ideas in his head."

"I don't need your brother to put ideas into my head, I get the ideas all on my own. I mean Sharpay – come on, you're _crazy _about him, aren't you?"

Her eyes widened slightly. It was the first time that she'd been affronted with the direct, specific question, and for some unknown reason, rather than deflecting her response, she found herself responding with, "Well, um, maybe. But..."

"No buts! You, Sharpay, are a hot, sexy, vibrant young woman. You are totally fabulous, and you should _not_ be sitting around waiting for some guy to ask you out!" Chase exclaimed. Ryan was a little taken aback by Chase's confronting speech, but at the same time knew that just maybe, it was going to be the motivational kick up the backside Sharpay needed. Chase continued, "Take the initiative! Seize the moment! You need to ask him out, or you're going to drive yourself crazy!"

"And all of us crazy in the meantime," Ryan added.

Sharpay hesitated, Chase's words registering. She did abhor that she was sitting around waiting for Zeke to take the initiative, and she did understand his precautious approach to their currently blossoming interactions. They'd had a night of intense flirtation, she'd had a few drinks, she was more confident than ever that things were heading somewhere – and she found herself struck with a sudden streak of empowerment.

"You're right," she said slowly.

"I know I'm right."

And with that, she about faced and marched straight back into the house, headed for the backyard where she'd left Zeke with the other guys.

Ryan turned to look at Chase with an expression of bewildered alarm, and then scurried after his twin, calling after her, "Woah, what are you doing?"

"I'm seizing the moment," Sharpay declared with slight flamboyance.

"You're... what?"

Chase's face broke out into a triumphant grin, and the boys both followed Sharpay as she headed on her determined path.

Gabriella, from her position nestled back in Troy's lap, was the first to note Sharpay and the boys on her tail.

"Hey, did you change your..." before she could finish the sentence with 'mind' and enquire as to whether she was going to stay overnight, Sharpay was standing in front of Zeke, arms folded across her chest, eyes blazing.

"Zeke!" Sharpay snapped.

Zeke's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat – but it wasn't the way that his beat skippages had been taking place around Sharpay of late.

"Sharpay?" he said quickly, tone wary.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, opened them again, and then looked him straight in the eye as she demanded imploringly, "Are you _ever_ going to ask me out?"

The quiet chatter among those in the immediate vicinity fell quiet, although the music was loud enough that those who weren't within fairly close proximity remained clueless as to the confrontation that was transpiring.

Zeke's eyes widened. He glanced around nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Wh... I... Sh... huh?" was all that he found himself capable of saying.

"I'm sorry but tonight, I could not have been more obvious, I was dropping hints everywhere. We almost kissed, we spent the whole night talking and dancing. I told you blankly that I have no interest in anyone else and honestly I thought I made it pretty clear that my interest is in you and only in you. I'm starting to wonder if all of this is in my mind. Which leads me to standing here and asking you, are you _ever_ going to ask me out?"

A sober Zeke may have tried to rein in Sharpay and encourage her to step away so they could conduct this conversation in private. However Zeke was far from sober, and the only rational thought he was capable of producing was a somewhat defensive response.

"I've asked you out before."

"Like, a million years ago in the high school world. Things have changed since you last officially asked me out."

"You know why I've been wary Shar, come on!"

"What, because I've turned you down before?"

"Yes! I don't like getting hurt, no one likes getting hurt, and you've hurt me before."

"Would I be standing here in the middle of a party in front of everyone demanding why you haven't asked me out if I _wasn't_ going to say yes?"

"Well, err, I guess not," Zeke conceded, once again scratching the back of his head. "So.... you... you want to go out with me?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, her hands throwing up in the air.

"Really?" His bewildered tone of surprise asked.

"Do you want me to say no?" Sharpay enquired impatiently. "Because you're really starting to make me wonder if that is what you want."

"No!" Zeke yelped. "No, I don't want you to say no. Of course I wanna go out with you."

"So..." she prompted, hands on her hips, waiting expectantly.

"So..."

"Are you going to ask me?"

"Um... sure... how does Friday sound?"

Sharpay sighed irritably. Zeke should have known Friday wouldn't work for her. "I have my vocal lesson," she reminded him.

"Saturday then?" he supplied alternatively. "I could pick you up at 7?"

"I don't eat carbohydrates after 7."

"Okay, so, then I'll pick you up just before 6."

"I also don't go bowling or do putt putt."

"Okay, noted."

"And you've got a week to make sure your car doesn't have all that junk in it like it does now."

"Got it."

"And..."

"Anything," he interrupted. "Anything you want. Text me a whole list of your requests and I promise to fulfil them."

Sharpay blinked. "Okay then."

Zeke was dazed. "Okay."

"I'm going now then."

"Um... okay..."

"Okay."

Sharpay gave him a curt nod before about facing and strutting back toward the house to head out to the front where she knew the driver would likely be waiting for her. Zeke stared after Sharpay in amazement, eyes wide in shock. Their friends watched on in almost equal bewilderment. Chad was waiting until Sharpay was out of earshot to jump up and clap his hand on Zeke's back, and had rose to his feet – only to have Zeke dart away, following Sharpay.

"Shar!" Zeke called, and she paused in the doorway to the house and turned back to face him.

"What?"

Without saying another word, Zeke cupped her soft cheek with his warm right hand, and leaned down to press his lips to hers in a soft, sweet, chaste but lingering kiss. He pulled away, opening his eyes to see that her eyes were still closed, a dreamy expression filling her features. His fingers grazed her cheek as he slowly removed his hand, only once his touch was completely removed did she open her eyes to see his loving gaze and shy grin.

"Good night," he murmured. "You should go. The driver will be waiting."

She nodded dumbly before turning and heading through the house, blown away by the entire scenario. She still wasn't quite certain what had overcome her, what force it was that had convinced her to confront him – but she certainly was pleased she had. And if there had been any doubt in Sharpay's mind as to the feelings that she possessed for this boy, the feelings he'd succeeded in eliciting from within her as a result of his soft lips pressing so tenderly against hers said it all.

As anticipated the car was waiting for her and she stumbled into the backseat, briefly greeting the driver, her short response to his enquiry of how her evening was indicating that she wasn't in a conversational mood. She sat with her head tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed as the emotions swirled around in her head. She touched her lip momentarily, still feeling a tingle, still recalling the sensation of his lips against hers.

She felt a vibration from within her purse, and she opened her eyes to open the flap and pull out her cell phone. A bright smile spread across her features as she opened the text.

_Can't wait for Saturday. Zeke x_

* * *

The group sat around for a bit longer, being joined by Paula and Marcus, and soon after that Martha. Gabriella was beginning to warm up – and in more ways than one. Troy's comforting strokes on her arms with the intent of increasing her body temperature had gradually become caressing, lingering strokes over every inch of her body that was appropriate within the public forum. Nestled upon his lap, he had swept her hair aside to press light kisses to her the skin on her neck. After Sharpay's departure, Jason had initiated celebratory shots with Zeke, the pair coming out with a few trays of jelly shots and handing them out to party goers. Troy allowed himself to be coerced into not just the one, but two jelly shots. Gabriella hesitated but Chad jokingly accused her of being boring and she took him rather seriously, narrowing her eyes and grabbing a shot from the tray.

"Gabi, you don't have to..." Troy began to say.

Gabriella held her fingers up to his lips, silencing him, before she took a shot from the tray and promptly downed it. The guys cheered her on. She grimaced slightly at the aftertaste, and then picked up her cup of fruity drink and downed the remaining contents in a few swift gulps.

She didn't like people labelling her as being boring. Despite his own penchant for drinking that evening, Troy hadn't judged her in the slightest – he'd drank enough for both of them, after all. Whether she drank or not was irrelevant to him, but she was still aware of not wanting to be a downer on the party. Troy had managed to separate himself from the Kelsi and Jason dramas of the evening and remain a positive disposition and enjoy himself, and there was no reason why she shouldn't do the same. It wasn't just Troy who had been busy with basketball season and was now in need of stress relief – midterms were over, she'd been crazily busy with her extracurriculars. And her idea of letting loose and having an awesome time with the remainder of her evening may not have involved drinking herself into complete inebriation; however she was certain it would be even more enjoyable.

And so she reached out for Troy's arm, her hand lightly gripping to his firm bicep.

"Let's dance," she said lightly, with an alluring smile.

He returned her grin, noting the expression on her face and tone in her voice, and was more than willing to oblige.

* * *

Gabriella and Troy were standing with their arms wrapped around one another on the now indoor dance floor. The song playing was fast and pumping but this didn't suit their mood in the slightest. Instead they were swaying backwards and forwards, bodies pressed up tightly, hands moving in seductive caresses over one another's bodies. Occasional soft kisses were combined with occasional pecks and nibbles of lips and teeth against one the others neck.

"Troy?" Gabriella murmured into his ear, having to stand up on her tip toes so she could speak softly and be as close to him as possible. He instinctively hunched down slightly.

"Mmm?"

"This whole dancing and kissing thing is really nice and everything... but can we fast track this?"

He was a little surprised. There was no doubt as to where things were heading. Even in the small number of parties they'd attended together, it had become pretty standard routine – a few hours hanging with friends – sometimes together, sometimes separately – followed by dance floor grinding and then heading upstairs to find an available location to spend some 'quality alone time' together.

"Fast track?" he repeated, raised eyebrows, needing clarification of her meaning.

She nodded, and even in his borderline drunken state, he could recognise the intent gaze in her eyes.

"I've been wanting you... All. Freaking. Night," she murmured, emphasis upon each word. "And we've spent the whole time baby-sitting everyone else. I love our friends, I'm more than happy to help them and offer advice. But I can't help but feel like any moment one of us is going to get dragged away to go attend to someone else's problem."

"So your solution is to skip the seductive foreplay?" he asked, clarifying.

She smiled slightly, nodding. "Yes..."

"Fuck you're amazing," he murmured, and immediately initiated a fiery kiss, his hands running down from the small of her back to liberally squeeze at her firm backside.

She pulled away. "As long as we don't make a habit out of it," she warned. "I kinda do like this stage a whole lot."

He kissed her again, this time more softly. "Me too. Just don't tell the guys that I said that."

Her thumb and index finger met, fingers dragging across her lips mimicking zipping them shut. "My lips are sealed."

It took only minutes for them to escape from the dance floor and be traipsing along the corridor in search of a room. They'd always been pretty lucky when it came to the search for available rooms, and this was no exception - one of the guest rooms being empty. The comforter looked a little crumpled and in between the lustful kisses as they backed into the room, Troy noticed Gabriella's sideways dubious glances at the bed.

"Here," he said, and swiftly pulled the comforter all the way back, along with the top sheet.

"What if they just remade the bed?" she enquired.

Troy snorted. "Only you worry about fixing up the rooms we've been in."

She gave the bed one final glance before murmuring, "Oh fuck it." Her lips connected with his in a furious kiss, simultaneously removing his red and white East High jacket and then pushing him backwards toward the bed, until the backs of his shins backed into the bed frame and he went toppling backwards, pulling her with him – all the while lips remaining connected. Hands pawed at clothing, articles being removed amidst kisses and licks and squeezes and touches.

When Gabriella would experience attraction and wanton desire for Troy, it was desire for an overall package – desire for his kisses, his caresses, to feel his skin against hers, to revel in the sensation of his fingers performing their glorious ministrations across her heated skin. They'd made love more times that week than they had since they'd first consummated their relationship – taking advantage of the exam block hours and their empty houses during the day time on an almost daily basis. The week, as opposed to leaving Gabriella satiated, had merely left her craving him more. But in that moment what she craved was pure and simple. She felt a longing in her very core to feel him within her. The journey to get there was, on that evening, irrelevant. She was aroused and she needed him inside of her.

"I'm ready for you," she murmured, almost purring, gazing at him wantonly.

"Get the condom," Troy requested, not needing to explain to her that it was in his wallet in his jeans on the floor.

She was bending over to retrieve the foil package – giving him a nice view of her bare behind in the meantime – about two seconds after he'd made the request. He knelt on the bed, taking his semi erect length in hand and began to stroke quickly, needing to harden his erection more for the process to work. Gabriella returned with the condom, watching him hungrily as he stroked himself so freely.

"Let me help," she murmured, placing the condom onto the sheet temporarily.

Gabriella knelt before him and bent down, her lips enclosing over the tip of his length and her right hand stroking at the base. He gripped at the back of her head, fingers threading through her ebony tresses. He was more than light headed, the room was spinning somewhat, and somehow the eroticism of his girlfriend's lips and tongue and fingers stimulating his length had hit a different level – not necessarily more pleasurable, but it was more surreal, an almost out of body experience.

His patience was limited and as soon as he felt himself hardening more he nudged her to halt her performance. She wordlessly guided him to lie back. Troy closed his eyes momentarily, feeling giddy as his head hit the pillow. He was so giddy that he barely registered that Gabriella was tearing open the condom and placing the rubber over his member; nor that she was positioning herself kneeling with a leg on either side of his body and preparing to initiate their union.

It was only when Gabriella grasped onto the base of his shaft, holding him upright, that he registered; and a moment later the tip of his length was sliding into her entrance.

And to Gabriella's disgruntlement, it wasn't working. She was holding him as still as possible, so carefully aiming to her opening, and for some reason she couldn't comprehend, he wasn't going in. She had this brief moment of wondering whether she'd contracted in size, whether he'd somehow gotten bigger.

"What the..." she murmured, yet again trying to sink herself down to sheath him within her warmth; yet again the tip went in, and then he slipped straight back out again.

"I don't know if I'm hard enough," Troy said, reaching up to readjust the condom which was now slipping off. "Lie in front of me."

She obeyed, and he pumped at the base above the condom as she settled herself to spoon in front of him. Gabriella closed her eyes as his hand groped at her leg, lifting it to allow him to enter. Her face contorted, wincing in hope as she felt him press the tip of his length at her opening once more.

And again, she could sense that he just didn't 'feel' the same.

"Am I um... wet enough?" Gabriella asked, scrunching up her nose as she said the word 'wet'.

"Yes. It's me," Troy said despondently. "It keeps getting a bit too soft! Which makes no sense because I'm horny as fuck."

"Good to know that my blow job wasn't all that great," Gabriella said.

She had attempted to come across as teasing but in reality, it was a reflection of her deepest insecurity at that moment. Her scientific research oriented brain had deduced that the alcohol had affected Troy in a not so positive way. The insecure girl at heart couldn't help but panic that it was _her._ Her boyfriend was perpetually horny, he had been known on occasion to send her a random text at school proposing they meet up after school, or jokingly proposing a rooftop rendezvous – even though he knew she would not acquiesce. They'd been blatantly flirtatious all night, followed their usual pattern of dance floor rubbing, the mood was there, she was naked and had orally stimulated him – and now suddenly, he was having performance issues. Certainly, she couldn't help but assume that there was something she was doing wrong.

"No baby, don't say that," Troy said, even with the spinning room and somewhat blurry girlfriend, he'd heard the insecurity filtered through her tone. "You're fucking incredible." He pressed a sloppy kiss to the back of her top shoulder as he stroked his length. "I just need to get inside, then I'm sure it'll be fine."

Gabriella was a bit at loss as to what to say or do, whether she should try to help him, whether she should be making some sort of a constructive suggestion. But her cheeks were heated and she felt beyond awkward, lying naked in a guest bedroom in the middle of a party from which she could hear the bass pumping down stairs.

"What should I do?" she asked timidly, rolling over to face him. She glanced down and watched as he was carefully pumping his length over the condom, reaching over with her hand to cup his balls with her soft, small hand.

"Exactly that," he murmured, leaning forward and initiating a soft kiss that morphed into a heated kiss.

Amidst the kiss, their lips curved into a smile as they both felt the sensation of his length hardening again. Without speaking a word, Gabriella broke away from the kiss and shuffled her body until she once again was poised kneeling over him. The penetrating stare between them was held as she slowly, carefully, sunk her body down until finally, at long last, his hard length was surrounded by her wet warm cavern.

"Oh thank fuck," Troy said in a half wheeze half groan.

Her head threw back, eyes closing as finally she was feeling that very sensation she'd been longing – to be filled by him. She lifted up and pressed down, Troy's hips thrusting upward to meet her downward propulsion, perfectly in sync for several intoxicatingly pleasurable strokes.

However the whimpers and gaps which had instantly filled the room stopped, expressions of ectastic euphoria being replaced by confusion. Gabriella looked down, feeling the change in sensation within her – feeling that he was no longer hard. Her eyes met Troy's bewildered and annoyed expression.

"What the fuck?" Troy growled. "Just... um... wait a moment... can you wriggle a bit?"

"Troy, if we're not careful, the condom will come off and get lost inside me," Gabriella said, eyes open wide.

"That won't happen. I'll get it out."

"I've read about this happening!" she exclaimed. "It can happen! I read about one girl, the condom was so far inside of her that he couldn't even reach in to get it and then she had to go to the hospital!"

He groaned in annoyance but nonetheless held still as Gabriella carefully lifted herself off him, holding down the condom as she did so. Troy then glanced down, noting that the condom looked a little worse for wear.

"Argh, and now the fucking condom is all fucking fucked up and this is just fucking fucked!"

He yanked the now sticky rubber off his deflated penis and threw it somewhat violently to the ground.

Gabriella blinked, having sat down beside him on the bed. He was on the verge of throwing a childish tantrum, the pout on his face reminding her of a child in a supermarket crying because his mother was refusing to purchase candy.

"Troy, calm down," she said softly, her hand rubbing his thigh. "It's okay."

"Fuck Gabi, I'm so sorry," he said despondently, not acknowledging she'd even said anything.

"You're sorry?"

"This is like a really bad nightmare, I swear I'm gonna wake up and this is all going to be over with and I'll have a morning stiffy," Troy said, closing his eyes for a moment, willing it to happen.

"It's not that bad," she attempted to soothe him.

"Not that bad? Not that bad? _Not that bad?_" he was practically hysterical. "I'm a failure. Something must be wrong with me. Here with my hot girlfriend and I can't keep it up."

Suddenly, it registered to Gabriella that with her own feelings of failure and inadequacy, she had failed to realise that Troy would be feeling just as inept, if not more so.

"Babe..." she began to say, eyeing him as he was eyeing his penis.

"For fucks sake! I don't understand!" Troy growled. "Just... give me a minute. I can make it happen,"

Once again, he began to pump and attempt to stimulate some sort of a sustainable reaction. By that point, Gabriella had all but given up. Her buzz – both the buzz of alcohol and the buzz of arousal – had almost entirely deflated.

"It's okay," she said consolingly.

"No, no it's not okay!" Troy yelped, eyes wide. "I'm seventeen. I'm horny _all_ the time. There are days when you wear particular outfits that I'm walking around school with a boner half the day. This isn't happening, I don't accept this."

His tone was frantic and despite the desperate vigour of his pumping fist, very little effect was coming to fruition. Gabriella grabbed onto his wrist, halting his movement.

"Troy. You've drank a lot of alcohol. Sometimes this happens. We've talked about this before, that a lot of alcohol can impair certain abilities."

"But I haven't drank _that_ much." The gloss to his eyes, his light headedness and the slight way as he knelt on the bed directly countered his point. He gazed down at his naked girlfriend who was lying on the bed nestled against a pillow, looking up at him with a slight gaze of pity. "Oh fuck, I want you so badly, baby." He glanced down at his member that was now deflating even more. "Work dammit, work! I'm not even eighteen and I need fucking Viagra!"

"Shouting at it to work isn't going to make it work. Why don't we go back downstairs? You drink some water – and _actually_ drink it this time – and maybe we can try again later?" she attempted to reason with him, although truthfully she had no intent to return upstairs with him to repeat the mortifying scenario.

"Maybe... Gabi... maybe if you let me not wear the condom..."

"No," Gabriella said firmly. It was a non negotiable point with her.

Troy pouted, leaning over her, pressing his lips to hers softly. "I feel so bad. You told me to stop drinking and I ignored you."

"And you'll remember this experience for the rest of your life, and I'll say I told you so every so often."

"But I wanna make up for it. I wanna make it right."

He suckled at the skin at the nape of her neck, holding his weight above her with his left hand, his right caressing lightly over the bare flesh of her torso.

"Troy... you don't have to make up anything to me," she said softly. An involuntary moan escaped from her lips in response to his teasing touches.

"That moan says you want otherwise," he murmured.

His lips pressed to hers softly, his hand followed the smooth skin of her torso down. Their lips parted and his tongue delved into the warmth of her mouth; simultaneously his fingers ran a circle around the entrance to her sex before lightly penetrating her depths.

She couldn't help but vocalise her response, she'd sought the pleasure of his touch all night and her body was more than reacting to his touch. His body weight shifted and he hovered above her, lips pulling away from hers. Gabriella's eyes fluttered open, lips kissing the air in a fruitless search for him.

"You're so wet," he murmured, fingers sliding in and out of her cavern.

She whimpered as he removed his dextrous fingers from within her She was momentarily so jolted, so desperate for his teasing probing touches, that she didn't register that the sensation she felt return was in fact the unsheathed tip of his length, rubbing over her entrance and among her folds. It took a few extra moments for the scenario to register.

"Troy..." she panted, back arching.

"Baby if you just... let me in... just for a minute... I think it'll help. It'll help him out, I think he'll wake up," he said, referring to his penis.

"No Troy," Gabriella said softly, but firmly.

"I swear I won't come in you."

"What if you do?"

"You're on the shot thing! It really wouldn't matter." The tip of his length was ever so slightly penetrating her entrance, a guttural groan emitting from his lips. "So, so wet, you feel so good..."

"Troy..." she whimpered, her tone pleading – although she wasn't quite sure what she was pleading for.

"Just a minute, then I'll put one on..."

A part of her wanted to say to hell with it. Technically, he was right, she was on other birth control, neither had been with anyone else so there was no need to protect against STIs. A few more drinks and she might have been inclined to listen to the screaming desire tingling over every inch of her skin.

However Gabriella had been firmly adamant since even before they'd consummated their relationship, that she wanted to be ultra precautious; that regardless of the circumstances, there was no reason why they couldn't always use dual forms of protection to make sure that there was no way that she and Troy could be those teenagers whose lives are altered through one bad decision.

"No..." Gabriella murmured, her hands gripping at Troy's upper arms, squeezing.

He groaned once again, this time as the tip of his length slid in a little further.

"Troy, no!" She wriggled and physically reached down, removing his length from within her.

"But Gabi..."

"I said no!" she snapped.

The venom and hurt in her tone cut through his arousal, it cut through his inebriation – suddenly he felt a whole lot more sober, and wished more than anything that the drunken haze would return and take it all away. He immediately shifted back, as Gabriella scrambled off the bed, reaching down to the floor to snatch up her scattered clothing.

"Fuck, Gabi... I'm... I'm sorry," he stammered. Never, ever would he have fathomed seeing that expression on her face, not directed at him. It was an expression of a frightening mix of anger and hurt and fear and disgust.

"You should be," she muttered, redressing at the fastest pace she'd ever redressed at.

Troy swung his legs over, standing up and feeling his head spin. "Woah..."

"Don't follow me," Gabriella said.

"But Gabriella..."

"Just don't follow me. I need to go think."

"I'm so sorry." He knew that the words sounded hollow, but there was little else that he could say. He knew that he'd crossed a line, although completely unintentional. There had been this overwhelming all consuming need to have her, and in that moment, he'd allowed it to get the better of him. And now, all he wanted was to go back a few minutes earlier and exercise some self control. Even better, go back a couple of hours earlier and start drinking water instead of beer and they could have avoided the entire debacle.

Gabriella stared at him, biting her lip as she could see the remorse in his eyes. Her lower lip trembled slightly. "Sorry doesn't change what happened," she said quietly. She pulled her tank top over her head, and with her cardigan slung over her arm, she moved toward the doorway.

He was petrified. The concept of her leaving him because of one stupid mistake – it was beyond anything that he could comprehend how to deal with. He wasn't _that_ guy, he knew that, and he could only hope that she knew that. "Oh God..." he whispered in disbelief. "Don't go," he pleaded, voice cracking. "Just please... stay... We should talk. I didn't... I'm not..." he wasn't quite sure what he should say, what he _could_ say, if there was anything he could say.

She didn't reply.

* * *


	43. Chapter 42

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **

This chapter is dedicated to the Fan Forum girls in celebration of

**100 Threads of FanFiction **

at the Vanessa Anne Hudgens board at Fan Forum. *bunny*

* * *

**I've edited out my original author's note. It seems I offended some people. I was attempting to be creative in delivering a message that all author's want to deliver. I am grateful for _every_ person who reads and supports my work. I read stories, I appreciate that you wait in anticipation for an update. I do take it as flattery, on a certain level, when you are anxious for an update. But last chapter I specified that it would take a while for the next update because I am busy. I am fine with people enquiring as to my whereabouts but when people harass me continually or PM telling me that its been a certain number of days and demand that I update... I don't appreciate it. I'm sorry. It is not useful for me or my sanity. And I understand the sentiment behind it but my original author's note was just my way of trying to express that people try to be patient. I wasn't 'angry', I was just frustrated. **

* * *

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter 42**

_Here in this moment to myself  
I'm gonna vibe with no one else  
There is a conversation I need to have with me  
It's just a moment to myself_

**Macy Gray 'A Moment To Myself'**

* * *

"Okay. So you go inside and go into the upstairs bathroom," Ryan explained. "I'm going to go and act like I'm getting us refreshments, but then I'm going to come up into the bathroom and knock in a knock-knock knock-knock knock pattern so you know that it is me."

Chase nodded. "Got it."

But before Chase could dart from their nook on the deck toward the staircase, a teary eyed Gabriella appeared in the back doorway, glancing around at the now somewhat subdued mood.

"Hey look," Chase said, touching Ryan lightly on the arm before gesturing over.

Ryan's features immediately flooded with concern. "Gabriella?" he called out, rising to his feet and moving over to meet her.

"Hi Ryan," she said a little listlessly. "The party is winding down, it seems?" Her arms were wrapped around her torso, hugging herself. Her tone was soft and distracted.

"Pretty much," he responded carefully. "There's some loud drunks in the basement, and people are starting to crash in the living areas."

"I think I might go get ready for bed and find somewhere to go to sleep."

Chase had now risen from his chair and joined Ryan standing with Gabriella. Ryan bit his lip, wanting to be direct and ask where was Troy and why wasn't she in a bed with him upstairs – but he also didn't want to pry.

"Gabriella..." he began to say.

"I'm not talking about it," she murmured, giving him a tight smile. "I um... I just need to sleep and then I can wake up tomorrow and it'll all be better."

"Okay um... why don't you go get your pyjamas and get changed?" Ryan suggested. "I'll go have a look around and see where you can crash."

Gabriella nodded and wordlessly turned to head back inside, leaving Ryan and Chase to stare after her.

"Fight with Troy, you think?" Chase said quietly.

Ryan nodded. "Probably. They don't fight often but when they do she seems to take it pretty seriously."

"The pent up frustration about all sorts of things probably comes out," Chase observed.

Ryan shrugged and nodded. "Mind if I postpone the bathroom plan til I make sure she's settled?"

Chase waved his hand, nodding understandingly. "That's fine. I might go do a sweep and make sure everything is okay – I feel somewhat responsible being a college guy here, which is hypocritical since I'm only one year older."

Ryan laughed. "Won't be long," he promised.

He dutifully went into the living area which was being turned into a makeshift communal bedroom. One of the couches was a pull out sofa bed, which had become the sleeping surface for three girls. They weren't actually asleep, they were giggling softly. There were a couple of guys crashed out on sleeping bags on the floor, likely passed out drunk. The other couch was available; it wasn't a pull out sofa but it was fairly wide and it seemed like the best option. Someone – Ryan suspected Martha – had brought out a pile of blankets and pillows and piled them in a heap in the corner. He commandeered a pillow and a comforter and laid them out on the couch just in time for a red eyed Gabriella to appear in the doorway, wearing blue flannelette pyjamas with cows all over them and clutching onto a small messenger bag.

"This looks like a good spot," Ryan said softly with a smile. "I say take it while it's free."

She wordlessly nodded, setting her pack on the floor and taking a seat up one end. She pulled out her cell phone and hairbrush from her bag and proceeded to brush out her dark locks.

"Gabriella..." Ryan began to say.

"Ryan..." she interrupted, shaking her head. "I'm fine. I'm just tired."

He sighed, glancing around. It wasn't the ideal environment to attempt to extract more information from her. So he sat down beside her and gave her a hug, murmuring in her ear, "Anything you want, even if it's just to bitch... I'm around, okay?"

She nodded. "Maybe tomorrow," she said softly. "Um... do you think you guys will be able to give me a lift home in the morning?"

He nodded. "Absolutely, not a problem at all."

"Okay. I'm going to sleep now," she said.

He nodded, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then stepped back to allow her to lie down and nestle into the comforter he'd provided.

Gabriella pulled the comforter up high, holding it tight to her slender frame. Her eyes squeezed together tightly, willing the tears to stay away. All she wanted was to go to sleep and put the last few hours as far behind her as humanely possible.

* * *

By 3am, almost all was quiet in the Cross house. The few people still awake were in the basement, gathered in a corner in slurred drunken conversation. Jason had disappeared up into his bedroom. Troy staggered up from the basement – his solution to Gabriella leaving the bedroom and demanding that he leave her alone was to drink more beer. His stomach was churning a little and the room was spinning as he staggered through the hallway, illuminated only by a lamp. He peered into the living room, the figures of his friends and classmates almost impossible to identify. He squinted.

"Gabriella?" he slurred in a loud whisper, stepping into the room and peering around. "Gabi?"

"Bolton, shut the fuck up," a sleepy whisper came from one of the reclining lounge chairs – it was Zeke's voice.

"Is Gabriella here?" Troy whispered loudly.

Gabriella had only been in a light sleep and she was already rousing at the sound of his desperate calls.

"Troy," she said in a sleepy, soft voice. "Go to sleep."

"Gabi! I need to..." Troy stumbled over the corner of a blow up mattress on the floor, by some miraculous force of luck remaining on his feet.

Gabriella sat upright. There was just barely enough light coming in from the hallway to allow her to see Ryan and Chase on the air mattress, both looking up to see what the ruckus was about with Troy. He dropped to his knees in front of the couch and crawled the short distance to her.

"...talk to you."

"Troy," she hissed. "People are sleeping."

"Then come outside and let's talk. Please," he begged.

"Go with him so he'll shut up," Zeke interjected from the recliner.

"What he said," Troy agreed.

"Troy. It's like..." she reached for the cell phone which she'd rested on the floor. "3:18. I am tired. Go to sleep."

"There's nowhere to sleep," he complained, and then eyed the ample space behind his slender framed girlfriend on the wide couch. "Can I sleep with you?"

"No."

In the glint of light she could see him pout.

"We'll talk later. Go to sleep," she said, mustering as much patience as she could given that she was mad at him and she had little patience for people who got themselves so smashed that they needed to be spoken to like a child.

He pouted once more before muttering something unintelligible and standing himself upright to stumble out of the room. Gabriella closed her eyes tightly, rolling over to face the back of the couch and wrapping the comforter tighter to her body, as though wanting to shrink away. She felt a warm hand fall upon her back, and then Ryan's quiet whisper, "You okay?"

She nodded. "Go back to sleep," her whisper so quiet it was barely comprehensible.

"You sure?"

She rolled back slightly, enough to turn her head and throw him a small smile, the whiteness of her teeth shining in the dim light. "Promise."

He gave her a quick half hug before retreating back to the blow up mattress he was occupying on the carpet.

Gabriella tried to get back to sleep. She tossed and she turned, she tried having the comforter on, comforter off, one leg sticking out, lying on her back, her front, her side. But her efforts came to no avail. She was wide awake about a half hour later when someone stumbled back into the room, settled onto a space on the carpet in front of her couch, and within minutes proceeded to conk out with a quiet snore.

She didn't need to roll over to know that it was him.

* * *

Taylor woke up with the slightest headache, a miracle given the amount of liquor that she could vaguely recall consuming the prior evening – and also given the part of the evening that was completely blank. She remembered coming upstairs with Chad, going back downstairs to get more drinks, and after that it went blurry. Given that she was in a comfortable bed and could feel the warm sheets beneath her directly against her skin, she could deduce she was naked and the additional drinks had been followed by returning back to their bedroom sanctuary. Her dark eyes fluttered open, and confirming her suspicion was the smirking face of Chad lying on his side, watching her.

"Morning," he murmured, his hand reaching out to tuck a clump of hair that was impeding her vision behind her ear.

Taylor blinked. "Morning," she said quietly, a small smile tugging on her lips. The smile was a natural response to the loving way that Chad was gazing at her.

"How do you feel?" Chad asked.

Taylor paused. "A bit crappy. I've been worse."

He rolled over and reached out to the bedside table where he had a couple of Advil and a glass of water waiting.

"How long have you been awake?" Taylor asked curiously, after swallowing the pills and taking a long sip of the water.

"Not that long. Maybe a half hour? I had to piss. And went to get Advil for me and brought some for you."

"What's the time?"

"Pretty early. We can go back to sleep, if you want?"

Taylor wrinkled up her nose. "Mmm. I am so tired... maybe for just a little while..."

"Sounds like a plan." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then one to her nose, and then one to her lips.

"I probably have disgusting breath."

"Me too."

Chad wasn't deterred by much at all when he was set upon something, bad breath was barely a glitch in his radar. He continued with his pursuit, kissing her again, this time deepening the kiss and allowing his hand beneath the comforter to rest upon her bare thigh.

"Chad, I have a headache," Taylor complained, resisting his advances.

"I hear orgasms help with headaches."

"Let me nap first," she requested with a pout. "Just for a little while. You can be horny and come onto me when I wake up."

"Come onto you? How do you spell the word 'come' in that context?"

"C-o-m-e. Go to sleep," she said imploringly, turning onto her side away from him, and pulling the comforter over from his side to hers a little. "And don't hog the comforter."

* * *

Gabriella woke up to the sound of laughter drifting in from the next room. She didn't have recollection of when she'd finally gone to sleep, the last thing she recalled was the sound of Troy's quiet snores from just beneath her beside the couch. She slowly peered her eyes open, blinking in the light which now flooded into the room, one of the curtains across the front window was completely open. The first thing she saw was Zeke in the arm chair across from her, still sprawled out and asleep. The second thing was when her eyes drifted downward and she saw Troy still in his position beside her on the couch, now curled up. She frowned, seeing that he was only wearing a t-shirt and his plaid boxers and his bedding consisted of a cushion beneath his head. She might have been upset and furious and mad and wanting to have nothing to do with him, but she didn't want him catching pneumonia.

Now that she'd awoken, her sleep was officially over with no chance of drifting back to dream land. So she carefully eased herself off the couch, being careful to not disturb Troy, and laid her comforter on top of him gently. He stirred, murmuring something incoherent, and then clutched onto the comforter and pulled it tight. She smiled sadly, in that moment she could almost forget about the night before, forget about the way that he'd made her stomach churn and instilled this horrible feeling of disgust. Even in the very initial stages of embarking upon their physical relationship, Gabriella never had cause to feel uncomfortable around Troy. It wasn't a feeling she revelled in at all; and it wasn't a feeling she was going to forget overnight.

She allowed herself to look at him for one additional moment before disappearing in the direction of the family room where she could hear sounds coming from. She found a handful of people, including Martha, Ryan and Chase. They were armed with cleaning products, and were making the task a tad more tolerable by munching on left-over food.

"Morning," Gabriella said quietly.

"Morning," Martha said cheerfully, oblivious that anything out of the ordinary had gone on the night before. "Sleep well?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Pretty average. Nothing is as good as your own bed at home, you know?"

Ryan gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek good morning, choosing to not directly say anything about the night before. Which Gabriella was grateful for, as it seemed that the East High grapevine had been hard at work even in the early hours of the morning. Gradually Wildcats and other party guests who'd stayed over began to awaken, some joining in with the clean-up crew with a sincere attempt to contribute in some small way before leaving; others heading straight home; others raiding the Cross's kitchen and hanging around not even attempting to appear as though they were being useful. Between Troy's drunken outburst in the living area in the wee hours of the morning and Gabriella's sullen mood, word had gotten around that something had gone on between the golden couple. After fielding a few sympathetic, "Are you okay?" enquiries, Gabriella resorted to putting in her earphones to deflect questions and avoid having to talk about it.

She was gathering trash from out in the backyard when a hand laid upon her shoulder, startling her and causing her to jump.

"Shit!" she swore, dropping the black garbage bag, a few aluminium cans spilling out the littering the grass.

"Sorry," Ryan said apologetically, bending down to help her and pick them up.

"Ryan, if you're out here to ask if I'm okay..." Gabriella began to say.

He shook his head. "No. I know you're not okay. I don't need to ask you about it. I was actually going to ask if you wanted a ride home now. Chase and I are going to take off and go get brunch; we can give you a lift on the way, if you wanted?"

She hesitated. There was definitely an appeal to leaving as soon as possible and getting away from the location. But there was a strange part of her that wanted to make sure that Troy was okay. She was upset with him and wasn't ready to talk to him but she felt wrong just leaving without saying a word.

"I might stay and help clean up," she finally answered. "And get Taylor or Martha to give me a lift later."

"Or... you could talk to him when he wakes up instead of torturing yourself all day?"

She sighed. "Even if I wanted to talk to him, I'm not inclined to have a conversation with him while he's hung over and nursing a throbbing headache like I'm guessing he will be."

Ryan nodded, conceding that was a fair enough point. "Okay. Well... if you have trouble getting home, just let us know and we can come back, okay?"

"I'll be fine. I could even walk if really necessary, but I'm sure it won't come to that, there are enough people around that I could grab a lift," she assured him, but added just to placate him, "But I promise I'll call if needed."

He nodded. "Okay."

She continued about her solitary role cleaning up, keeping herself busy. She tiptoed back into the living room, planning to do a sweep for dishes and glasses to bring into the dishwasher; and immediately froze, a movement beside the couch causing her stomach to do a flip flop.

"It's too bright... so much light," Troy muttered. "Make it go away."

She took a breath and turned around to face him. He had moved over so that he was lying right up against the sofa and was attempting to burrow his head against the base.

"Troy?" she asked tentatively.

"Tell the sun to go away," he requested. "It hurts."

She glanced up at where she'd earlier purposely closed the curtain to prevent the harsh rays from waking him up. "There is no sun. Here, I have some Advil," she prompted, reaching for her messenger bag that was in the corner of the room. "Have some, you'll feel better."

He rolled over to face where her voice was coming from, opened one eye the tiniest amount to get a glimpse of her bare right foot against the plush carpet, and winced at natural light in the room.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Troy groaned, and promptly dragged himself to his feet and shuffled in the direction of the downstairs bathroom.

She detoured via the kitchen, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, and brought it with her along with the box of Advil. The bathroom door was open and she crept in, wincing at the sight of him sunk to his knees in front of the porcelain bowl. Gabriella stood a safe distance away, hesitating. A part of her mind was screaming, 'Get away, avoid him, don't talk to him, he has to learn.' But Troy wasn't just her boyfriend – he was her lover, the ying to her yang, her everything – and watching him suffer caused vicarious suffering on her part. And so, she shuffled forward, reached out, and rubbed his back slowly as he was in between sessions.

"Just wait there, more will probably come," she advised – and was correct, Troy's body immediately responding in the expected manner. Her right hand made small, smooth circles on his upper back in an attempt to soothe him.

He paused, glancing up from the toilet bowl and at Gabriella. She looked away from him – she was finding it difficult to look him in the eye. Just being there was compromising her values enough. And in that moment as she tore her eyes away, unable to look at him, he remembered just enough to know that he deserved far worse punishment than a killer hangover.

"Oh my God," he breathed. "Oh my God... Gabriella... oh my God..." at which point he felt the sensation of the bile forming in his throat and he was forced to lean back over into bowl, further emptying the contents of his stomach. "It didn't happen, it didn't happen," he murmured a chant into the toilet bowl. "Make it go away."

"Believe me, if I could make it go away, I would," Gabriella murmured in quiet response, wincing at the sound of his upheaval.

He remained crouched over the bowl, eyes closed tightly, trying to force his foggy mind to recall the details. The more that came back to him, the more he wanted it all to vanish.

"Do you think that's it?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"It?" he managed to ask.

"The vomiting.

"For now," he groaned.

"Come on," she prompted, grasping onto his upper arm and steadying his weight to help him up and over to the sink.

He splashed water onto his face and into his dry mouth. Gabriella popped a couple of Advil pills out of the sleeve, which he accepted, turning the tap on to fill the glass so he could swallow down the pills. Leaning over the sink, he turned his head to glance woefully at her, beside him.

"Gabriella..." he began to say, his voice croaky.

She held her hand up, stopping him from continuing. "Not now," she said quietly.

"You're here with me though... you're... you're talking to me. You can't completely hate me, can you?"

Looking into his vulnerable gaze was almost too much for Gabriella to handle, his imploring azure eyes boring into her, pleading with her for forgiveness.

"I could never hate you Troy," she said quietly. "That doesn't mean I'm not upset. That doesn't mean that everything is okay. But hate... no. Never."

"We need to talk about it. I... fuck. I..." He couldn't even remember everything – but he had a vivid memory of the look of horror on her face, he could feel her delicate hands gripping onto him and pushing him forcefully away – and that was enough. That was all that he needed to remember.

"Not today."

"But I feel better already," he insisted, however his pale complexion betrayed his claim.

"Even if you felt fine, I wouldn't want to talk about it today," she clarified. "I just... I need to think about it?"

"It's gonna be okay though, aren't we? You're... we're... we're gonna be okay?"

"I hope so."

"Okay."

He poured some more water into the glass, taking a swig and washing his mouth out before spitting the liquid down the sink.

"I need to sleep," he murmured. "I wanna sleep so badly."

"Then go back and sleep. There's nothing more to say right now."

Troy was hesitant. "Are you leaving soon?"

"Probably."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No."

He allowed her to prod him back in the direction of the living room and onto the couch where she had laid the evening before. He wanted to stay awake, he wanted to take advantage of her not yelling at him and telling him he was a filthy pig. But as his body hit the soft cushions and his head rested upon the pillow, he immediately felt the hangover driven fatigue taking over his limbs and his eyes involuntarily closing. He forced them open, staring at her as she watched him with her bottom lip trembling slightly, hands wringing.

"Sleep Troy," she said. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. We'll talk soon."

"As long as it's gonna be okay," he said sleepily, allowing his eyes to close completely and the fatigue to wash over him.

She watched him for a moment as almost instantly his chest began to rise and fall with the steady lull of his sleep induced heavy breathing. Gabriella backed out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaning back against the wood, head tilting upward and eyes closed as she internally pleaded with her tear ducts to keep the glistening droplets hidden inside.

"Gabriella!"

Immediately she snapped to attention, wiping her eyes and looking up to see Chad and Taylor, arm in arm, having just come down the stairwell and now approaching her.

"Hey guys," she said, forcing a smile.

"What happened?" Taylor immediately asked.

"What are you talking about?" she said lamely.

"Well, not only can I see that you're upset but I couldn't get from the bedroom to the bathroom without someone asking me if I knew what had happened with you and Troy."

"It's not a big deal," Gabriella said, downplaying the scenario. "We just had a bit of a fight."

"Where's Troy?" Chad asked.

"Um, he's sleeping. He... drank a lot last night. He just threw up and now he's back asleep on the couch."

"Morning guys!" Zeke's cheerful voice interjected from the other end of the corridor. They looked up to spot Zeke wearing one of Jason's mom's aprons and holding onto a mixing bowl.

"Someone's in a good mood," Taylor commented.

"Could it be because someone has a date arranged for next weekend?" Chad teased with a grin.

Zeke ignored the remark but grinned – he wasn't going to deny it, he'd been beaming from ear to ear since Sharpay left the night before. "I'm making pancakes, you guys want?"

"Pancakes? Hell yeah!" Chad said enthusiastically.

"They'll be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Sweet."

Zeke disappeared and Gabriella said, "Listen guys, I'm going to get going now."

"How are you getting home? Is Ryan giving you a lift?"

"Um no, he already left. My mom is coming."

"Oh, I can take you, she doesn't need to come."

"I've already called her," Gabriella said, lying through her teeth. "So you don't have to worry. Stay, enjoy your pancakes, I'm fine really."

Taylor hesitated, biting her bottom lip.

"I would appreciate if you guys could do me a favour though..." Gabriella said slowly. "Um... you drove together right?"

"Yeah, I picked Taylor up," Chad said with a nod.

"Is there any chance that you could make sure Troy gets home okay? He's... _really_ hung over. Like... extremely. He looked terrible. And I don't think he should be driving."

"I'll take care of it," Chad said, nodding firmly. "And Gabriella? Troy can be a dickhead sometimes but he's crazy about you, you know that."

"I like that you assume that it was Troy who did something to make me upset. For all you know it was the other way around," she remarked.

Chad rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Gab, I don't think that you're capable of doing anything that could piss Troy off."

"Well I don't know about that... but it's not exactly something I'm planning to test, either," Gabriella said wryly. "Anyway, I can smell pancakes, and my mom will be here soon, so I'm going to go wait out the front."

A quick hug from both Chad and Taylor later, and Gabriella disappeared out the front door, immediately fishing out her cell phone to make a call that she didn't want to make, but was better than the alternatives.

* * *

Gabriella sat out on the front curb at Jason's house. It felt surreal thinking that it had been about fourteen hours earlier that she'd been out there with Kelsi as her friend tearfully tried to come to terms with her decision to end her relationship with Jason; and then sat with Troy as he listened to her vent about everything she'd been privy to and the role she'd played in the relationship dynamics of their friends over the weeks.

And here she was, alone – physically, and emotionally. She didn't know how to even begin to come to terms with how she felt about Troy and what had happened between them. Whether she'd overreacted because she was so used to him being perfect, that suddenly an imperfection was somehow amplified in her eyes. Whether alcohol was a complete or partial defence for the way he'd behaved.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't even realise when her mother's car pulled up curb side. It took Elena getting out of the car and walking over to Gabriella and saying quietly, "Gabi?" to break Gabriella from her thoughtful reverie.

Her mother was headed out for a luncheon with some ladies from her work and had been getting ready when Gabriella had called requesting that she be picked up, as Ryan and Chase had left earlier. Elena had sensed instantly upon hearing her voice on the phone that something wasn't right and without asking could draw the assumption that it was related to Troy. She had the sense to not ask about it, merely said that she'd have time but Gabriella would have to be ready in five minutes.

"Sorry mom, I didn't see you there," Gabriella said, leaping to her feet and picking up her bag from the floor.

"That's okay. You looked... thoughtful," Elena said, moving back over to the driver's side as Gabriella went to the front passenger side.

"Just in my own world," Gabriella said elusively.

The older Montez glanced over at Gabriella with concern before she turned the key in the engine.

"I'm fine mom; you don't want to be late for your lunch."

"You can talk to me if you need to. You know that, don't you Mija?"

Gabriella managed a forced smile and a nod. "Uh huh, sure, I know that."

Gabriella could speak to her mother about so many things; they had that kind of open, trusting relationship. But the intricacies of sex and its impact upon relationships was not one of them.

* * *

Chad pulled up curb side at the Bolton house in the rusty white Ford pick-up, the vehicle coming to a spluttering halt. Meanwhile having followed, Taylor pulled up just a couple of houses down in Chad's silver Lancer.

"Come on buddy," Chad said, attempting to sound cheerful but really just feeling annoyed.

Troy groaned, his stomach doing a flip flop. "Don't feel good, man," Troy groaned. "Don't wanna go in."

"Stop complaining or I'll just ring the doorbell and dump your hung over ass at the door."

Troy didn't respond vocally, but he did appear to lose a shade of colour. Chad hopped out of the cab and went around, hauling his buddy out of the passenger side and to the ground. Chad held up a finger to Taylor, indicating that he wouldn't take long. He grabbed Troy's bag from the floor of the cab and with the bag slung over his left shoulder and his right arm helping Troy to keep steady, helped Troy around to the side gate of his house. Troy could feel his stomach churning and all he could think of was collapsing into bed, he was past the point of having any awareness that Chad was doing everything in his power to prevent Troy from getting caught by his parents in such a hung over state. He left Troy around the side of the house while he sneaked around to make sure that neither Coach nor Mrs. Bolton was in the backyard, and then on getting the all clear went over to check Troy's French doors. Any other day, his buddy would have accidentally left them unlocked, despite his mother's security conscious outlook. But to Chad's dismay, the doors were locked and so he was forced to sneak up to the back door and peer through the window. The coast appeared to be clear, Chad unable to spot any movement in the kitchen or immediate living area.

Chad scurried back to Troy, who was looking even paler, his tone resembling something more like Ryan's than his own.

"Come on," Chad urged, and tugged Troy toward the back door.

As quietly as he could, Chad reached up to the door handle, internally sighing in relief as the knob turned indicating the door was unlocked.

The moment that the door was wide open, Troy leaned over into the garden bed and promptly threw up. Chad wrinkled up his nose, looking away but clapping his hand on Troy's back softly. "Dude."

Before Chad could decide whether to yank Troy inside and into the bathroom or whether to shut the door - Coach Bolton appeared. He'd emerged from the study after hearing a sound at the back door. One look at the expression of sheepish alarm on Chad's face and his son keeled over, and Jack knew exactly what was going on.

"Um... we think he ate something bad," Chad said lamely.

Jack scoffed. "Oh really?"

One final dry retch later and Troy numbly pulled himself back up, but his eyes remaining on the door step.

"Get in here before your mother sees you," Jack said, grabbing onto Troy's shoulder and shaking his head, rolling his eyes.

Troy entered and stumbled in the direction of the bathroom. Jack held out his hand, and Chad promptly handed over the backpack and fished the keys to Troy's truck out of his pocket.

"You okay to get home?" Jack asked.

Chad nodded. "Taylor is waiting for me."

"I don't know whether to thank you for bringing him home or shout at you for letting him be so stupid in the first place," Jack said, eyeing Chad warily.

"In my defence, I hardly hung out with him last night," Chad said truthfully.

Jack didn't say anything, just remained standing with his arms folded momentarily. "Okay, get out of here."

"Yes Coach."

Jack Bolton wasn't oblivious to the fact that his son would go to parties and have a few drinks – even if fatherhood had left him wanting to turn a blind eye to reality, working as a varsity coach meant he overheard locker room talk he'd rather be immune to. However 'hearing' things was different to 'seeing' them – and the sight of his generally good son the afternoon after a party completely hung over wasn't something that Jack knew exactly how to deal with.

"Jack? Did I just hear Troy get home?" Lucille called out, appearing from the corridor and looking toward where Jack was still standing staring out into the backyard contemplatively.

"Yeah," Jack said, closing the door behind him. "He went to his room. He was tired."

Lucille narrowed her eyes, eyeing the backpack and keys in Jack's hands. "Did I hear Chad?"

"Uh..."

"Why do you have Troy's things?"

"Luce... don't you think that there's some things that you just don't want to know?" Jack said tactfully. "He's home. He's fine. He uh... just might be asleep for a little while."

Lucille shook her head. She wasn't naive, and Jack wasn't exactly the slickest of men. "If you're even thinking about letting him get away with this, and trying to tell me that our son getting drunk at a party is just a case of 'teenage boys being boys' then you've got another thing coming, Jack."

"I never said he was drunk..."

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't have to," she said disapprovingly.

She went via the kitchen to retrieve a cold glass of water and an old plastic bowl, and then made her way over to Troy's room. She opened the door without knocking, stepping down into the blue, red and white basketball shrine and looking over at where Troy had collapsed into his bed. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his jeans; the comforter was haphazardly pulled up with half of it hanging off the bed, leaving a denim clad leg visible.

"Troy?" she said quietly, her voice soothing.

"Mama, don't lecture me," Troy groaned, voice muffled as he was facing down into the pillow. "Just wanna sleep."

She didn't respond directly, instead stepped closer to him and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you still feeling nauseous, or just tired?"

"Don't know."

"I brought you a glass of water, I'm just going to leave it on your bedside table here. And I also brought you an old bowl so if you do have to be sick, you don't have to get up and go to the bathroom."

He felt a swell of gratitude to his mother but wasn't in the place to question its logic and so murmured, "Thanks mama."

And so he was completely blindsided when he felt the firm thwack of the side of his mother's hand against the back of his head. He whimpered – normally it would have stung, in the midst of his hangover it _burned._

"We'll talk about this when you're feeling better. You might be hoping you stay hung over for even longer when you deal with me."

Troy whimpered, pulling the comforter over his head. He couldn't look at her, he couldn't respond. In that exact moment, all he wanted to do was go to sleep and deal with it all later – or preferably never.

* * *

Sharpay was in her room, sitting on the edge of her four posted bed and fastening the straps of her tap shoes when a soft knock came at her bedroom door.

"Pumpkin?" Derby Evans' voice called through.

"Come in," Sharpay called back, granting her mother permission to enter.

Derby creaked open the door slowly and smiled at the sight of her daughter dressed in her dance clothes. "Are you going to practise in the basement, Pumpkin?"

Sharpay nodded. "I'm auditioning for a tap solo in our dance schools spring showcase."

It was the truth – she did need to practice her audition piece. But the true motivation behind the sudden need to rehearse on a Sunday afternoon was that she'd been texting Zeke periodically since he woke up and he'd just told her that he was on his way home and was going to have a nap – and so she found herself needing something to fill the time with.

"How is your school show coming along? The one that you and Duckie are singing in?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Slowly. They're still trying to sort out the location. We're probably going to have to do it in the gymnasium." Her nose wrinkled up distastefully.

Derby shook her head. "You're sure the school cannot organise anything else?"

Sharpay nodded. "They seem fairly certain. I've made Gabriella redo the budget about five times and each time it comes back with the same outcome."

"I'll have a talk with your father," she said carefully. "I cannot promise anything, but I can at least talk to him."

"I doubt it'll change anything," Sharpay said, the hurt evident in her tone. She was so accustomed to being Daddy's little princess that it had really hit her hard that her father had been so cold ever since he'd found out the truth about Ryan's sexuality.

"Your father is stubborn and old fashioned but he is not completely unreasonable." Derby sighed. "Have you and Pumpkin thought about what you want to do for your birthday? It isn't far away."

The Evans' twins birthday was at the end of February, only a few weeks away. Normally Sharpay would have had her parents hire a party planner a long time ago to put together a fabulous event to commemorate the occasion, but there had been distractions galore in their lives of late.

"We talked about it a little while ago but before... everything... happened," Sharpay said vaguely, not needing to be more specific for her mother to know what 'everything' was referring to. "Ryan had suggested a formal dinner party, like here at the house, with four courses. I'm not sure if he'd still want to do that..."

"That sounds like it would be fun. Talk to him about it, and let me know. I'm sure we can put together whatever you both decide. Eighteen is a very important birthday, after all."

* * *

Troy staggered out of his room, bleary eyed and hair mussed up. He'd glanced at the clock, seeing it was 3pm. He had no comprehension of what time he'd been brought home or how long he'd been asleep. He had in fact used the sick bowl once more, and promptly slumped back and went back to sleep. All he knew was that he felt minutely better and desperately needed to take a leak. He went to the bathroom and then tentatively emerged out into the living area. He was awake enough to think that maybe he'd be better off facing them now while he still wasn't that well, and perhaps that he'd be shown a morsel of sympathy.

"He lives," Jack remarked.

"How are you feeling?" Lucille asked – she might've been disappointed in him but no mother liked to see their child ill, whether that illness be self inflicted or otherwise.

"Okay," Troy said sheepishly. He slumped into the arm chair, avoiding looking directly at his parents from their position on the couch. There was some nature documentary on. "Go on, lecture me," he said dully.

Lucille sighed. "I'm not angry with you Troy, I'm just very disappointed. I'm not naive, I knew you'd be having a few drinks – but to have Chad bring you home ridiculously hung over, so hung over that its 3pm and you still look as awful as you do now..." She shook her head in disapproving disbelief at his actions.

"I'm being punished enough aren't I, with how I feel?" Troy groaned, pouting slightly.

"That's a start, anyway," Jack remarked.

"How did Gabriella get home?" Lucille asked, suddenly concerned. "Someone else gave her a lift, didn't they?"

Troy shrugged. "Don't know," he said with a small pout.

His parents exchanged knowing glances – at least now provided with some sort of context for why he'd gotten himself so wasted.

"I think I want to eat something," Troy remarked spontaneously, wrinkling up his nose in thought. "Just some plain toast maybe."

He stood slowly from the couch, headed into the kitchen and popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. He spotted his cell phone on the counter along with his keys and bag, and quickly grabbed the cell – there was a text from Chad which he scanned.

_Dude, sorry about the rents. If u hadnt puked at the back door I mightve sneaked u in. Dont no wat u did 2 Gab but u need 2 grovel hard._

Troy returned to the living room a few minutes later, plate with buttered toast in one hand and his cell in the other. He quickly sent a text to Chad letting him know that it was okay, and that he was planning to grovel. And he then opened a blank text message page, staring at it, trying to decide what he should send to Gabriella – if anything at all.

Jack and Lucille didn't say anything for a while, but finally Jack just had to ask.

"So... what did you do?"

Troy shot him a hard look. "What?"

"To Gabriella. I'm assuming you had a fight."

He sighed before answering vaguely, "I screwed up... big time."

"And was this before or after you got drunk?"

Troy paused. "A bit of both," he admitted. He'd been drunk when 'the incident' – as he was thinking of it in his brain – had occurred, but it was the post incident drowning away his sorrows that had really done the damage to his liver.

"You weren't... unfaithful... were you?" Lucille asked tentatively, eyes glazing with horror.

"No!" Troy said immediately, offended and distraught at the concept. "No! Nothing like that."

"Then what?"

He was silent, unwilling to talk about it – it simply wasn't something that he could discuss with his parents. It wasn't even something that he could say out loud to anyone without hurling again. He slowly munched on his toast and stared at the blank text message screen, still contemplating how 'Plan Grovel' should best be executed.

"I think I should go over there," he said slowly. "Make her listen to me... she'll just ignore me if I text or call her. She said that we'd talk tomorrow but... I want to talk today."

"Sometimes girls just need space," Jack advised. "That sounds promising, if she at least said that you could talk tomorrow."

"Says the man who sent me flowers every day for a week when I got mad at you while we were dating," Lucille teased, rolling her eyes.

Troy wasn't particularly listening; in fact he'd tuned out his father's feedback on his idea. He was growing more and more attached to the idea, convinced that going around to talk to Gabriella would be the solution and they could put the whole disastrous event behind them.

"No, I do think I should go over," Troy mused. Between the toast and the motivation, he was feeling a sudden wind of energy, his face perking up.

"What makes you think that we're going to let you go anywhere?" Jack asked sternly.

"You can't be serious?" Troy said, furrowing his eyebrows. "I get that you're 'disappointed'." Troy made quotation marks with his fingers as he said the word 'disappointed.' "But it's not like I do this stuff all the time. And like grounding me will actually achieve anything."

Jack and Lucille exchanged a look, and Jack gave Lucille a small nod, giving her the go ahead. They'd already discussed the matter while Troy had been sleeping off his hangover.

"We're not going to ground you. You're going away next weekend anyway, and I know you've got some rehearsals after school so it really would be pointless," Lucille said carefully.

"Yes1" Troy said, pumping his fist slightly. "Thank you. So I can go over to Gabriella's?"

"You may. But... I will be confiscating the keys to your truck for the next two weeks."

Troy's expression was aghast. Six months ago he'd been perfectly accustomed to using buses and riding his bicycle and skateboard to get himself around. But once one becomes used to the convenience of having a motor vehicle, the notion of living without it is almost offensive. "What?!"

"Even if we hadn't decided upon this punishment, you would not be driving this afternoon because from what I can tell, you would not pass a breathalyser," Jack pointed out. "Having your license and a vehicle requires responsibility, responsibility to take control of your ability to not only follow the law but to be safe. You clearly disregarded those responsibilities by driving your truck somewhere and getting wasted, originally with the intent of driving home."

"JC lives like, five minutes away," Troy said defensively.

"It's not a matter of how much time you'll be on the road. Troy, all it takes is one child to run out spontaneously to retrieve a ball – one second. One second is all it takes."

Troy sighed irritably. "Okay. I'm sorry. But two weeks? Are you serious? How am I supposed to get around?"

"I am going to the same place as you each day," Jack pointed out. "The bus. Your bike. Exactly how you did last year."

"This is bull shit," Troy said with a pout.

"You don't use that language in front of your mother and I," Jack warned. "Unless you want to make it three weeks."

Troy's arms folded across his chest, not saying anything but making his distaste with the situation clear. "I don't think this is fair," he finally said.

"Life isn't fair," Lucille said wisely.

Troy rolled his eyes and heaved himself off the couch. "I guess I'd better get going now if I can't drive," he said sarcastically. "I need to get there before dark."

"The fresh air will do you good," Jack said with an optimistic grin.

* * *

Gabriella was lying on her back with her iPod earphones in, attempting for some short period of time to tune out the world, to prevent her overly analytical brain from trying to dissect anything. She didn't have the sound up high and she heard the sound of the front doorbell ringing. Gabriella somehow just _knew_ that it was him. He hadn't tried to call or text and whereas it was possible he literally had just gone home, crashed and had yet to emerge – she doubted it. And on some intuitive level, she just knew that Troy was the one who was downstairs and had rang the doorbell.

She bit her lip. She wasn't ready to talk to him – but she also knew that if it was in fact Troy, then no one answering the doorbell would not be a sign to him to turn and walk away, rather it would be an invitation to walk around the back of the house and let himself upstairs. And so she awkwardly heaved herself off the bed, out the door, and to Ryan's doorway.

Ryan and Chase had gone out for a few hours and returned home not long after Elena had left. They'd spent maybe a half hour attempting to lure her into talking after which she'd insisted they stop trying and just go do whatever and she wouldn't bother them. But now, she hesitantly and regretfully needed to bother them, and so she knocked tentatively, wincing as she did so.

"Um, I know you guys are busy but... can you get the door Ryan?"

A few moments later, his door opened and Ryan was standing in the door way, his hair a little mussed and a couple of extra buttons undone at the top of his shirt. "Why?" he asked, not annoyed, but just a little confused.

"The doorbell rang and I think it is Troy. I don't want to talk to him. If someone doesn't answer he'll just come around the back way."

Ryan sighed and begrudgingly stepped past her and out into the corridor, quickly walking down the stairs and heading up to the front door. A glance through the peek hole confirmed that Gabriella's senses were indeed accurate and it was Troy, clutching onto a bunch of garden picked flowers. He pulled the door open, eyeing Troy up and down.

"Dude, you look like shit," Ryan greeted him.

"I feel like shit," Troy confirmed. "And not just coz I'm hung over." Troy eyed Ryan over in return. "You look like I interrupted you doing something."

"None of your business."

"And I don't want it to be my business." Troy paused awkwardly. He wasn't sure what to say – he wasn't sure how much Ryan had been told. The blonde boy's less than friendly tone indicated that he knew enough to be wary. "I need to talk to her," he said plainly.

"She's not here," Ryan said, not very convincingly.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. Right."

Ryan sighed. "She's busy."

"With what, exactly?"

"Homework."

"We don't have any homework, we just finished midterms," Troy reminded him.

"Student council stuff."

"She's working on that while you're doing whatever the fuck you were doing? I don't believe that."

"Look. Troy. Why don't you go home, eat some greasy food, crash, and just talk to her tomorrow? She's not going to blow you off forever, she just needs space. Give her space."

Troy could see the rationality of this argument – but he was also willing to ignore that rationality. "I'll give her space but if I could just talk to her really briefly then..." Troy's arm reached up to clutch the side of the door frame, stepping forward as though to barge his way into the house past Ryan.

Ryan remained resilient, arms reaching out to block him. "Troy..."

"Come on man, I know she's in there, do me a favour and..."

"No." Ryan's tone was firm and resolute. Before Troy's brain could even move to the thought of navigating around the side gate and the back of the house to the trusty, sturdy tree that led to his girlfriend's bedroom, Ryan's voice interrupted his train of thought. "Don't even try her balcony. Just go home. I'll drive her to school tomorrow, and we'll see you there."

Troy glowered at Ryan for a moment, before muttering, "Fine." He stood still for a moment, then cleared his throat and called out loudly, "Gabriella, I know you don't want to talk to me and that's okay but I love you!" Troy thrust the flowers out at Ryan. "Give her these? Please?"

Ryan nodded and Troy gave him a curt nod before turning and walking away. Ryan closed the door behind him. He stood back for a moment before stepping back up to the peep hole to watch as a somewhat dejected Troy trudged back to the curb. He paused at the bottom of the driveway, staring forlornly back at the house for a moment, before continuing on to walk down the street. Satisfied that Troy was leaving, Ryan turned back around to where Gabriella was predictably sitting at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping. Her knees were drawn up, arms hugging them to her chest. Chase had joined her, sitting beside her, an arm around her. She rose to her feet, teeth gnawing at her lower lip.

"Do you want these?" Ryan asked, holding up the bouquet of garden fresh flowers.

She nodded. "Yes," she said quietly, and walked down the stairs to take the bouquet from Ryan's hand. She recognised them as being all the winter blooming flowers in Mrs. Bolton's beautiful flower garden, and was surprised that she'd even allowed Troy to pick them. She wasn't going to let them wither and die, and so she carefully carried it into the kitchen where she retrieved an empty vase, filled it with the requisite amount of water and placed the flowers delicately into the porcelain. She then turned to move up to her room, passing Ryan and Chase who were now both standing at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't say anything, just walked up the stairs and straight into her room. She placed the flower arrangement on her bedside table before lying down on her bed, facing toward the balcony.

"Do you want to talk about it?" a soft voice said from behind.

It wasn't Ryan as Gabriella had suspected would be first to approach her. It was Chase.

"Sometimes it's nice to talk to someone who can be a bit objective about these things? Since it's obviously a pretty big deal. You don't seem like the type to be dramatic and stop talking to your boyfriend just because he does any mildly irritating thing."

"I'm not," she responded quietly, still looking out at the balcony.

"And the last I saw you last night, you looked happy and you were grinding with your boy and then dragging him toward the staircase."

A sigh escaped from her lips, a lone tear slipping down and trailing down her cheek and following gravity fell upon the bedspread. She rolled over, seeing that Chase had stepped forward and Ryan was hanging back.

"Do you guys think that things that people do while they are drunk are excusable because of the alcohol influencing them?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Depends what the thing is," Ryan said carefully.

"I think that alcohol takes away that rationality and that filter that we have while we are sober," Chase mused. "When we've been drinking, we think in the same way, but sometimes things that aren't right to say or do, we think them for a brief moment and then a part of you steps in and says 'no, that isn't right.' Alcohol makes you just act on those impulses without care for logic or rationality."

"So... that thing is still in you when you're sober..." she said carefully. "Those things... a part of you would still think them or do them?"

"You can't punish someone for their thoughts though. I bet Troy thinks lots of things you wouldn't want to know about," Chase said diplomatically. "I bet he checks out girls and thinks to himself 'dayum, she's got a fine ass.'"

She cracked a small smile before her face turned serious again and said softly, "Well, what happened was a little worse than him checking someone out."

"He didn't... do anything with someone else, did he?" Ryan asked, eyes wide. "Because... if that is what happened, alcohol is _not_ an excuse."

"No! That isn't... that's not what it's about," she said quickly, not wanting them to think that he'd done that for even a moment. "I... I don't want to be specific."

"You don't have to be," Chase said. "But you can be. Don't feel like it's embarrassing. I'm a pretty open minded guy. And if Ryan thinks it's TMI, he can leave the room."

Gabriella smiled at him gratefully. "I appreciate the offer. But for now... I think I just need to get my mind off of it. I know that I need to talk to him about it... I think that talking to him about it is the only way that we can... sort through it all. But I just have to find a way to get to the place where I feel like I can talk with him rationally. Because right now... I'm not there."

"You know what I think you need? To just relax and remove yourself from it. Sitting in here overanalysing it isn't going to help. So why don't we go downstairs, make some popcorn, and watch a movie?" Ryan suggested.

Gabriella glanced over at Chase. "Aren't you leaving soon?"

"I'm actually going to stay tonight too. I don't have class until tomorrow afternoon so if I leave first thing in the morning that'll give me plenty of time to get there."

She nodded. "Okay. Watching a movie. That I can do."

* * *

It was surprising how much free time Gabriella found herself with when she wasn't communicating with Troy. If she wasn't with him, a weekend day would involve either talking to him on the phone or chatting online. By 9pm, she found herself back in her room, glancing around, trying to figure out how to fill the hours. She'd watched two movies with the boys – the second one her mother had been home for and joined them. The guys were now hanging out in Ryan's room and she was giving them privacy – even if it was door open hanging out, she felt rude encroaching upon their time together just because she was feeling a bit down. She'd spoken briefly with Kelsi, making sure that her friend had gotten home safely and that she was doing okay. She'd checked up with Martha that Jason had awoken alive and they'd finished the clean up in time for his parents to get home. She'd called Taylor, who was at Chad's, the pair having spent the whole day together and finding it difficult to separate.

She eventually decided to get an early night's sleep, she was tired enough to do so, and changed into her pyjamas and went down the hall to say goodnight to her mother. Just as she climbed into bed and opened the novel she was presently devouring, her cell phone buzzed on her bedside table.

_U might still be pissed – fair enough – but it felt wrong going 2 bed without texting u. Good night, I love you._


	44. Chapter 43

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **

I would like to thank **Audrey** for previewing this chapter even while unwell - hope you feel better, bub! I'd like to also thank **Abigail** for stepping in on short notice to provide feedback, especially over the crazy holiday period. Similarly I'd like to thank **Kate** for taking time from her dissertation writing (coughprocrastinatingcough); I was so honoured to have her look over my chapter for me when I needed someone because this woman is one of my writing gurus. If you haven't read _kat1estone_'s work, shoo, go read it now because the woman is better than I'll ever be.

The _italicised_ section is a direct cut from my first story, _Here With You_, which technically sits in the same canon as _Someday_.

If you don't have me on Author Alert, I wrote a one shot for Christmas called _As We Dream_ so you can check it out if you feel so inclined to do so.

**Happy Wildcat New Year!**

* * *

**Chapter 43**

_I'm gonna take this moment and make it last forever_

_I'm gonna give my heart away and pray we'll stay together_

_'Cause you're the one good reason_

_You're the only girl that I need_

_'Cause you're more beautiful than I have ever seen_

_I'm gonna take this night and make it Evergreen_

'**Evergreen' by Will Young**

* * *

All of Troy's carefully calculated plans to grab Gabriella before homeroom and drag her up to the rooftop to recommence communications were tossed out the window when he slept in. His father had attempted to wake him up earlier, calling through the door that if Troy wanted a lift he needed to be ready in fifteen minutes, but Troy took one glance at the time – ridiculously early, evidently his father had a staff meeting before school – rolled over and went back to sleep. He then ignored the second and third snooze of his alarm, which left him with just barely enough time to shower for about thirty seconds, toss on the first items of clothing his hands grabbed, grab his books to shove into his book bag and place onto a carefully wrapped package to place on top. Despite getting ready at record speed, he found himself jogging down the street only to see the yellow school bus driving off in the opposite direction. His immediate response was to somewhat violently kick the white picket fence of the house on the corner of the street, letting out a disgruntled, "Fuck!" before looking up in alarm to make sure that the owners weren't out in their front yard or in the driveway.

His trusty bicycle which he used to ride almost daily was dragged out from its place gathering dust in the corner of the garage and he pedalled to school at a freakishly efficient pace. If he'd had the time to ride at a more relaxed speed he might've been able to enjoy the trip, the feeling of the wind in his hair and ducking in and out of traffic and flying past the cars queued up waiting to get through at a traffic light. Even riding as quickly as he could, when he arrived at East High the front of the school was deserted indicating that the bell had already rang. He ran down the corridor before skidding around teh corner and peering through the window of the Homeroom door. Ms. Darbus was pacing around the room, presently with her back turned, hands gesturing wildly so Troy suspected she was telling one of her many stories about her youth working as an actress.

As quietly as possible, he opened the door and slipped into the room and into his seat, praying that maybe she'd failed to observe he hadn't arrived yet and and only just entered the room.

It was a pipe dream.

"... and now that your midterms are completed I would encourage all of you to tap into your creative spirits because the arts are a valuable tool for all of us to explore our inner beings and souls. All of us including Mr. Bolton, although he seems to think that he is exempt from the principles that apply to the rest of us."

She hadn't even turned around – she was that good. Troy winced, slinking down further into his seat.

"How nice of you to grace us with the pleasure of your company Mr. Bolton, I do hope that we haven't detained you from something more important," she continued, turning to face him. "I'll see you after rehearsal this afternoon."

"But Ms. Darbus," Troy began to protest; as he had already resigned himself to the fact that his late arrival meant that his best chance of talking to Gabriella would be after rehearsal.

"Do you want to make your ten minutes become fifteen? And Mr. Bolton, need I remind you that baseball caps do not correspond to appropriate East High attire?"

He blinked. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kelsi to his left wearing a beret, and he would have bet money that if he were to look over to his right that Ryan would also be wearing a hat. However he wasn't going to point out such a fact, the way his day had gone so far it likely would not have been received well by Ms. Darbus; he simply begrudgingly pulled the red cap off his unruly chestnut locks. He hadn't washed his hair in a good few days, let alone allowed a brush to run through it, and if Chad's snicker from behind him was anything to go by, he knew that his presentation was far less than impeccable.

Ms. Darbus continued with the morning announcements, and Troy remained stoic, staring straight ahead at the blackboard for a little while before succumbing to the urge to swivel around slightly and glance over his right shoulder. His azure eyes bore into her momentarily. She was dressed simply, in a pair of light wash blue jeans and a fitted, pale blue, long sleeved knit sweater with scoop neck. She was staring straight into the head of the person in front of her, and he couldn't help but think that she was avoiding meeting his gaze. He snuck a few more glances, being careful not to get caught out by Ms. Darbus for blatantly not paying attention.

"... and finally, the chess club invites you to join in their social tournament taking place in March this year. Those interested can see Alan Jenkins in room..."

And then, the worst thing imaginable happened.

Troy's cell phone beeped with an incoming text message.

Ms. Darbus whipped around, her accusing stare beaming straight at Troy. The woman had perfected her cell phone-location-detection hearing.

"... what was that? Mr. Bolton wants to spend a half hour with me after rehearsal today? How wonderful," she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. She held out her hand to him, not needing to specify what she was asking. Troy could feel the eyes of the entire class on him as he handed over his cell phone to be confiscated for the day. Ms. Darbus glanced at the screen. "Oh, it's your father," she remarked, and proceeded to flip open the phone. Troy's mouth dropped open, about to protest that she was violating his privacy. "He wants to know if you woke up in time for class."

Troy was livid. People were snickering around him, and he didn't like it one little bit. He couldn't believe that his father had actually texted him during homeroom – just because he didn't take a homeroom class didn't mean he had any excuse to not be aware of Ms. Darbus' vendetta against cell phones. And Troy couldn't believe that Ms. Darbus had actually read the text aloud. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal, but after the weekend he'd had, it was just the fucked up icing on the fucked up cake.

He glared at Ms. Darbus momentarily, his penetrating death stare interrupted by the ringing bell signalling the cessation of homeroom. Troy sprung out of his desk, making his way up the back of the room to where Gabriella was gathering her things.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi Troy," she said, somewhat stoically.

He hesitated, and then decided to take the risk. He leaned over, aiming to give her a quick kiss on the lips – but she turned her head, his lips coming into contact with her cheek instead. Nonetheless, he continued undeterred.

"Did Ryan give you the flowers I brought over yesterday?" he asked tentatively, falling into step with her as they departed the classroom.

"He did. They are very pretty."

"Um so... I had to ride my bike to school today so I didn't get the chance to go by my locker. So I'm gonna go there on my way to physics..." he trailed off, pausing, about to ask her if she would walk with him. Instead she seized the opportunity to get out of the conversation.

"Okay, well I'll see you in class," she said in a hurry, and then called out ahead of her, "Martha! Taylor! Wait up!" before darting ahead to where she could see the girls heading to class.

Troy let out a sigh, and decided that all he could do was put his pedal on the gas if he didn't want to be late to Physics. He retrieved books from his locker, realising that he'd left his Economics textbook at home and kicked the locker beneath his in frustration. He power-walked to physics and slipped through the door about five seconds after the bell rang – fortunately the teacher wasn't quite as much of a stickler for punctuality as others.

Physics class was uneventful: unfortunately there was no group work or experiments. It was a straightforward copying-from-the-whiteboard and doing-quiet-individual-work lesson. Troy trotted along beside Gabriella as they headed toward Economics, another class they shared. Gabriella was texting on her phone for the duration of the walk as Troy attempted to make some semblance of small talk. When they were just shy of their classroom door, Gabriella stopped in the middle of the corridor, just as Troy was in the midst of explaining to her about his parents confiscating the keys to his truck.

"Troy," she said quietly, interrupting him.

"Yeah?"

"Stop pretending everything is okay."

His face tightened. "I know that everything is not okay."

"Well then stop using this forced cheerful voice and talking to me like I'm about to start talking back and going along with this charade. Everything is not okay. I'm not ready to talk about things yet."

"And in the meantime, you want me to just ignore you? Pretend you don't exist?" he asked incredulously.

She pursed her lips, not responding vocally. Her actions spoke louder than words: she kept walking, leaving him standing alone in the corridor.

Their economics classroom had groupings of desks, three or four desks in little rows together. Their teacher was a fan of group discussions and debates and so the classroom layout was designed to facilitate this. Troy and Gabriella sat on the right hand side of the room in a bank of four desks, Troy closest to the wall, and then on the other side of Gabriella were a couple of girls that she knew from student council, they were both volunteers for the fundraising committee. When Troy entered, Gabriella had purposefully engaged herself in conversation with the other two girls. He shook his head slightly, and then decided to just slide into his seat and appear busy.

Twenty minutes into class, they'd been assigned a reading from the textbook and instructed to spend ten minutes reading through the information before breaking into their groups to discuss the material. Troy sat silently for two minutes, arms folded, staring blankly at his workbook which was covered in scribbles from the first twenty minutes of the lesson.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella whispered.

He didn't respond, choosing to ignore her.

"Troy?" she hissed.

"Oh Gabriella, hi, I didn't realise you were there," he responded with mock surprise.

She gave him an impatient look, and Troy relented, rolling his eyes. "I left my textbook at home," he informed her sheepishly.

She sighed and pushed her textbook over so it was in between them on the desk. She flipped back to the first page. "Tell me when you're finished," she said, knowing that he would take longer than her to read each page.

He gave her a small appreciative smile before turning his attention to the words on the page. Economics surprisingly made sense to him – his dad had a side hobby of being involved in investing on a small time scale, so he'd kind of been exposed to the genre of material over the years. He read through the first page, informing her softly, "first page done," and then reached out to turn the page – at the precise moment she had. Their hands grazed, Gabriella immediately snatching hers back.

"Sorry," she stammered.

He shook his head. A part of him was tempted to make a crack about having touched her in far more intimate places than her hand so no apologies were necessary. Instead, he bit his tongue, figuring that the remark wouldn't be appropriate given the reason for the current awkwardness. Instead he flipped the page over and simply continued reading.

* * *

It was the beginning of lunch period and Sharpay had stopped by her locker before heading in the direction of the cafeteria. She returned textbooks from her morning classes, collecting her things for their drama club meeting and final period class.

"Hey Sharpay," a familiar male voice spoke behind her, somewhat tentatively.

She immediately smiled. She didn't know when it had happened, exactly, whether there was a precise moment when she'd been infected by some sort of disease. But she'd become one of those girls who immediately turned to goo in the presence of a particular member of the opposite gender.

"Zeke," she returned in greeting, attempting to hide her obvious pleasure at his presence.

"I brought you something that I just made in class," he said, offering her a small plastic container. "We were given free time to experiment with our own recipes and I've been working on a low-carbohydrate chocolate cake recipe. I think it's pretty good, given its low calorie content, but I figured it would be best to get an expert on chocolate to test it for me."

She smiled brightly, staring at the delectable treat in the container. "Thank you," she said. "I can eat some of it with my lunch and let you know."

"Are you going to sit with us, today?" Zeke asked, a little hesitantly. Of late, Sharpay had on occasion joined the Wildcats for lunch, as opposed to her usual arty crowd up on the next level.

"I'd like to," she said, surprising herself by speaking the complete truth. "But I've got plans to sort of have a casual drama club meeting in the cafeteria. We have to organise some stuff for the first rehearsals this afternoon and tomorrow."

Zeke nodded. "That's fair enough."

The pair began to walk in the direction of the cafeteria.

"You're in tomorrow's group, aren't you?" Sharpay asked casually – although she knew for certain that Zeke and Jason were in the Tuesday group, she'd personally checked the schedule to find out when Gabriella had allocated them.

Zeke nodded. "That's right. I swear that Gabriella split me and JC up from Hoops and Danforth because she thought we'd distract each other."

Sharpay smirked. "Probably a wise decision."

"I bet you're glad to finally be getting rehearsals underway."

She shrugged. "This whole showcase... I'm not really that excited about it. It's rather lame if you ask me, and I wouldn't have gone along with it if they hadn't assured us that our last show would be something amazing if we cut corners for this one."

"Oh come on, big show in the school gym, what's not to be excited about?" Zeke teased, nudging her.

She rolled her eyes at him., snapping back with bitter sarcasm."Yes, it's been my life-long dream as a performer to sing and dance in an arena where you boys normally run around leaving sweat all over the floor."

He smiled reassuringly. "Sharpay, you're an incredible performer. You could wear your pyjamas and sing in the middle of a dark alley and you'd be incredible. And if you love to perform then... it shouldn't matter where the show is, should it? It's just about enjoying doing what you love."

She paused in the middle of the corridor, staring at him.

"What?" Zeke said, glancing around.

"How is it that you always know exactly what to say to make me feel okay?" she asked incredulously.

He grinned. "I wish I knew."

* * *

With the drama club meeting in session up on the second level of the cafeteria, numbers were dwindling in the Wildcat area, with the four boys, Martha and Taylor gathered at a table.

"She still not talking to you?" Chad asked Troy sympathetically, referring to Gabriella.

He sighed with irritation. "No. And I know that I fucked up but not talking about it isn't gonna solve anything, you know?" He glanced at Taylor. "Has she said anything to you?"

Taylor shook her head. "Not blatantly. Just in reference to wanting space, that's all. I don't even know what happened."

"I figured that, or you wouldn't be sitting near me," Troy said bitterly.

Taylor sighed. "Troy. Did you cheat on her?"

"No! Why do people ask me that? My own _parents_ asked me that. I would _never_ do that."

"If you didn't cheat on her, then this is salvageable," Taylor advised. "She isn't avoiding you. She isn't mad at you. She just wants you to give her some space. A tip for you? Sometimes when girls say that they want space, it's not a code for something. It actually means that we want space."

"That's what my mom said," Troy grumbled.

"Well your mom is a clever lady."

"Yeah but... I just want to try to explain to her," he protested.

"And you can, just when she is ready to listen to you," Martha offered.

"I just... I wish that it wasn't today of all days for things to be fucked up," Troy said remorsefully.

"Why today of all days?" Zeke enquired.

Before Troy could respond, Paula and Liana came over from the table next door, Liana with a saunter to her step.

"Hey boys," she said brightly.

"Ladies, how are you today?" Chad greeted them.

"Monday's are awesome," Paula said sarcastically. "How long until graduation?"

"I actually have a countdown on my phone, if you want an answer to that," Jason offered.

Liana burst out into giggles, and the other guys gave each other smirks. They'd all been subject to Liana's flirtatious ways and she wasn't exactly subtle about her intentions. Paula slid into one of the empty seats, and Liana chose to stand between Jason and Martha, leaning over close to him.

"So how did the rest of the clean up go yesterday?" Liana asked, and squeezed his arm. "Sorry I had to leave not long after we woke up. I had to get home."

"It went pretty well, Martha was such a champ, she helped out so much," Jason said gratefully, leaning over to playfully punch Martha on the arm.

"Yeah well you know, I had nothing better to do," Martha said lightly.

"So what else is going on?" Paula asked.

"Bolton is whining about his fight with Gabriella," Chad offered.

Troy glared at Chad temporarily.

"I heard about that, that's too bad," Liana said, clearly not at all sympathetic.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Troy said, wishing that he was as confident as he was trying to sound.

"Gabriella is reasonable, she'll listen when she's ready," Paula said, giving him a smile, her sympathy genuine.

"How's things with Marcus? He'd better be treating you right or we'll have to kick his ass," Chad said.

"Everything is fine, we're having fun," Paula returned. "No ass kicking required. Sorry."

"Just thought I'd make sure, no one messes with our favourite head cheerleader, after all."

"Actually, Marcus and I were talking about getting a bunch of people together to go to the movies this weekend. Are you guys up for it?"

"If it is Saturday night I'm not available because I have a date," Zeke said with a bright smile.

"Which he will keep reminding us about at every given opportunity," Troy added, rolling his eyes.

"I was thinking Sunday afternoon actually."

Chad and Taylor quickly conferred without talking through a series of glances and a squeeze of the leg under the table.

"We're in," Taylor said, speaking on behalf of herself and Chad.

"I'm in Connecticut," Troy contributed. "Even if you did it late Sunday and I was back, I'll probably be beat and my mom will insist on me catching up on homework."

"We'll have to do it more regularly anyway, so maybe next time. We don't all seem to hang out together anywhere nearly as much as we used to," Paula observed.

"She's getting all weepy about 'soon we'll graduate and wish we'd hung out more'," Liana informed them, rolling her eyes.

"I totally get that," Martha said, smiling at Paula. "Sometimes it feels like the school year is just flying by so quickly."

"You're going to come, aren't you Jason?" Liana asked.

"Uh yeah, sure, I don't see why not," he said, shrugging. "You'll have to text me the details."

* * *

Meanwhile up on the balcony, Kelsi was not so discreetly observing the conversation on the level below in disdain.

"I don't like her," Kelsi announced.

"Kelsi, focus. You broke up with him. She's perfectly within her right to flirt with him," Sharpay said impatiently.

"We could swap seats so you're not looking down there?" Gabriella offered sympathetically from across the table.

"No, I want to be able to look down there," Kelsi said darkly.

"I don't know why you ever went out with him to begin with," Kelly remarked.

Kelsi's eyebrows rose. "Pardon?"

"I'm sure he's a nice guy and he's not bad looking but he doesn't really seem like your type."

"I don't really understand all this business about 'types'," Kelsi said. "Would you think that Troy would be Gabriella's type?"

"Fabulous example: they're not even talking," Sharpay pointed out.

Gabriella glanced irritably at the blonde but didn't say anything.

"Okay, on topic now," Theodore said, not particularly caring about the relationship woes of his drama club colleagues. He gestured to the schedules that Gabriella had drawn up at the end of the previous week that they'd spent the lunch hour tweaking. "I think we're pretty much sorted here."

Preparations for the East High Winter Talent Extravaganza were finally taking place. Essentially what had been arranged was a series of workshops where drama club representatives were working with those whose acts had been selected in order to polish and perfect the routines. This wasn't any ordinary talent show – it was a representation of the best of the best of talent that East High had to offer. They'd checked the schedules and availability of all the performers; and over both that afternoon and the next, they were going to workshop with the performers and talk about some potential tweaks and changes to their routines. Some needed a lot of work – for example the hip hop collaboration they'd put together would need to have the whole routine choreographed. Troy and Chad needed to select and learn a song from scratch. On the basis of the feedback from the workshops they were then going to put together a more detailed schedule for the coming weeks of rehearsals. They were still finalising the date of the show, but they were anticipating it would be somewhere toward the end of March, with auditions for the spring show taking place a few weeks before the showcase so they could start straight away with rehearsals after the showcase was done and dusted.

"I have free period next so I can type up these minutes," Gabriella offered. "So I can distribute them this afternoon."

"Excellent," Theodore said with a nod.

* * *

During free period, Kelsi had accompanied Gabriella to the computer lab in the library where they'd quickly updated the schedules and typed up the minutes as Gabriella had said she would. They were now both just wasting time on the computers, under the guise of doing research for various projects but they'd both found themselves on their e-mail accounts and Facebook profiles. Gabriella would be lying if she said that Troy's sweet gestures weren't affecting her – her wall was currently filled with messages from Troy:

_TB 4 GM_

_I love you_

_Forgive me?_

Kelsi excused herself to head to the bathroom quickly, and in her typically klutzy manner, wasn't paying attention and ran right into Jason who had been texting on his phone rather than watching where he was going.

"Sorry!" she whispered a startled apology.

He was jolted at the sight of her: they hadn't even acknowledged each other's presence that day, yet alone spoken.

"It's okay," he said softly.

They stood awkwardly. "Um, I'm just here with Gabriella, doing some drama club stuff," she offered conversationally.

He cleared his throat. "Uh... French revolution paper. Martha recommended some book I should get that would be useful."

"Oh um... that's... that's good. I'm glad she's helping you with it," Kelsi said, biting her lip. "Um... anyway, I'll let you get to it."

Kelsi kept going, heading out the doorway to her destination.

"Kelsi!" Jason's voice wafted down the corridor.

She turned to face him, seeing that he'd darted back out the library entry and was headed after her. He took a deep breath.

"Me and Liana... I know you saw us and you might've heard stuff. But we.... I'm not like, going out with her or anything."

Kelsi shrugged. "It wouldn't be my place to judge even if you were."

"I know... but... I just wanted to tell you. We did hook up but... she's not really my type."

"Did you sleep with her?" Kelsi asked quietly, staring at the polished floor.

"She slept in my bed," he said truthfully. "And we fooled around. But... no. We didn't... do that."

She nodded. She couldn't deny that even hearing that they'd fooled around hurt her, but she was relieved to know that they hadn't had sex.

"Kelsi?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

He didn't need to be specific for her to understand what he was asking. She swallowed, her bottom lip trembling slightly as she answered.

"I'm sure."

She was lying.

* * *

Derby Evans sleekly pulled into the parking lot at East High in her black Rolls Royce, disregarding the 'staff only' sign: it was 4pm; if a staff spot was vacant it was unlikely they were going to return. It only took a couple of minutes at the administration building to sign in as a visitor and to have one of the administration assistants escort her through school grounds to the Performing Arts wing. As they came down the corridor, they could already hear the sounds of rehearsals, music playing in one room, singing in another, instrument practice in another.

Derby peeked into the rooms, and when they approached the central room – the larger that was more like a miniature lecture hall – Derby nodded at the assistant to signal she'd found who she wanted to see.

Her eyes flitted about the room, spotting Gabriella Montez and Kelsi Nielson sitting in one corner with sheet music in front of them; in the opposite corner Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth were sharing an iPod with an ear bud each – Troy with one eye firmly watching across the room. Derby's lips curved into a smile as she spotted her darling twins up towards the front of the room, mentoring a quartet of girls who were evidently doing some sort of pop number. Her son was demonstrating his recommendation for an improvement to their choreography while Sharpay pointed out the flaws in each of their executions of the movements.

As quietly as she could, Derby opened the door, slipping into the classroom. She went unnoticed for a minute, until Ryan spotted her, pausing mid dance moves.

"Mom!" he exclaimed, all eyes turning from where they were presently focused and instead looking over to the doorway.

Derby smiled brightly. "Hey Duckie," she said warmly, and then looked straight over at where Ms. Darbus was seated in the front row of the room. "Margaret, I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

"Certainly," Ms. Darbus said, voice piqued with curiosity. "Sharpay and Ryan, keep things under control."

"Mother, what is going on?" Sharpay asked, eyebrows furrowing and a slight panic permeating through her tone.

"You'll find out soon enough Pumpkin," Derby assured, smiling reassuringly and disappearing out into the corridor with Ms. Darbus.

Gabriella and Kelsi came down to the front of the room, gathering with Sharpay and Ryan.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan shrugged, biting his lower lip. "I don't have the faintest idea."

"You know... mother was asking me about the show last night. She said that she was going to talk to daddy again about it when I told her that the current plan was to have the show in the gym."

"You think dad might've changed his mind?" Ryan asked, eyes widening.

Sharpay shrugged. "I haven't really talked to him a lot lately, he hasn't been at home much recently. So... I really don't know how he's feeling about it."

"Why don't you just keep going like Ms. Darbus asked and we'll find out sooner or later," Kelsi said, gesturing toward the awaiting girls.

Ryan nodded. "Yes, you're right. We should focus." However his flickering eyes toward the door betrayed his distraction.

They went through the routine to music, marked out a new set of alterations to the choreography, and then went through it once again. Halfway through, Derby returned with a beaming Ms. Darbus at her side. They slipped into the room, not wanting to interrupt the rehearsal. Ms. Darbus beckoned for Troy to come down and quietly asked if he could go along to the adjoining classrooms where groups had been assigned to workshop their performances and call them into the main room. Troy whipped his way along the corridor, crashing into rooms and demanding that people stop rehearsing immediately and get their asses into the main room. Within minutes all of those present at the rehearsal were gathered in the lecture hall, awaiting the presumed announcement.

"Mrs. Evans' has come here today on behalf of the Lava Springs Country Club Board," Ms. Darbus began, "with some excellent news not only for our winter showcase but for the East High Arts program as a whole. Mr. Evans', would you like to do the honours?"

Derby smiled appreciatively. "Some very exciting news came out of this morning's meeting of the Board. I won't bore you all with the details but in view of the success of the Fall Musical, the board of Lava Springs Country Club is very keen to forge a long-term relationship with your Performing Arts department. As such, we would like to offer the amphitheatre and other Lava Springs facilities to be utilised for the Winter Talent Showcase."

"You mean no smelly gym?!" Theodore called out excitedly.

"No smelly gym," Ms. Darbus confirmed with a bright smile.

"What we're hoping to organise – hopefully with some help from your student council – is to run the evening in conjunction with an auction and fundraiser. Half the proceeds will go to Once Upon A Theatre'. For those of you who aren't familiar with the charity, it has a touring theatre company which works in conjunction with schools to allow young people to benefit from the numerous educational advantages to be gained from being exposed to live theatre. The other half of the proceeds be directly invested into the arts program at East High, and contribute to the rebuilding of your auditorium. We would hate for the inconvenience to stretch beyond this academic year, and hopefully with some extra funding it can be rebuilt so that students will be able to return to the brand new facilities after the summer vacation."

"You will have the complete and full support of the drama club and student council in organising every single thing you need organised," Ryan said with a firm nod: he was not only a supporter of having a better location for their show, but he was familiar with Once Upon A Theatre and the work they dd.

Derby smiled at her son thankfully. "Thank you, darling."

"So... do we have a date?" Gabriella asked, cutting to the chase.

Ms. Darbus and Derby exchanged a glance.

"Yes. And it will sound daunting but I am confident that if we all work together than we can pull off a show of utterly spectacular fashion," Ms. Darbus said enthusiastically.

"Again, I won't bore you with the details but basically Lava Springs has a few conventions and other events booked, and after going over some key dates that are unavailable due to other things in the East High calendar, Mar... Ms. Darbus and I have concluded that the ideal date would be February 23rd."

Whispers erupted around the room.

"February 23rd?" Sharpay repeated. "As in... less than three weeks from now?"

Ms. Darbus nodded. "Given the nature of our winter production, I believe that is a more than reasonable target. The next available date wouldn't have been until the beginning of April which would have hampered our plans to put on a bigger-budget spring show."

"So the next best option is less than three weeks from now?" she asked.

"That is totally doable!" Ryan said enthusiastically. "We made great progress in just an hour this afternoon. It might mean that people need to commit to more hours of rehearsals than expected over the next three weeks – but then it'll be over and we won't have to worry about it any longer."

"Sounds good to me," Troy spoke up enthusiastically. "I'm in town at least. I mean, if you want to rehearse this weekend or next I'm not around though... but that's just me."

"I'm sure we can work around that," Gabriella spoke up quietly.

He was surprised to hear Gabriella of all people speak up, and looked over appreciatively, only to find her purposefully looking in the opposite direction.

"By the end of tomorrow afternoons rehearsal we'll have seen everyone so we will be able to assess exactly how much rehearsal time is needed," Theodore mused. "So if we can gather everyone's availability in even more detail, we can put together a comprehensive rehearsal schedule with contingency plans and allow enough time to rehearse in running order."

"We'll be able to give you access to the facilities both on the Friday evening before the show, as well as all day on Saturday," Derby informed.

"So we're doing this? February 23rd is the official date for the East High Winter Showcase Extravaganza?" Ryan said, glancing around the room.

His question was met with a resounding yes and a series of cheers from around the room.

"Then in that case, we have a _lot_ of work to do," Ms. Darbus announced.

"I'll have some paperwork drawn up and send it to school with one of the twins tomorrow and you can call me with any queries," Derby said to Ms. Darbus.

Sharpay stood up to face the auditorium. "Okay, we still have five minutes left of the first rotation so you can all return to your rooms to keep rehearsing," she announced with an authoritative tone.

No one moved immediately, as though contemplating whether Sharpay's authority was actual authority.

"You heard the girl. Off you go," Ms. Darbus said, waving her hand in the direction of the door.

Students began to hustle back to their rehearsal rooms, and Ryan quickly said to Sharpay, "I'll be right back," and darted over to his mother.

"Can I walk you back to your car?" he asked.

She smiled. "Of course, Duckie."

Derby went over to have some final words with Ms. Darbus, and then linked her left arm with her son's right as they made their way back through the hallway.

"Thank you," Ryan said quietly. "I really appreciate it."

Derby reached across with her right hand, squeezing it over their clasped digits. "It was my pleasure. I know how important this is, to both you and Pumpkin. We have the resources. And I want to be able to use them for good causes."

"So when you said that the Lava Springs board agreed to this..." Ryan said slowly.

His mother gave him a tight smile, fully aware of what her son was asking.. "Your father was not present," she said quietly, but directly.

"I guessed that," he said with a nod. He took a deep breath. "Mom... I'm really grateful and everything, don't get me wrong. But... I wouldn't want dad to get mad at you. I don't... I don't want to come between you and him."

Derby sighed. "Oh Duckie, it isn't _you_ who is the problem here. If anyone is getting in between your father and me, it is your father himself, and his attitude to this entire scenario and the way that he has dealt with everything. I am perfectly understanding that he was... affronted and shocked in the beginning. But to allow it to impact upon our relationship with your school... Lava Springs has always supported the schools in the district where we can; if anything it is bad business practice to go back on that deal especially when East High needs it the most."

"I know... but... I can't help but feel guilty for being the catalyst for all of this."

Derby shushed him. "You've done nothing other than be yourself. Don't apologise for being who you are, baby."

They emerged from the corridors of East High out into the fresh air, mother and son walking in a comfortable silence arm in arm the remainder of the way. Derby retrieved her keys from her purse, pressing the button to unlock her car a few paces ahead of time. They exchanged a loving hug, only a few more words spoken before she got into the car and drove away.

"I love you, Duckie," Derby murmured.

"Love you too, mom."

* * *

"Before you go, you need to make sure that you've checked with Miss Montez that you have your complete and detailed availability for the next three weeks recorded correctly," Ms. Darbus announced over the flurry of students chatting as they prepared to depart the meeting.

Students began to flock around Gabriella. She had a neatly organised folder with each selected student having their own page, the sheets in individual plastic sleeves arranged in alphabetical order, with coloured tabs dividing the alphabet. However regardless of how organised she was, when she had ten people crowding around her and wanting to check their availability, she quickly became flustered.

"Yo!" Troy yelled out, observing the aggravation on her face. "Why don't you all like, queue up and check one by one? It'll go a whole lot faster."

She gave him the smallest of appreciative smiles, and they all begrudgingly began to form a straggly line. He was right - : it was a whole lot more efficient, and within five minutes she'd succeeded in distributing the timetables for people to check over, telling them that if any changes needed to be made they needed to note it on the paper and either way, give it back to her before they left. The final person in the queue stepped up. Wordlessly, Gabriella handed Troy his availability sheet. It was presently marked with:

- Unavailable 8/9/10: Connecticut

- Unavailable 15/16/17: California

- Preferably unavailable Thursday afternoons, negotiable

Troy remained standing in front of her, placing the sheet onto the table in front of him.

"I'm assuming you put this together before Saturday night," he remarked, eyebrows quirked. He specifically recalled that he hadn't made any notes himself about his lack of Thursday afternoon availability – so evidently this was a Gabriella addition.

"That is correct," she said, her tone of voice neutral.

He picked up the pencil that she had lying on the table. "Well I'm going to leave that because I'm operating with a bit of hope that you're going to talk to me at some point and we can talk things through, and I'm also going to use that hope as a basis when I add another unavailability. And I guess I'm also hoping that you're also hopeful and so you might put this date onto your own sheet."

And with the pencil, he wrote as carefully as possible:

- Unavailable 14 February – date with girlfriend.

"Will you write it on yours?" he asked.

Gabriella swallowed. She was hopeful, just as he was, that they could push things aside. But a part of her wondered if it was going to be that simple – if one incident had brought to the surface a series of other issues that had previously been repressed. She was trying to work out what to respond with, whether to simply say, "Maybe" or "I don't know", when their moment was interrupted by the ever watchful vigil of Ms. Darbus.

"Mr. Bolton, you've finished with your availability, have you?" she enquired, stepping closer to the couple.

He pushed the paper toward Gabriella and stood back.

"Just now, Miss."

"Excellent. Then you can come with me and leave the drama club to commence their discussions of today's events. I'm certainly they don't want to be here after dark."

"You know, Ms. Darbus, I am technically in the drama club," Troy offered.

"Nice try. You might've paid your membership but you haven't voluntarily come to a single meeting this year. I have an excellent task for you over the next half hour."

Troy miserably followed Ms. Darbus down the corridor to her classroom where she'd already laid out a bunch of boxes.

"These are student essays and exams from the last few years. I need them categorised according to these specifications."

She handed him a typed out sheet of paper, specifying that she wanted all the eighth grade English essays on Shakespeare together, and then grouped according to grade; and so on.

"Why do you need this done?" Troy dared to ask.

"Because I like to allow students to see past examples of work and what was worthy of a particular grade," she answered. "But unfortunately organisation is not my best quality. Anyway, get as much of it done as you can." She offered him a bright smile before departing the room.

Troy's eyes widened as he began to look through the piles and piles of papers that seemingly had no logical organisation whatsoever. It was bound to be a long half hour.

* * *

Ms. Darbus took pity on Troy – she'd actually been forewarned by Jack Bolton that his son was truck-less and yet to awake when he'd left home for the staff meeting. Twenty five minutes into his detention, she slipped out of the drama club meeting and up the corridor. He'd actually made some pretty decent progress with the sorting which she was pleased by.

"You may go now," she said simply.

He glanced at the time. "You're sure? This isn't some trick?"

"Well you can feel free to stay and continue working if you like," she said, bemused. "But yes, I'm sure. Oh and..." she reached into her pocket where she'd placed his phone earlier, pulling it out and handing it over. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Troy said. "Uh... is the drama club meeting still going?"

She nodded. "We're wrapping up soon and meeting again at lunch time tomorrow."

He grinned, inwardly fist pumping. That meant Gabriella was still at school, and he'd have his chance to corner he and talk. "Sweet! Okay I... I guess I'll go now. Thanks."

He retrieved his bicycle from the racks and went to wait by the parking lot. There were a few messages on his cell that he went through in the mean time – one from Chad rubbing in that he would be reading this after his detention, one from someone in his math class asking about what they'd been assigned for homework.

He heard some sounds coming from the front entrance and looked up, eyes immediately landing upon the mass of drama club were pouring out from the building. The majority of them headed toward the drop off zone where parents and older sibling would be awaiting to pick them up, a handful headed over to the student parking lot – including Ryan, Gabriella and Kelsi.

* * *

"Oh God, why is he waiting?" Gabriella said with a groan.

"Because he's your boyfriend and he's doing the right thing, trying to apologise?" Ryan supplied. "If he wasn't waiting, you'd be more annoyed."

She gave him a look, but she knew that it was true. In reality, Troy couldn't be going about it any better. He was pushing her to talk without being too pushy or overbearing. She knew that if she told him to go away that he would, but not without making sure she knew that he was apologetic and wanted to fix things.

"He's coming over," Kelsi informed her quietly.

"Hey guys!" Troy said brightly, having left his bike resting against the tree and walking over to greet them.

"Hey, you escaped from detention," Kelsi said with a smile. She didn't know what had happened between Troy and Gabriella, but Troy's support of her on Saturday night – regardless what had happened between her and Jason – was something which Kelsi would carry with her indefinitely.

"Yup, Darbus gave me an early mark."

"You shouldn't have waited for me," Gabriella said quietly.

Troy couldn't hide the disappointment in his face, but he forced a small smile. "I shouldn't have?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Maybe... maybe if you could just listen to me... you don't have to do any talking..." he suggested.

"Gabriella, we can just go and wait by my..." Ryan began to say.

"No," Gabriella interjected, touching Ryan's arm gently. "Troy I'll... maybe tomorrow. I just... I don't think I can do it yet."

He let out a sigh, closing his eyes, tilting his head back in aggravation. He then looked at her again. "Okay, that's fair enough. But if you could just let me..."

"Troy..."

"... give you something," he finished. "I just want to give you something."

"Give me something?" Gabriella asked, eyebrows furrowing with confusion.

He nodded, and rifled around in his backpack. He might've forgotten his textbooks but he'd remembered to grab the present, even in his mad rush. He pulled out a little box smaller than Gabriella's hand and only an inch or so deep. It was wrapped in silver and blue striped wrapping paper and had a slightly lopsided and smushed bow on the top. He thrust it at her, watching her carefully trying to gauge her reaction. Her eyebrows had clouded slightly as she glanced down at the small package, and his heart sank a little in that moment as he faced the possibility that he didn't realise what the gift was for.

"I'll leave you alone now," he said despondently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella wordlessly watched as he made his way over to his bicycle, walked it down to the bitumen in the parking lot, and pedalled off – without looking back at her even once.

"Well – are you going to open it?" Kelsi's enquiry broke through her thoughts.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "Um... I guess."

"Go on then," Ryan encouraged her.

She sighed. There was no card attached to the present. She ripped open the sticky tape at one end, allowing her to remove the box. Just as she'd suspected by the shape, it was a velvet jewellery box. Ryan took the wrapping paper out of her hand and she flipped open the lid.

"Oh wow!" Kelsi gasped.

It was a silver bracelet, small links adjoining little double hearts which featured little cubic zirconia diamantes. Gabriella gently stroked over the cool metal with her index finger.

"Wow, Troy really knows how to say I'm sorry. He must've gone out to go get it after leaving your house yesterday," Ryan theorised.

"Mmm," Gabriella said. "Maybe."

"Well it's that or it was the reason he was late to homeroom, and I don't even think jewellery stores are open that early."

They moved toward Ryan's car. Gabriella offered shotgun to Kelsi, the composer sitting in the front passenger seat and Gabriella sliding into the back. She sat quietly while the other two chatted about the rehearsal, staring at the bracelet adoringly. It really was beautiful – among many talents, Troy seemed to have a knack for selecting jewellery that she would love. Something wasn't right about the notion of the bracelet being an apology gift – it just didn't seem to be Troy's style.

And then suddenly – it hit her.

"What's today's date?" she blurted out, interrupting Kelsi and Ryan's conversation.

"Um... the third? No, it's the fourth," Kelsi corrected herself. "The Fourth of February."

Gabriella groaned. "Shit."

~ * ~

"_Do you know what yesterday was?"_

"_Umm… Saturday?"_

_Troy rolled his eyes. "Uh yes, but do you know what else it was?"_

_Gabriella looked at him blankly. "Troy, I've had a really long day and an even longer weekend and to be frank I don't feel like solving cryptic puzzles."_

"_You really don't know, do you? Yesterday was a month since we went on our first date," Troy told her, a broad grin across his face._

"_Only a month?!" Gabriella asked incredulously. "Are you being serious?"_

"_Well you do the math, freaky math girl," Troy teased. "It's only the beginning of March now. It was two weeks after call backs that we went out. So… that would make it a month."_

"_Wow," Gabriella breathed._

"_Um…. So… would that be our anniversary then? If… if we were to keep track of one?"_

_Gabriella shrugged. "I guess so. I hadn't really thought about it to be honest."_

"_Okay. It's decided then," Troy said decisively. He pulled his phone out, navigating the menu into the calendar to check the month and date of their first date. "Yup, that would be right. February 4th was our first date – it's even in a calendar note here with the time I had to pick you up."_

"_Do you remember how nervous you were about asking me out?" Gabriella asked with a teasing grin._

"_Do you remember how you went all weird and avoided me after I finally did ask you out?" Troy shot back._

_They both laughed remembering back._

"_It feels longer… in some ways. Well in others it feels like the time has flown but… in others, it feels like you and I have been through so much in that time," Gabriella said softly. "I mean… we've only known each other for just over two months. I've never gotten that close to anyone in such a short period of time."_

_Troy took her hand in his, stroking his thumb against the back of her palm gently._

"_It's mutual, don't worry. I can't help but feel like… well… this is going really well, isn't it? Don't you think?"_

_Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Umm…. Yes. Yes I do think it's going well."_

"_I can't help but feel like this could become something really serious. I'd never… I'd never thought about being in a serious relationship. And… it just happened. You know? I mean a month is nothing and for all I know we'll break up once the musical is over… not that I am thinking about breaking up with you at all, I meant more that you would realise I'm just a basketball jock and get sick of me and you'd be the one to dump me…"_

_She brought her free hand to his face, her index finger barely grazing against his lips, silencing him. "Shut up before you dig yourself into a bigger hole."_

~ * ~

"Why? What's so significant about February fourth?" Ryan asked.

"It's me and Troy's one year anniversary," Gabriella revealed with a sigh. "One year since our first date."

"Oh really?" Kelsi said, her tone one of admiration. "Wow."

"Yes, wow, except for the whole thing where a) I'm upset with him and barely communicating with him and b) I completely forgot about it. I sort of thought about it a few weeks ago, I mean we talked about it coming up over New Years and then we'd even talked about it falling on a Monday and how we knew Jason would have a birthday party and he'd probably be doing some college visits so we weren't sure when we'd actually get to go out. But it was all left hanging and since then I hadn't even given it a thought. And not only did he remember, but he remembered, bought me a present, and gave it to me even though I wouldn't even talk to him long enough so he could explain what the present was for," Gabriella said, tone miserable. "I'm a horrible person, that's what I am."

"Gabriella, you haven't exactly explained to anyone what happened, but I'm taking it that you have a good reason to be wanting some space from Troy, yes?" Ryan said patiently, looking at her in the rear vision mirror.

She nodded. "Yes. I do."

"So anniversary or not, you can't control that something happened. Yes it is unfortunate timing but you cannot just cast aside an issue because he got you a pretty bracelet."

She sighed. "I know that. But... I didn't even remember! If this past weekend hadn't happened, he would've come to school today and given me a present and I would have had nothing for him."

"Technically he doesn't need to know that..." Ryan mused.

"I'm not going to lie to him," Gabriella said firmly.

"I don't think he'll care," Kelsi said truthfully. "I seriously think sometimes that you can do no wrong in his eyes."

"Why do people keep saying that? Chad said something like that yesterday."

"Because it's true," Ryan said frankly.

She let out another sigh, sitting back in the seat. The rest of the car ride was quiet, the music over the sound system filling the silence. It wasn't long before they were dropping Kelsi off, and it didn't take long for Ryan to be pulling up at the Montez household. Gabriella silently made her way into the house and upstairs, clutching onto the jewellery box. She paced around for a few minutes, attempted to sit down and concentrate on the drama club schedules she had to look at, attempted to look at her English homework – but found herself back pacing around, glancing at the velvet box which lay upon her bed spread.

She knew what she had to do.

It took less than two minutes to gather her belongings. She clambered down the stairs, finding Ryan standing in the kitchen, looking contemplatively into the fridge.

"I'm going out," she said breathlessly. "Tell my mom I'll be home before curfew."

"Um... okay. Do you want a ride?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

* * *

Troy was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't even have the will to toss his basketball pillow up and down in the air like he usually would when his brain was ticking at a hundred miles an hour, trying to work something out. He certainly wasn't in the frame of mind to contemplate any of the homework that he'd been assigned; he couldn't even be bothered to sit at his laptop and chat on AIM or go on Facebook.

There was a soft knocking at his door, followed by his mother's voice calling through, "Troy?"

"What?" his dull reply came.

Lucille opened the door, not bothering to step down into the room. "There's someone at the door for you."

Troy raised an eyebrow, figuring it was Chad. "Tell him to come in here."

"Well, _she_ wants you to come to the door," Lucille revealed.

His face furrowed at his mother's clarification of _she_ – and there was something in her tone telling him that he'd best just comply. He dragged himself out of his room, headed through the house, and rounded the corner to the front hallway where the open front door came into view.

As well as the petite dark haired beauty who was currently facing away from him, staring out at the street.

"Gabriella," Troy breathed, his pace quickening to alleviate the distance between them faster.

She spun around, once again facing him. Her hands were fidgeting with the messenger bag that was slung over her shoulder.

"Troy," she said quietly, averting direct eye contact.

"Why don't you come in?" he asked, stepping back a little and gesturing for her to come in.

Gabriella shook her head. "Um actually..."

She gestured just past her, and Troy looked around the corner of the door frame, his eyes glimpsing a bicycle standing upright with its stand kicked down. It was pale blue, with a large white wicker basket attached to the front handlebars.

"I was wondering if you wanted to grab a jacket and take a ride with me?"

His eyebrow quirked. "Take a ride with you?"

"Yes."

"What like, on your handlebars?" he asked with a smirk. "Something tells me this bike – which I didn't even know you had, by the way – wouldn't handle that."

She rolled her eyes. "I was thinking more along the lines of you on your bike and me on mine."

He paused contemplatively, not quite sure as to why she was making this suggestion. "Um... okay. I'll just check with my mom."

"You can go," Lucille called out, and appeared beside him a moment later with his cell phone, wallet, a jacket, and a pair of his imitation Vans. He took the cell phone and wallet, slipping them into the pockets of his blue jeans, then shrugged the black hoodie over his bright blue t-shirt that Gabriella had gotten him for Christmas. Another moment to slip on the shoes, and he was ready to go.

"Thanks," he said simply to his mother, and she smiled brightly.

"Have fun. Be home by curfew!"

She practically pushed Troy out of the door and closed it behind him. He looked at Gabriella for a moment as she stood primly, her hands folded in front of her neatly.

He gave her a small smile. "So? Going for a ride it is."


	45. Chapter 44

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **Thanks to Audrey for the super efficient beta turn around *hug* Thanks also to Kelly and Abigail for previewing and offering their opinion and advice about a particular matter I was nervous about. Ultimately I had to stick with my instincts.

This chapter is on the short side for me; this was a stylistic decision, not one to try to get a chapter out sooner. Hopefully you'll understand why after you read this. You may need to put on your big girl panties to get through this.

* * *

******Chapter 44**

_Say there's no future_

_For us as a pair_

_And though I may know_

_I don't care..._

_Just for this moment_

_As long as you're mine_

_Come be how you want to_

_And see how bright we shine_

_Borrow the moonlight_

_Until it is through_

_And know I'll be here holding you_

_As long as you're mine_

**Wicked Soundtrack 'As Long As You're Mine'**

* * *

The cool breeze of the air had been refreshing, whipping around his body as he leisurely cycled. Troy had allowed Gabriella to take the lead, as she seemed to know where they were going and he was just tagging along for the ride. He'd never imagined his girlfriend on a bicycle before and if he wasn't so filled with trepidation as to why she suddenly wanted to talk and where she was taking him, he might've been able to appreciate the sight of her slender form manoeuvring the vehicle. They rode at what was a fairly slow pace to him, sticking mainly to sidewalks, which he was perfectly content with. No scenario which involved her coming to him and not wanting to slap him was going to cause any complaints from Troy.

He formed a suspicion of where she was going, and his suspicion became more validated as they rode further and further, beyond their part of the city and into the western suburbs. Finally, his suspicions were validated entirely when she turned down what was a very familiar street to Troy, the cluster of leafy green trees up ahead already visible.

One year ago, he'd taken Gabriella on their very first date, consisting of a romantic dinner and a tour of their fine city of Albuquerque, showing her the highlights of the town: and places of importance to him. Like this park, a place that for him held fond recollections of childhood memories with his parents; and now more recent memories: like sharing it with Gabriella.

There was a children's playground toward the front of the vicinity near the parking lot. Bright flood lights lit up the area, and as the sun was in its final stages of setting, there were still a few parents in the area with their kids; as well as some joggers out for their late afternoon exercise. The silence of the bicycle ride continued as Gabriella walked along side her bike, wheeling it along the footpath. Troy followed, staying mounted on his and cycling at a very slow pace, zig-zagging a little on the path. He glanced over at her, seeing that her expression was a little weary as she pushed her bicycle along. It had been over five miles, which to Troy wasn't a big deal but it may have been a shock to her system. He didn't say anything, and merely followed her as she took the path around to the back of the playground, through some trees, where there was a bench overlooking a pond. The flood lights from the playground provided enough light filtering through the trees for it to be comfortable, without the fluorescents being blinding. She dumped her bicycle on the ground a few feet away and then sat on the far end of the bench as far along as possible; leaning forward with her knees drawn together, elbows on her knees and chin rested in her hands, staring out ahead of her. Troy hesitantly joined her, also dropping his bike to the grass. He sat up the other end of the bench, leaning back with one arm sprawled along the back rest, not quite as far along in the opposite direction as she was.

They sat in silence for another full minute, the laughter of children in the playground and the squawks of some birds frolicking in the pond filling the quiet early evening air.

"I didn't even know you had a bicycle," Troy finally commented, breaking the silence.

She hesitated, but then smiled slightly and nodded. "I have only used it a handful of times since we moved to Albuquerque. Mostly it was over summer if I went over to Taylor's, once also I think my mom asked me to buy some milk or something like that. Depending on what city we were living in, sometimes I rode a lot. In Cheyenne I rode to school every day."

"There you go. I just keep learning more and more about you." He paused before adding with a smirk. "Your bike is... cool. I dig the basket."

"You're being sarcastic but I'll just take it as a compliment."

They were silent for another moment, before Troy asked quietly, "Are we really gonna sit here and talk about your bicycle?"

She closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. Her head tilted forward, forehead pressing to the palms of her hands momentarily before looking back up to once again stare out at the pond. It was a nice fantasy world that they could continue with the small talk, but ultimately it simply couldn't be. And so, she decided to be the one to start, and began by reaching into the messenger bag that was on the bench beside her. Her hand emerged with the small black jewellery box in her palm.

"I forgot," she murmured, index finger tracing over the velvet surface of the lid.

"Forgot what?" Troy asked, eyes furrowing.

"Our anniversary."

He shrugged, dismissing the comment. "Oh. Well, you know, the past couple of days have been a bit weird so..."

"No," she interjected, realising he had misunderstood, and confessed shamefully, "Before that even. Before Saturday. A few weeks ago I'd thought about it but like, last week – I totally forgot it was now. The date just totally slipped away from me."

Troy paused, his casual arm slung across the bench retreating. He spoke slowly. "So... you've agreed to talk to me about the weekend because you feel guilty for forgetting about our anniversary? Because if that's the case, then I don't really want to talk about it. I don't want this to be something you're like... guilt-tripped into dealing with."

"It's not like that, not exactly." She attempted to explain her logic – everything in her brain was fairly scattered and she barely understood herself, let alone was able to communicate it to someone else. She set the velvet jewellery case back down on the top of her bag, hands gripping to the seat of the bench. "I just... the reminder of our anniversary was... it made me think about what we have, it made me think about all of the times that you've proven time and time again just how amazing you are. I guess it was enough to make me realise that I owe it to you and us to at least... to at least try."

Troy nodded, slightly more accepting of this explanation. He stared out at the pond where a pair of wild ducks were swimming around by the edge, their feet splashing in the water and sending droplets flying onto the grassy bank. He sighed. "And so here we are."

She nodded. "Here we are."

After another pause, Troy broke the silence with a quiet, almost whispered declaration. "Gabriella? I'm so sorry."

She held up her hand, silencing him. "I know you are. You don't have to keep saying it."

"Well I wasn't sure if you'd actually been listening to me any of the other times I'd said it."

"I'm always listening."

"Well do you believe me then?"

She exhaled. She was drawing patterns on her denim clad leg with her right index finger as she spoke. "Of course I _believe_ you. But that doesn't erase time, Troy. It doesn't take us back to before it happened, and it doesn't change how I'm feeling about everything now."

"How are you feeling about it?" he asked, holding his breath a moment. He stole glances at her, trying to read her expression, her eyes, her body language.

Her lower lip trembled slightly, her hands still fidgeting. "I don't quite know," she confessed.

"I don't remember a lot from Saturday, and what I do remember is kind of in blurs and patches. But one thing that I remember with such clarity is that moment when you were pushing me away – I remember the look on your face. It makes me feel physically sick. That's... that's not me. It never has been." He was desperate for her to understand, to believe that fact. He was repulsed by the notion that any part of her would feel differently about his demeanour; or that she might doubt his intentions or his respect for her as being more than a body to keep him warm.

"I know it's not you," she spoke truthfully. Through all of her questioning and soul searching and analysis, she'd never truly believed that he'd hidden some darker man behind some false identity. "You've always been patient and respectful..."

"Which makes it even worse," Troy said despondently. He sighed. "Gabriella, I can't lie to you. I've thought about like... us making love without a condom before. I guess that's where it came from."

She looked up at him, looking straight at him for the first time since they'd started talking. "Is that something you want to do?"

He paused. He sensed her gaze boring into him but glanced down at his scuffed shoes. "Guys talk. You don't want to know that, but it's true and surely you do know it."

She nodded. She did know this. Just like girls talked, and talked in detail that surely Troy wouldn't be particularly enthralled by. "Yes."

"Even before we were, you know, doing stuff. Even before I'd met you, I'd hear conversations in the locker room or whatever. And sometimes they'd talk about doing it without a condom or pulling out or whatever. I completely respect you for being so strong about your beliefs about birth control. I'm glad that you are so firm because Saturday proved that if it was up to me and me alone, maybe I wouldn't be quite as... strong... about it all. That in the moment I'd be okay with saying 'fuck it.' And there's that part of me that is _interested_ to experience sex without a condom. But it's not something I'd ever suggest as a random experiment, and as a sober person if in the moment we needed a condom and didn't have one, if you said no then I might be _frustrated..._" he paused, and looked at her directly making eye contact before saying firmly, "but I'd still understand, and I would respect you for that decision."

"But when you'd had a few drinks..."

Troy swallowed. He didn't like to think in detail about what his thought process had been. "I guess I was just... I guess I felt inadequate. Since I hadn't been able to, you know, _perform_. And I was desperate to be able to perform for you... and..."

She slid along the bench and grabbed onto his arm, looking up at him with urgency. "That there... _that_ is it. That is what is swirling around in my head right now. It's not even... it's not even the stuff about the condom. No, it's not exactly ideal but I could've gotten through that. But what you just said is what is now the issue and it's just making me... making me freak out about..." she was incoherent and knew she was incoherent. She took a deep breath, attempting to express some sort of rational thought. "I'm not sure exactly what, but I know that I'm freaking out about something."

"Wait... what did I just say?" he asked slowly, backtracking in his mind, retracing his words that had caused her reaction.

She bit her lip, and spelled it out for him. "You were desperate to be able to perform for me."

"And that is a bad thing?" He was a tad incredulous. It seemed fair enough to him, perhaps noble, or at least 'good boyfriend' material rather than being the catalyst for an over analytical freak out.

She sighed. "Sometimes when you look at me..." Gabriella inhaled and then exhaled slowly. "You get this expression on your face, this look in your eyes... it is _so_ intense."

"What, I look at you like I love you?" he couldn't hide the sceptical, borderline bitter tang to his tone.

She shook her head, biting her lip. "It's more than that. It's like... it's like... I am your whole world."

"You are! You _are_ my whole world, Gabriella!"

His declaration was heartfelt and loving and came from the very depth of his being – and that in itself was exactly what terrified Gabriella. She closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that she was about to begin her descent upon the slippery path of all the thoughts that she was desperate to express to him and yet petrified of voicing aloud.

"Troy. I love you. And you mean the world to me. But you aren't my whole world. I have my mom, and other family. I have my friends; friends who I never thought that I could have. I have student council, and performing, and yearbook; all of which I love. I have my studies and my whole future and this intense need to achieve something in life."

"Don't you think I have other stuff too? I have family and friends and basketball and all that stuff too," he pointed out, a little defensive.

"So you should Troy, but sometimes I feel like you forget that; that you cannot separate that stuff from me. Like... with us talking about college and stuff."

"So what... you're... you're upset because I'm _too_ into you?" Troy asked, blinking, seeking clarification.

She exhaled, burying her head in her hands. When her thoughts were simplified into such black and white terms, they sounded ridiculous even to her. "It sounds insane when you put it like that. I must be the only girl in the world who could feel this way. But I just... it's a lot sometimes. We're seventeen, and we're young, and this is all new, and there's so much going on in life and sometimes you look at me that way and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and like I'm so lucky to have you here with me throughout all this." As she spoke, her lips curved into a small smile, the fuzzy feelings coursing through her. However she then shifted into the flip side of her thoughts, her elated expression becoming a little fragile. "But other times... other times, it gets overwhelming. I feel like... like you deserve more than me because you're so into me. Don't get me wrong, I love you so much but it's like I don't have as much as myself to give, not right now, because I'm spread out among all this other stuff and it's like, there's only so much of me and I don't know how to put myself into _us_ without taking it away from everything else."

As she spoke, he was overwhelmed by her rambling, attempting to comprehend the fragments of her confession. He shook his head. "I don't expect you to take anything away from anything else. I'd never want you to compromise yourself or anything like that."

"Why are you reassuring me? You should be upset with me right now!" Gabriella said, somewhere between frustration and disbelief. "I forgot our anniversary because I was too busy worrying about other things!"

"It's not like you forgot it completely," he pointed out. "We talk about it all the time. We just hadn't brought it up over the last week or so. And like, if you want to get really technical, maybe the anniversary would be in like a month's time when we like, decided we were going steady."

Gabriella shook her head. "Can I do anything wrong? It doesn't feel natural that you could be _so_ understanding."

"Don't you think it freaks me out that I feel so strongly about you? Sometimes it scares the fuck out of me – I think there must be something wrong with me. I don't care Gabriella, whether you remember our anniversary or not, I don't care that you have to spread your emotions into all these things. I just wanna be with you, regardless of all that." He spoke earnestly, truthfully, before conceding, "Yeah it hurts a bit that you forgot – but given what happened on Saturday, I guess maybe I'm not in the place to be pissed about it."

She was silent, staring out at the pond. The ducks had since disappeared, the sun was setting and it was closer to dark than light. She hugged her arms to her chest, right hand clutching at her upper arm, fingernails digging slightly into her skin.

"This is why I was putting off talking about it. Because I feel really confused and because I knew it would be hard to explain it to you."

"Okay well... you can start by explaining to me what all this has to do with Saturday night?"

She bit her lip. "It was that look Troy – the way you were looking at me when it all happened. At first it wasn't about all of this stuff I'm thinking about now. I just felt a bit... okay... I felt violated," she admitted. "And on that simple level it's still kind of about that. But the more time I took to think about it, the more that I knew I could deal with that stuff, and that it was more about this other stuff... about how you feel, and how I feel. It would almost be better if you had just been really horny and desperate to do it. But even when you were so drunk, I knew it was more. I knew that it was about that desperate frenzy to do it, not only for you but for me."

She was rambling, the stream of conscience flowing from her lips. He was just barely following her and not fully comprehending the depth of her feelings, just like he had barely followed the gist of her earlier ramblings. However he remained silent, allowing her to get it all out into the open.

"I don't think I'm mad at you. I know that you feel badly for what happened, and I know that you wouldn't have soberly done it, and I don't believe that even while drunk you'd ever do it again. It was a strange week, we made love more times last week than we have any other week and then we were at the party and separated and emotions were running high and..." she took a breath. "I think I'm okay with what happened. But it's more the other stuff that it's made me think about and feel and wonder and... and I know that this makes no sense to you. I know that you don't get how I can go from being upset about one thing to like, opening a can of worms and being so messed up about other things. I don't even know if I have the right to be feeling the things that I am..."

"You _always_ have the right to feel how you feel. Never apologise for feeling a certain way coz that's just how you feel." His tone was firm. He'd never begrudge her for harbouring particular feelings. He softened a little. "But Gabriella? I'm your boyfriend. We've been together for a year, we share ourselves intimately, I'm trying to work out a way for us to keep being together despite whatever else might happen. When you do work it all out – I think I have the right to know what is going on up there in that brain of yours. I know that you say that you don't quite get it now, and that's okay. But for a while now... I've been kinda pretending that I haven't noticed, but deep down I've known that you've been holding back to me about something. And the stuff you're saying now... it's scaring me."

She stared at her shoes, not prepared to either confirm or deny the accusation. She swallowed. "I think I just need... a little bit of time. There's this really big part of me that wants to just pretend that none of this ever happened and kiss you right now and everything will feel like it's okay. But it won't be okay, and I'll be telling myself that it is okay and not taking the time to sort through it in my own mind. And so I just need that bit of time; we can work together at rehearsal if we need to and have our classes together and everything. But... other than that I think that space will be good."

Troy felt his breath hitch in his throat and when he went to speak, a hoarse hacking sound came out. He cleared his throat, took a breath, and started again. "So when you say space... you mean like... a break?" His voice broke a little as he said the word 'break' out loud, almost as though he were back in the throes of early puberty.

His response was almost enough to make Gabriella's resolve dissipate, to give him a hug and insist it was okay and to forget what she'd said. "No! No, I don't mean it like that!" And she truly didn't – a break was more definitive, a break was like a step on the way to a break up, something that she was not suggesting by any means.

Immediately he felt a wave of relief come over him – and then the cloud of darkness began to creep back over as he registered that despite her reassurance, he still didn't quite know what she meant. "So, like, I'll give you space tomorrow and then maybe on Wednesday we can talk?" he suggested hopefully.

"I might need longer than that," she told him, her voice small.

He swallowed. He didn't want to give her longer – but he would. "If it's really just space that you need... then take it. Take as long as you need. That's if it's just space." He wasn't going to say the words out loud – the alternative of the space becoming something more permanent was something he couldn't even bring himself to contemplate, let alone say out loud.

She slid over on the bench, turning her body to face toward him. Her slender hand reached out to take his rougher hand in hers. "I would more than understand you being sceptical of this at the moment, but Troy... I do love you. Please don't doubt that."

He nodded, his thumb rubbing over the smooth skin of the back of her hand. "I know. That's pretty much what is getting me through this. Because I love you and you love me and... and so we can get through this."

Gabriella's lower lip trembled slightly, feeling imminent tears hitching in her throat. She took a deep breath, willing them to go away. She forced a smile that she could only hope was reassuring. His optimism was astounding, and yet it scared her. His faith in their love genuinely seemed to be of significance to him; and she could only wish that she could possess the same optimism that their mutual love could be enough to carry them through the journey that lay ahead.


	46. Chapter 45

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **Um, if anyone is in Albuquerque or has been there... I took a massive creative liberty regarding something tiny at the airport. Please forgive me if it is inaccurate. :)

Thanks to beta reader extraordinaire Audrey xo

A bit of promotions – this month I was honoured to be chosen as a guest theme selector for the ZA Angels write-off. There's about two weeks left to get entries in and I'd really love to see people taking the opportunity to challenge themselves and enter – whether you already be an author, or someone who has thought about writing but never taken the plunge. I've got more information in my profile, or you can just go straight to h t t p : / / z a a n g e l s . c o m and the entry is on the main page :)

Also, I've recently joined Twitter. If you want to follow me, my details are on my profile.

My formatting is screwy here, ffdotnet is being a douche... you can handle it... I'm running late for work so I'll fix it later :)

* * *

**Chapter 45**

_Let's make this moment last forever  
Like it's impossible to lose  
Let's make this moment last forever  
Though I don't really get to choose_

**_Bertine Zetlitz 'This Moment'_**

* * *

"Morning mom!" Gabriella said brightly, bounding into the kitchen on Tuesday morning. Elena was by the sink, rinsing out her coffee mug, and Gabriella gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"Cereal is on the counter poured and ready. I hope that's okay because there's no peanut butter left," Ryan informed her. He was just taking his last sip of his coffee.

"Thank you. I'm finished in the bathroom."

"Excellent."

Elena Montez couldn't help but smile at the pattern of domesticity that Gabriella and Ryan had fallen into. They had their own morning routine, had no problems with sharing the bathroom. It made her somewhat lament that she and Diego had never been able to have a second child, but feel pleased that fate had allowed Gabriella this sense of what it would be like to have a sibling. She wasn't sure how much longer the arrangement would continue, Ryan had been spending a lot of time with his mother, and Elena could only think it would be a matter of time before the Evans' family would try to come together to move through the difficult patch.

"Oh, and don't forget that we have to leave a little earlier today since I'm also picking up Kelsi on our way," Ryan called down the stairs.

Gabriella swallowed her mouthful of honey nut Cheerios and called back, "Okay!"

* * *

Tuesday morning was a lot smoother for Troy, as he was simple refusing to go through the same homeroom humiliation as the day before – therefore he dragged himself out of bed in time to get the bus to school. A year earlier he was accustomed to people anticipating his arrival from the bus, stepping down from the yellow vehicle and being surrounded by both acquaintances and friends. Instead he arrived to spot a group of Wildcats congregating around their usual spot by the fountain. Jason called out to him and Troy went over, exchanging handshakes with the guys and hugs with some of the girls. Just as he was pulling back from hugging Paula, Troy spotted Kelsi, Ryan and Gabriella approaching from the parking lot. Kelsi and Gabriella were trailing behind, approaching with a certain amount of trepidation – obviously both with similar reasons. They went safely over to greet Taylor and Martha personally, waving and calling out to others in greeting. Troy decided to bite the bullet and get it over with, and so he went over, slotting into their group.

"Morning girls," he said casually.

"Morning," Kelsi said, giving him a warm smile. Nothing had altered her perspective; and she was still not going to allow whatever was occurring between Troy and Gabriella to impact upon her friendship with either of them.

"Morning," Gabriella said, maintaining the same level of casual aloofness that he had. She then cleared her throat. "Um, I'm going to my locker so I'll see you guys in class?"

This was the point where usually Troy would volunteer to go with her, walking hand in hand and sneaking a kiss in the hallway when no teachers were in the immediate vicinity. He had to repress the instinctive urge to offer, it had bubbled on his lips without hesitation. Instead he remained quiet as Taylor identified she too wanted to go inside and all four of the girls headed into the building, leaving Troy watching after them, a pang of longing.

A hand clasped on his shoulder and he turned around to see Chad looking at him sympathetically. "You okay?"

"Fine. So uh, did you get a chance to look at any songs last night?" Troy asked Chad, not even attempting to be suave about changing the topic. "I kinda didn't, sorry, but some stuff came up."

Chad gave Troy a look, a look stating very explicitly that he didn't approve of his friend pretending to be okay. Troy ignored the glare and Chad sighed.

"No, not really. I put some different stuff onto my iPod though so I guess we can have a listen for ideas."

"It'd be easier if Evans just picked us a song," Troy remarked.

"Which Evans? If you mean Pink Princess, I would never give her that power. God knows what shit she'd pick."

Troy wrinkled up his nose, flashbacks to summer and the horrendous remix of Kelsi's beautiful ballad he'd been forced to rehearse over and over. "I meant Ryan."

"My ears are burning, what?" Ryan said, overhearing his name and turning to join Chad and Troy.

"Evans, me and Hoops want you to just pick our song for this show thing. Something cool, preferably, last thing I want is to come across looking like I'm..." Chad cut himself off, eyes widening slightly. He'd been about to say 'a fag' but realised that the remark may not be in good taste to Ryan.

The blonde boy's eyebrows raised – knowing exactly what the end of the sentence. "Don't worry Chad, I'm not about to have you guys doing an _It's Raining Men_ cover."

Chad's eye's widened. "I'd friggin' well hope not!"

"No Village People, either," Troy added.

Ryan stared at them. "I have a _bit_ of class. Look. Think about it more today and tonight, get some ideas, and we can help you brainstorm in your rehearsal group tomorrow if you haven't come up with something, okay?"

* * *

Tuesday continued with little drama, however with a cloud of tension hanging over the Wildcats. No one knew exactly what was going on with Troy and Gabriella; but it was evident to all that something wasn't right. The usually sickly sweet couple were just barely conversing and certainly not engaging in their usual sneaked kisses in the corridors or the whispering of sweet nothings when they thought no one was paying attention. However life went on regardless with the monotonous drone of life at East High. Troy and Gabriella spoke amicably in class when required according to common courtesy. In the absence of Troy and Gabriella as the class couple, Chad and Taylor seemed to step it up a notch. Neither was present in the cafeteria during Tuesday lunch and emerged for class looking a little dishevelled. Kelsi, Gabriella and Ryan were once again sitting on the upper level of the cafeteria with key drama club members discussing rehearsal plans. This left Jason, Troy and Zeke downstairs in a scene reminiscent of the first half of junior year, hanging with a mix of athletes and cheer squad members.

Rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon was a series of organised chaos. Minor changes had been made to Zeke and Jason's cooking show comedy routine, and then they'd 'rehearsed' together – meaning they'd stood around while Zeke had spied on Sharpay as she helped some girls with their dance choreography and Jason teased Zeke. Martha's hip hop dance group were present and working together to come up with some sample choreography. Kelsi was working with one of the instrumental numbers, while Theodore was working with some kids who had put together a skit. Ryan and Gabriella were combing through their rehearsal schedule and the show night schedule of performances. There were seemingly a space to be filled – someone had pulled out because of a clash with their sister's wedding and they were tossing around ideas for replacements. Ryan had an idea but he was certain that Gabriella wasn't going to go for it, at least not at that point in time, so he kept it to himself.

Wednesday arrived and the morning was a repeat of the day before – amicable greeting in the morning followed by semi-avoidance. Lunchtime rolled around slowly and for a change of pace, the girls claimed their own table – Sharpay reluctantly being brought over by Kelsi to join Gabriella, Martha and Taylor at their 'girls only' table. Ryan had attempted to join them but had been sent away to the boys table, which amused Chad greatly.

"So we're your second choice?" Chad teased as Ryan slid into the table.

The four varsity basketball players were attempting to be subtle about it, but in reality they were all spying on the girls' table – Troy sneaking glances at Gabriella, Chad exchanging blatantly flirtatious looks with Taylor, Zeke and Sharpay sharing subtle smiles and Jason pretending that he didn't care that Kelsi was just a few tables over but in reality cared a whole lot more than he was letting on.

Zeke tore his attention away from Sharpay, turning to her twin brother. It was possible that Ryan and only Ryan could provide the answers he'd been searching for. "Actually, dude, I'm glad that you're here."

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? Should I be worried?"

"No, but you can be helpful because I totally need your help."

Ryan quirked his eyebrows, amused by the desperation in Zeke's tone. "Pardon?"

"I have been racking my brain all week, and I finally thought I'd come up with an awesome plan for Saturday night but now I just... " Zeke exhaled. "I don't know."

"Saturday night..." Ryan intoned, needing clarification.

"My date with your sister," Zeke said, as though it were obvious and Ryan were stupid for not realising. It was, after all, the most important date of his life – the journey he'd taken with Sharpay to get to the point of their first date was ridiculously long winded, and they'd been through too much for him to screw it up now.

"Oh! Right." Ryan coughed and cleared his throat. He appreciated that Zeke wanted advice, the feelings that the basketball playing baker had harboured for his sister had never been a secret. But it wasn't exactly something he felt completely comfortable being involved with. "Look Zeke, I don't know if I am in the position to give you advice."

"Why not? If anyone _gets_ Sharpay, it's you!"

Ryan sighed. "Look Zeke, I like you man, and I think you've been great for my sister and I hope it works out. But I'm feeling more compelled to give you like a, 'if you hurt her I'll hurt you' kind of speech, rather than telling you how you can make it go well."

The others laughed while Zeke looked put out. "Thanks," he said sarcastically. "Glad you think so highly of me. I would _never_ hurt her."

Ryan exhaled "I don't think you would intentionally but sometimes things just happen. And Sharpay is... well... she's kinda high maintenance," he said tactfully. "And maybe right now you're okay with maintaining her but what if you get sick of it, but you get sick of it after she falls?"

"So what, you'd rather we just didn't go out? Of all people I thought you'd be all for like, acting on your feelings and stuff."

"The man's point is understandable though," Chad cut in. "I don't care where I am in the world, the day that mom tells me that Jayme starts dating, I'll be back home to threaten the guy."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Which is just fucked. Like, seriously, it's not necessary. If the guy does something wrong, sure, get pissed at him. But Gabi's mom gave me a speech about being protective and standing in for her dad and everything. But give a guy a chance first."

"You don't get it because you don't have a sister," Chad said.

"I agree with Bolton. Innocent til proven guilty, you know?" Zeke added. He nudged Jason. "You'd agree wouldn't you? You must've gotten that speech from Kelsi's dad or something, totally unnecessarily."

"I never got introduced to Kelsi's parents," Jason said dully.

"Oh." Zeke felt sheepish. He turned back to Ryan, diverting the topic back to its original point. "Come on, you've gotta throw me a bone here! At this point _any tip_ will do."

"What did you have planned?" Ryan asked.

"Well, dinner, at a nice restaurant – an early dinner since she has her whole carbohydrate eating issue. And somewhere with a decent healthy menu. And then... well... I want to have fun. We seem to have a really great time when we're talking so I kinda don't want to go to a movie plus it's a bit cliché. But I'm not sure what she'd be into doing."

"I know I'm not Ryan, but can I give you some advice?" Troy asked.

"Yes," Zeke said eagerly. "Anyone; ideas, suggestions, whatever you have would be awesome."

"Unless you're full of it, from what you've told me... you and Sharpay get along well, yeah? Like, you actually talk and stuff?"

"Yeah, we do."

"And like, she acts kinda... normal? You guys went to the movies, you had popcorn? You got her to do the canoeing thing at the senior camp?"

"What's your point?"

Troy paused, and then decided to just cut to the chase and be blunt. "Stop overanalysing. Obviously she likes you for you. If she wanted to be with some pompous country clubber, she would be. She wants to go out with _you_. She likes hanging with _you._ You don't need to try that hard, you know?"

"Yeah but, don't forget still a date. Gotta have some sort of standard," Chad added. "Dress nice."

Zeke was thoughtful. "Okay so... this is great. But I want specifics. Tell me _exactly_ where and when I should be taking her."

"Hire a private jet and take her to Venice," Jason suggested sarcastically.

Zeke blinked, obtuse to the sarcasm. "That sounds great but something tells me I can't afford that, man."

The normally oblivious Jason rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, none of us really give a fuck. Just take her on a picnic and get her some daisies. Done."

Zeke might've been unaware of the sarcasm but the harshness of Jason's tone was unmistakable. "Dude, what's up your ass?"

"What's up my ass? Nothing is up my ass. I just think that maybe some people are sick of you going on about how fantastic things are working out with you and Sharpay. Congratulations and all but some of us don't need to hear about it every fucking second of the day."

"Dude, chill," Troy said, glancing at Jason in alarm. He understood that Jason was feeling uptight about his break up with Kelsi, but lashing out at Zeke was an extreme reaction.

"Let's talk about something else, something other than the girls," Ryan added, attempting to be the peacemaker.

"Right, yes," Chad agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Like um..."

The cafeteria chatter around them filled the quiet among the guys, a quiet that was cut through by a sudden suggestion from Troy. "Uh, the show? How does everyone think the show is coming along?"

Peace was restored – at least temporarily.

* * *

Despite Ryan's promise that Chad and Troy would be given support at Wednesday afternoon's rehearsal, the guys were once again left pretty much to their own devices. They were slightly more productive, coming up with a few possible songs that wouldn't be blatant social suicide to perform together. Ryan got around to them about five minutes before the end of rehearsal and had the chance to glance over their list.

"There's some potential here... you're both coming tomorrow, right?" They nodded, confirming this. "We'll schedule a block with Kelsi. Play with some of these ideas. I'm feeling maybe a medley? That could be cool, snippets from a few songs?"

Just before rehearsal let out, they made definite arrangements with Kelsi. She had glanced over the songs they'd outlined, nodding along and promising to put together something so they could experiment the next day.

Thursday flew by even faster than Wednesday and before they knew it, Troy and Chad were finally given time with Ryan and Kelsi in the music room, attempting to create some sort of a performance.

At first, Troy and Chad had covered their discomfort with immature laughter and jokes. It didn't matter that a few months earlier they'd driven down to New Mexico State together with music blasting, singing happily at the top of their lungs without a care as to what the other sounded like. Troy was slightly more comfortable than Chad – at least he was reasonably settled singing in front of Kelsi and Ryan. Chad on the other hand was intimidated on multiple levels. They wasted a good fifteen minutes before an impatient Kelsi stepped up as a voice of reason.

"Look you guys have known each other forever, I don't think I want to know about all the embarrassing things you probably know about each other. This is not a big deal, you've heard each other sing – Chad, you've seen Troy perform more than once! And as for me and Ryan – what you're doing now is more embarrassing than actually giving it a go."

Ryan added, "And unless the two of you want to go on stage in front of everyone looking like a couple of idiots..."

"Hey, this wasn't our idea. Hell, I don't want to be doing this at all!" Chad protested.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "If you _really_ didn't want to do it, you'd never have auditioned. And if you were going to back out, you wouldn't be here today and you definitely wouldn't have come to every rehearsal."

Chad didn't have a comeback – because deep down, he knew it was partly true. At first, the whole concept of doing this show had been a bit ridiculous. But since he'd gotten in and been involved, the idea had become fun. All their friends were involved – and now that Taylor had gotten her head around the idea, she'd found ways to be involved herself, writing an article for the yearbook about the project and talking about volunteering with the set up on show day. And so he sighed, and glanced at Troy.

"Okay. Let's... be serious," he conceded a little gruffly.

And from that point, it was like a whole different rehearsal.

* * *

Troy felt a bit of a bittersweet pang about being released from rehearsal that afternoon. Getting to miss a day of school for his college visits away was fairly novel, something that would be novel for any teenager. However in the current status of his relationship with Gabriella, missing a day of school was missing the sweet precious moments of being in her company. They'd been amicable throughout the week, occasionally engaging in small talk in class or heading to rehearsal together; however the few times he'd attempted to slip into usual behaviour – taking her hand, placing his palm on the small of her back – she had gently moved him away and simply said quietly, "Troy..." in that one worded reminder that despite the lapse, things were not okay, that he was lucky that they had any kind of interaction.

And so as he and Chad headed toward the exit with a cluster of other performers, Troy was more than surprised to hear Gabriella calling out to him.

"Troy! Wait up!"

He halted mid step, someone who had been walking just behind him coming close to careening into his back but stopping short just in time. Troy turned around, hesitantly optimistic.

"Yeah?" he said carefully.

She stepped forward away from where the drama club were gathering for their post rehearsal debrief, and Troy moved away from the doorway to the side.

"Uh Hoops, I'll head outside and wait there," Chad said, gesturing away. Troy was riding home with Chad, given the lack of a vehicle situation.

Troy gave him a small nod and a grateful smile before turning back to Gabriella. Her arms were hugging her chest, and she'd paused a safe distance away from him.

"What's up?" he asked.

She cleared her throat. "Um... I um.... I just wanted to say that I hope you have a great weekend in Connecticut." She gave him a hesitant smile.

He returned her hesitant smile. "Thank you."

"Are you looking forward to it?" she asked conversationally.

Troy shrugged. "It should be interesting. Since I'm going on my own – which my mom is freaking out about, by the way – you'd think it would be a great chance to take advantage of the party initiation... but something tells me I won't feel like drinking in the slightest."

She shook her head slightly. "If you feel like partying, just party. Don't let... you know... anything that might've happened... hold you back."

"I'll see what the mood is like. I fly out pretty early Sunday morning anyway, don't think flying hung over is the greatest idea."

Gabriella nodded. "Fair enough." They stood in silence for a moment, before she added, "Anyway that's all. I just wanted to say good luck. Since... I know how important these trips are for you."

"I appreciate that," he said honestly. It was a simple exchange, but one of a great deal of meaning to Troy. Her reaching out to him was symbolic, symbolic that she cared enough to extend the message. Certainly after all they'd experienced together, he knew that she cared, no amount of 'space' could change that. But it never hurt to be reminded. It was comforting.

She bit her lower lip, and then in a sudden whim, a compulsion driven from some place within; she stepped forward, narrowed the gap between them, and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her instinctively, holding her slender frame close to his and savouring those moments of connection, better than any of the moments they'd had throughout the week. He took in a deep breath, inhaling her scent, taking in every fibre of her being.

And then almost as quickly as it began, it was over, her body moving back and he reluctantly let her go, despite the temptation to cling on for dear life.

"I have my meeting and you have Chad waiting for you," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

That moment captured her exact reasoning for requesting space all week. Because of that feeling right there, the desire she had every moment in his presence to be touching him in some way, even if it was just her pinkie on his hand. How was she meant to sort through her feelings and objectives when her brain desired the sensation of his warm skin at the tips of her fingers?

Troy nodded, one final smile at her with a quick farewell of, "See you Monday?" before departing the room and walking through the corridors of East High in a slight haze.

One look at Troy and Chad knew that his best friend's mind was swarming. It was a look he'd grown accustomed to over the years. Troy had this tendency to go into a half brooding, half contemplative sulk.

"Wanna shoot some hoops?" Chad suggested, his suggestion half a code for 'let's hang and you can vent.'

Troy hesitated. "Mom said she wants me straight home. Maybe you could come over and we could shoot hoops at my place?"

One quick call from each of the guys to their mothers and things were settled, Chad was heading to the Bolton's for dinner provided he left by 9 – Troy was due at the airport early the next morning so Lucille had made clear that this rule would be enforced firmly.

By 8pm, Lucille's pasta Bolognese had been scarfed down (in both first and second helpings by each of the boys) along with the garlic bread and a healthy serve of apple pie and vanilla ice cream. The boys excused themselves out onto the basketball half court which was the prominent feature of the Bolton backyard. Chad scooped up the orange sphere which had been left lying beneath the hoop.

"Better make sure you're in shape, need to represent us Wildcats at UConn this weekend," Chad said with a grin, throwing the ball hard at Troy.

The Wildcat point guard grinned cockily as he caught the ball and promptly bounce passed it back across to his co-captain. "Bring it."

First to ten became the best of three – and then a contentious three pointer from Troy at 9-9 in the third where Chad insisted that there had been a foul. This then led to a playful wrestling match on the patch of grass beside the court, which was only interrupted by Chad's cell phone beeping with the sound of an incoming text from his pocket, the guys laughing as they broke apart. Troy laid back on the grass, hands behind his head, as Chad was fixed on his cell phone. Troy glanced at his buddy, observing the small smile on his face.

"Taylor?"

Chad glanced down at Troy and nodded. "Yeah."

"I take it that's all good?"

The small smile on Chad's face became bigger. "Better than ever."

"That's good," Troy said, genuinely happy for him. "Really great, man."

"What did Gab want to talk about before?" Chad asked.

"Oh... she just wished me luck for the weekend," he responded dismissively.

"So you guys are still..." he paused. "You're not exactly fighting so I don't know what to call it."

"She wants space." Troy rolled his eyes. "These girls, one minute you're not paying them enough attention and then the next they want space. It's hard to keep track, sometimes."

"And why does she want space?"

"Who the fuck knows," Troy said with a sigh.

Chad's eyebrows quirked. "It's not like Gab to not explain to you..."

"I don't know if she knows. She's confused. I'm confused. It's just all kinds of fucked up." Troy let out a groan, his eyes closed and his head rested back on the grass while his hands massaged at his temples.

"Dude... speak," Chad advised. "Just get it out."

Troy opened his eyes, sighing as he sat upright, legs out in front of him with the right crossed over the left, leaning back on his hands. "A guy makes one mistake – a fucked up one, I admit – and it just totally spirals into... all this."

"Okay... let's go back. What happened on Saturday?" Chad prodded, knowing that the catalyst for this cluster fuck was something which happened on Saturday at the party.

Troy hesitated. He wanted to talk about it so badly; it was positively eating him up. Even if all it led to was being judged by his oldest friend in the world. But at the same time, he was happy in denial land – talking about everything meant coming to terms with the reality of the scenario.

"You're gonna think I'm an ass," Troy finally said vaguely.

Chad pointed to himself. "Like brothers. Oldest friend in the world. Talk to me."

Troy swallowed, and began to tell the story in a low voice. "Right okay so... we were at the party. And... dancing. And then went upstairs. And we were fooling around and stuff. It was really intense and... hurried."

Chad nodded, motioning for Troy to keep going. "Yeah okay, and?"

"We were like, ready to you know... do it... and started to do it... and then..." Troy grimaced, lowered his voice even further. "Err. I couldn't um... I wasn't staying..." Chad looked confused, not working out the end of the sentence. Troy cleared his throat. "I wasn't... staying... up?" he glanced down at his crotch to emphasise the point.

Chad's eyes widened. "Oh!" he exclaimed, his tone then becoming downcast. "Oh."

Troy nodded, taking every inch of his willpower to not run away in embarrassment. He pointed out somewhat defensively, "I was really drunk you know, and... they say it happens..."

"Has it uh... happened to you before?"

Almost as quickly as the question left Chad's lips, Troy was insisting firmly, "No! I mean, sometimes it's quick, you know? But not... not like that! Anyway, I don't remember everything but I was mortified and she was reassuring but I still wanted to try so she was... you know... doing stuff..."

It was hard enough retelling the story, even to his best friend, and he wasn't going to further degrade the story by being specific about what she was doing.

"Yeah..."

"And it'd come back up but then we'd _try_ again and it went back down."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"So... Gab is mad about this?" Chad asked, eyebrows raising. "She doesn't seem like the type to like, care about that kind of thing."

"Oh no, she was cool with that part. It uh... it gets worse."

"It gets worse?" Chad asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately." Troy grimaced. "I got a bit... annoyed... and I kind of made a suggestion that we try without a condom coz it might help... and she didn't like that but I got a bit... pushy."

"Pushy?" Chad echoed, alarm bells ringing.

"I don't remember exactly. I guess I was trying to convince her that we should give it a try and she sorta had to shove me away..." Troy played down the incident, remembering it in more detail than he was letting on. "But she isn't even upset about that. Somehow what happened then she's decided is like, some symbol, for all this other shit. She was going on how about busy she is and that I love her so much and that she feels bad that she can't give back the same or something." Troy sat up, legs crossing. "I don't know man, I just... I don't know why she overanalyses it. I love her so fucking much, like... it's scary."

"Yeah, we know. And it is scary," Chad agreed.

"What?"

"Come on dude. You're like... insanely into her. I mean, I love Taylor and we... you know... say that to each other. But you're like, on this _other_ level."

"Why is that a bad thing?" Troy asked incredulously. "I mean, that's what she was doing. She was making me feel bad for loving her so much. Like, what the hell? She says she loves me and I believe that. I don't care if she's busy or if she only has five minutes to give me every day."

"Sounds like you don't even need five minutes," Chad joked – the comedy met with a stony face by Troy. "Sorry, low blow."

Troy let out an aggravated sigh. "I just wanna go back six months ago, you know? Six months ago this shit wasn't an issue. Now everything seems to revolve around this whole college mess."

"Funny that, everything revolving around it when neither of you will talk about it properly."

"What's to talk about? Neither of us know where we're gonna go yet. Did you and Taylor talk about it before you went to Sacramento?"

"A little, not a lot, but I think in more definite terms than you guys. We agreed that we're making our decisions for ourselves and that we'll give the long distance thing a crack if we have to. Have you and Gabriella even said that much?"

"We don't need to say it. That's just like... a given. I'd never end things with her, she's the best thing that ever happened to me. Besides, I'm hoping it won't come to that."

"Won't come to what?"

"Long distance. She's got Yale on her list, and Yale isn't that far away from UConn, same with Stanford being near Berkeley, and I'm still trying to get a visit to Boston."

Chad stared at Troy for a moment, before shaking his head. "Dude."

"What?"

"So... you're hoping that once you work out what college you wanna go to, that Gabriella will fit things around that?" Chad asked sceptically.

"I think that we love each other and so a bit of compromise would be fair, yeah. Half the reason I started taking colleges other than U of A seriously was because I knew there was no way in hell that she was going to be sticking around here for long after graduation."

"And this compromise you talk of.... have you told her that you think that? Coz sure, it's fair enough if you're on the same wavelength about it..."

Troy didn't respond. That was the very problem. Gabriella's words indicated that she was of contrary opinion – that they should be making decisions for themselves. Her strength and independence were features he generally found attractive. However he'd be lying if he claimed there wasn't an optimistic part of him that hoped that when actually faced with the prospect of separation, she may feel differently. The optimism he held may be false or fatal but that didn't make it any less prominent in his mind. He loved her, and she loved him, and being separated from each other was always difficult – and so to him it only made sense that they find a way to make it work.

When he finally spoke, he didn't respond directly to Chad's comment. "All I know is that the idea of being away from her... it hurts. Thinking about it, it hurts, man. And you can think I'm a pussy for that if you want, and I'll take it, and I'll take it proudly, because getting picked to sing that dumb song at that ski resort in Colorado was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Chad responded teasingly, "I do think you're a pussy." But then his tone turned serious. "But at the same time... I kinda get it. I don't totally get it... but I know you're for real, and I respect that. And it's because I respect it that I am telling you that you're talking to the wrong person about this."

"We talked about it more on Monday than we have before," Troy admitted.

"But you still didn't really talk about it, because you were talking about Saturday night, not about college," Chad pointed out.

"We skirted around it, I guess. I kind of wanted to press her more but then she started going on about needing space and everything."

"Get it over with, and sooner rather than later."

"Well right now she's barely talking to me," Troy groaned.

Chad shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "That'll pass."

* * *

After what felt like only a few hours nap, Troy was seated in the backseat of his mother's black 2006 Saturn VUE SUV with his overnight bag beside him, bright and early Friday morning.

"Mama, seriously, I'm gonna be fine."

Lucille swivelled around from the front passenger seat to face him. "I just feel like I should've asked work for the time off so I could come with you."

Jack glanced back at Troy in the rear vision mirror. It was Lucille's car but often he'd take the wheel if they were going somewhere together. "If we weren't so tight for time we could've put this weekend back. It's just that this athletic conference tomorrow is really important. But you do know that if you want to talk to me about any of the offers they're making I'm just a phone call away, I can slip out at any time?"

Troy had heard this speech numerous times over the course of the week. When he'd had his official visit offers and options for different weekends, Jack had been more than disappointed that he'd be unavailable to escort Troy to Storrs for the trip to the University of Conecticut. Lucille had then wanted to go, not so much in a coaching mentor capacity as Jack would, but rather in the parental support role. However it was problematic due to staffing issues at her work and an overlap with some other employees on vacation. Prior to his Butler trip two weekends earlier, Troy had been lamenting having his father's company but in hindsight there had been certain benefits. Overall however, he wasn't particularly bothered by the lack of a parental companion; he was apathetic to it really, since he had no plans to party hard.

"I know, dad. It'll be fine." He let out a tired yawn – it was 5am, his flight was scheduled to depart at 6:25am.

"You know you cannot dawdle at the airport in between your connections?" Lucille asked.

This was the most frustrating part about the flights they'd booked for him – he had not one but two connecting flights to get to Hartford, changing in Denver and then Chicago. There had been an option to have just the one connecting flight but it left later and he wouldn't have arrived early enough to attend one of the allocated freshman classes he could observe. This wouldn't have bothered Troy but his mother had insisted that he needed to get a perspective of both the athletic and academic aspects of the college. In both cities he had over an hour wait for the connection, and he was due to arrive in Hartford just after 4pm; and then to be transported the to the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs about a half hour away.

"I think I can manage to get from one gate to another in an hour," Troy said seriously.

"There's only fifty minutes in Denver, and boarding is often a half hour earlier. If you stop to get a drink or use the bathroom or anything, just keep your ears open for announcement over the PA," she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. He was too tired to point out how ridiculous and overprotective she was being, simply replying with, "Okay, mama."

"And don't talk to any strangers. And make sure that when they come to pick you up at the airport, that it is actually them, ask for some sort of proof that they are from the university."

Jack snorted, glancing sideways at his wife. "Lucy, he's seventeen, not seven."

"And it's not like I've never flown alone before," Troy reminded her.

"The last time you flew alone you were twelve and we had you registered as a child travelling alone so you were going to be looked after," she pointed out.

"Because at the age of twelve you kind of need someone to make sure you get from one place to another okay. If it makes you feel better, I'll call you between each flight just so you know that I'm there waiting at the next gate."

He was being a little sarcastic but his mother immediately nodded. "Yes please."

* * *

As they drew toward the end of the school day, Gabriella was becoming a little impatient. She had her cell phone in her jeans pocket rather than in her bag and was more than prepared to pull it out sneakily and glance at the screen should it vibrate. But it hadn't vibrated. New Mexico was two hours behind Connecticut and as such, if all had gone to plan, Troy's plane should have already landed. They weren't on the best of terms but nonetheless she couldn't help but hope that he would text her so she'd know he'd arrived safe and sound. She wasn't afraid of flying, nor did she have a lack of faith in the aircraft industry of the United States. But it was still nice to know.

However the minutes ticked by, Gabriella glancing at the wall and working out exactly how minutes it would be since he should've landed and therefore how many minutes since he could've turned his phone back on. The end of school bell rang and while her classmates jumped up in avid excitement for the glorious two days off that lay before them, Gabriella yanked her cell out of her pocket, confirming that he hadn't texted, that the vibrate wasn't broken on her phone.

And then a moment later, a figure stood in front of her and Gabriella looked up to see Chad holding his cell phone. He held it out for Gabriella to take; he had it open to a text message.

_Just landed and found uconn ppl. Can u tell anyone who mite want to know. Thx._

Gabriella reread the message twice, taking in every syllable of the short sentences, before holding the phone back up to Chad.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a smile.

Taylor appeared from behind, sliding in next to Chad as Gabriella stood up and began to back up her satchel. Chad's arm comfortably slipped around Taylor's waist, pulling her a little closer.

"You're staying for another drama meeting aren't you?" Taylor asked, confirming with Gabriella.

She nodded and rolled her eyes. She leaned forward, murmuring quietly, "Sooo over it. I did not sign up for daily meetings. Thank God this is over in a few weeks time."

Chad smirked and Taylor laughed. "We're happy to take you back for the decathlon, if you want?" she said teasingly.

Gabriella gave her a small smile. "Don't tempt me, seriously."

"Hey Gabriella, you coming?"

All three of Taylor, Chad and Gabriella turned around to see Ryan at the classroom door smiling brightly.

Gabriella nodded and returned the smile. "Uh huh, be right there." She then turned back to Taylor. "Let me know about tomorrow, okay?"

The girls had planned to hang out in the afternoon. Taylor nodded and smiled. "Definitely."

"And Chad... thanks, again."

He returned her smile. "Not a problem."

* * *

The Evans' mansion never failed to intimidate Zeke. He'd been there a few times over the years –as a pre-teen to the joint pool party the twins had hosted, inviting everyone in their class. Over recent times – for the fall musical after party and various hang outs that Ryan had hosted. Each and every time he would drive up to the security gate, lean over and press the intercom and wait in awkward anticipation to be let in. Usually if Ryan was expecting visitors he would answer it himself although once it had been the housekeeper to buzz Zeke in through the gate.

However the voice that accompanied the crackling over the intercom on Saturday evening surprised Zeke.

"Hey! Come on up," Sharpay's bright voice said.

Zeke blinked, Sharpay didn't seem like the intercom answering type but she was continually surprising him the more he got to her know and so he really shouldn't have been too surprised. "Um okay..."

He drove smoothly into one of the visitor parking bays out the front. He'd taken a good hour washing his car and detailing the inside, however glanced around one more time to confirm in his mind that things were appropriately tidy. A deep breath, and he was on his way trotting up the front steps and his finger was pressing against the metallic gold doorbell. He took a moment to smooth down his navy dress shirt and pull up his black slacks. He was anticipating Mr. or Mrs. Evans opening the front door and whereas he'd met both of them previously it had been in an employee –employer capacity; or as one of Ryan's friends. Courting their baby girl was an entirely different role and he suspected that impressing them was of utmost importance if he wanted to continue to do so.

Yet again, however, he was surprised when it was Sharpay herself who threw open the door.

"You're here! Excellent. Right on time. Let's get going!"

His brain told him to immediately compliment her outfit, because she did look amazing – she was wearing a Jill Stuart strapless cocktail length black dress with a straight neckline, boned bodice and ruffled tiers on the skirt. This was teamed with black tights and simple black pumps; and she also had a black clutch purse in hand and a cashmere cardigan slung over her arm in case of a draft. However before he could even step inside, kiss her cheek, praise her beauty or even say hello; she had closed the door behind her and was hurrying down the steps toward Zeke's car.

"Um... where's the fire?" Zeke joked, following behind her.

She paused and looked back at him, expression puzzled. "Huh?"

"I uh, I just thought that maybe your dad would like, wanna come out and have words with me or something. Or are your parents not home?"

Sharpay raised her eyebrows. "Do you _want_ my dad to have words with you?"

He shrugged. "No point in prolonging the inevitable."

"Not tonight," she said shortly.

Something about her expression piqued his interest but he wasn't going to press her. And so he merely followed her to the car, overtaking her stride and reaching the passenger door first to pull it open for her. However before she could step into the vehicle, Zeke grasped onto her waist, turning her toward him.

"You look really pretty," he said with a smile. "Thanks for agreeing to this."

She blushed, ducking her head slightly. "You look nice too," she conceded. "The blue looks good on you. You should wear it more often."

"Noted."

Zeke stepped back and allowed her to take her seat, and off they headed toward the destination that he'd finally settled on after a great deal of contemplation. He'd made a specific CD for the car trip that was mostly filled with songs that he personally didn't know – Sharpay was a fan of just about any Idol winner or ex-contestant and in particular the strong female characters who had emerged from the show. And so Zeke had downloaded a bunch of songs by Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and Kelly Clarkson and burnt a CD. Sharpay was pleasantly surprised and it provided a topic of conversation, her questioning the music he would typically play in his car, Zeke confessing his gesture and Sharpay informing him that he will thank her later after he realises the 'brilliance of the musical talent of these women.'

Things were light and jovial, up until the moment when Zeke pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley.

"Um, are you just stopping to give something to someone or something?" Sharpay asked warily, glancing at the gaudy lit up neon sign of the bowling alley.

"Nope," Zeke said, his tone cheerful – however the cheeriness was forced, for it was a cover up for his nerves.

Troy's advice to Zeke had resonated. Zeke could organise the most incredible, magical first date that lived up to Sharpay's highest of expectations. But it wouldn't be him, and it wouldn't be something he could maintain in the long term. He had no problem with bringing a bit of romance to the table for special occasions. But if this was ever going to be something that could work with Sharpay – she had to like him for him. It was simple. Nine months earlier he would have moved the sun and the moon for her. Now, his feelings were more grounded – and yet, they were more real.

"You've got to be joking. Is this for real?" Sharpay asked dubiously, glancing around at the buildings next door in search of some alternate explanation for why they were parked there. The explanation wasn't forthcoming, for there was a warehouse on to the right and an apartment block to the left.

"Sharpay, if you want caviar and fine dining, I'm not the guy you wanna be dating. I'm broke. I don't have cash lying around or a money tree in my backyard. This is the kind of thing that I do on dates. There's actually a cafe inside that has some great sandwiches and salads and things; and on Saturday nights they have some cool pop music going and the lights are down and its all glowy and funky. It might actually be fun if you gave it a try. If you don't want to then we can go do something else..."

"I just I um... I didn't bring socks," Sharpay said triumphantly.

Zeke reached behind him into the backseat, pulling out a pair of pink women's socks he'd purchased, anticipating this from her.

"They're brand new. Calling out to you," he waved them in front of her, and she didn't immediately take them – which he felt alarmed by. He sighed, downcast. "You really do hate it. I knew you'd be sceptical but you really, really hate the idea."

Sharpay exhaled. "You know what? What the hell, why not? I'll probably regret saying this. If I hate it – which I probably will – you _will_ hear about it and you'll regret ever bringing me here."

Zeke nodded. "Excellent, fine, that I can handle. But you'll come in and be open-minded and give it a go?"

With a forced smile, Sharpay nodded. Zeke got out of the car and ran around to open her door before she could object. In her three hundred dollar dress and stiletto pumps, she shyly accepted Zeke's hand and allowed him to lead her inside. Zeke had made a booking for a lane in one hour's time, giving them plenty of time to peruse the menu at the cafe and purchase food. Sharpay was surprised to find a Caesar salad on the menu and even more surprised when it was brought out that it was of high quality. Zeke was a good conversationalist, he made jokes without becoming overbearing, he could talk about serious matters and listened to her telling him about the show plans, her dance classes and her call back audition for Juilliard that she was in the midst of preparing for.

After they finished eating, Sharpay excused herself to go to the bathroom and agreed to meet Zeke at the front desk. He went to begin organising shoe hire –having asked Sharpay for her shoe size – and slipped an extra five across the bench to get a newer, nicer pair of shoes for her. She returned and they made their way down to the lane with the fresh soda's Zeke had purchased for them, and began the process of putting on their shoes.

"You know, some guys would've brought me flowers. You brought me pink socks."

"Well, mine is a more practical gift. The flowers would just die. You can keep the pink socks and every time you wear them you'll think of tonight."

Sharpay couldn't help but giggle. "This is true. I'll wear them with my tap shoes. They're actually pretty cute, as far as socks go."

"See I picked well," he teased.

Zeke led Sharpay over to the ball rack, immediately gravitating toward the ball he knew would be appropriate for him. Sharpay hung back, glancing at the balls uncertainly. She spotted a bright pink ball and smiled, picking it up. Zeke had already turned his back and headed back over to their lane when she picked it up, and he missed the expression of surprise on her face when she felt the weight of the ball. She grimaced but nonetheless carried it over and plonked it down beside Zeke's in the rack.

"Okay, let's do this!" Zeke said with a bright smile. "Ladies first."

"Um, you can go first," she insisted quickly. "You know, show off to me."

He laughed but obliged her. He quickly picked up his ball, swiftly knocking down five in his first bowl and two in the second.

"Okay, that wasn't great. But I'm still warming up," he said, confident that he'd pick up his game. "Your turn."

Sharpay took a deep breath, tentatively stepping toward the ball rack. She then paused as she glanced at the holes.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked.

She sighed and turned to face him. "Okay um... so... I've never been ten pin bowling before," she admitted.

"Never? Not even when you were little?" Zeke asked incredulously.

She shook her head. "No. I've played lawn bowls... I guess it's kind of like that?"

"Um... kind of, but not at all."

"Anyway so I don't even know how to hold the ball properly. I can barely hold this thing with two hands, let alone however you were holding it in your fingers."

"Wow you... so you like, haven't even seen a television show or movie where they play?"

"I'm sure it's been in something I've watched but it's not like I'm watching technique! I know you throw the ball down there and aim it at the pins."

"Well let's start simple – let's get you the right ball."

* * *

The announcement that his final flight was due to land soon and that seats needed to be upright, tray tables stowed and personal electronic devices switched off could not have been more welcome for Troy. It was only about 5:30pm but it felt like it was after midnight. He was utterly exhausted, after a weekend which had consisted of an intense work out session, a late night of partying and six flights – all within two and a half days. He practically stumbled from the plane, thinking to himself that the following weekend he'd have to do this all over again. At least going to Berkeley he had just the one connection in Los Angeles, and had managed to score a direct flight from San Francisco home. He followed the throng of people into the terminal and the arrival area. He didn't have any checked luggage to worry about; having only needed a bag that he'd been able to take into the cabin with him, and so all he had to do was worry about finding his parents: which turned out to be fairly easy, because his father called out to him loudly and his mother was waving her arms around madly.

He was so tired that he didn't protest the kisses on each cheek from his mother and the tight hug.

"You're back!" she exclaimed happily. "How was it? How was the flight? Did you like Connecticut? Are we going to rack up frequent flyer miles?"

Jack merely clapped Troy on the back in greeting and promptly took the overnight bag from his shoulder in a silent offer to carry it.

"Um... I don't know. It was okay," Troy said vaguely.

His mother pulled out a can of Cherry Coke which she'd purchased for him during the wait and handed it over. "Surely you have more for us than that!"

"Breathe Luce, he just got back," Jack said.

"Sorry about the flight being delayed. It didn't happen til we were already on the plane so I couldn't let you know," Troy said apologetically.

Lucille waved her hand at him. "Don't be ridiculous, it's not your fault. Now come on, let's get back to the car and you can tell us all about it on the drive home."

"You're lucky you weren't delayed any more, I wouldn't be surprised if flights aren't able to land, this storm looks like it is brewing up to be a big one," Jack commented.

Troy hadn't been paying much attention as he'd disembarked the aircraft but once they were out in the open and in the outdoor parking lot, he could see the ominous looking clouds, angry and black.

The rain began to downpour in perfect timing – when Lucille's car was within view. Troy laughed as his mother let out a slight shriek and began to dart for the safety of her car. Jack quickened the pace of his stride but Troy continued to meander along, tilting his head and opening his mouth to allow some rain droplets to wet his tongue. He slid into the backseat of the vehicle, his mother having turned on the engine and turned up the heating already.

"It couldn't have waited just five more minutes," she lamented. "Jack, I told you that you should've parked in the undercover lot!"

He shrugged, not as bothered by the rain as his wife. "So... gut feeling Troy? Are you going to be a Husky?" He was referring to the University of Connecticut's mascot.

Troy paused. "It was a pretty full on weekend, I haven't really had the chance to contemplate it all..."

"Gut feeling. Sometimes our instincts are worth listening to, Troy," Jack advised.

Troy hesitated. "Gut feeling? No. I don't think so."

Lucille was a little surprised. She wasn't anywhere near as knowledgeable about the sport as her husband or son, but she knew enough about basketball from their conversations to know that the University of Connecticut was a formidable force in the college basketball competition.

She swivelled around to face him. "Really?"

"I've got a lot to think about but... I'm pretty sure, or, a least I get the impression... that if I signed to UConn, I'd spend a year on the bench trying to prove myself. And I don't think I wanna do that. I wanna play. But if I want to play, it might mean going to a school that needs me more than I need them. And maybe that means I won't win NCAA championships but... I guess that's something I have to decide what matters more for me."

Jack glanced back at his son in the rear vision mirror. "I'm proud of you, Troy, I truly am. It's important that you are able to take something from each of these visits. Maybe you haven't walked away feeling as though it's a school that you want to commit to but if you can walk away from the visit having clarified something about your goals, then that is what matters."

"So at the moment, if you had to say where you were going to attend... where would it be?" Lucille asked.

Troy gave his mother a small smile. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just... I really don't know."

"That's okay," she said soothingly, sensing the distress in his tone. "You don't need to know yet."

"You don't sign your intent letter for a few months, that's plenty of time," Jack added.

"Yeah but I should be showing some commitment to somewhere before then, to get the best offer possible," Troy countered. He sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "I keep thinking I'm meant to get some sort of sign. Like... Taylor has this intense _need_ to go to Harvard. Jason knows he wants to go to film school in LA, whatever school will take him. Chad had no idea but then he went to Sac State and he came back and he just _knew_ that even know they aren't the best team, that it was where he wanted to be. Does everyone have this moment? Or do some people just have to make a decision on the basis of the facts and hope it turns out okay?"

"Well some people know where they want to go but they may not get in," Jack pointed out.

"I like to believe that things happen for a reason," Lucille said optimistically. "And that life is about the opportunities that _do_ present themselves and making the most of those opportunities."

"Hmm."

Troy slumped back against the backrest, content to stew in his own thoughts for the remainder of the car ride home. The rain only thickened as they navigated through the streets of Albuquerque, pools of water were bucketing not only down but across. The streets were more or less deserted which was a good thing, as often heavy rain lead to calamity on the roads. They turned into the street that Troy had lived in for almost eighteen years. He glanced at their house as they pulled into the driveway, a flash of colour drawing his attention to the front of the house near the door.

Troy blinked and peered a little closer. "Is that...." he said slowly.

There, on his door stop, huddled and crouched on the ground in foetal position, was none other than Gabriella.

"What on earth is she doing?" Lucille exclaimed.

The car came to a pause in the driveway as Jack was awaiting the garage door to open. Troy spotted Gabriella's head lifting, looking in their direction. He grabbed his jacket which lay strewn across the backseat beside him, having mostly dried out during the drive home. He opened the passenger door, leaping from the car and darted through the downpour to where she was rising to her feet.

"What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. Without thinking, he had reached over and was peeling off her wet jacket and was replacing it with his own drier jacket. The front stoop had a little bit of covering but the rain hadn't been coming down straight.

"I um... I... wanted to see you," she said a little lamely, teeth chattering. "You're later than I thought you'd be."

"My flight was delayed," he explained simply. His hands rubbed up and down her upper arms. "How did you get so wet?"

"Well it wasn't raining when I first got here so when you weren't back yet I thought I'd just wait. And just as I was thinking about walking home it started to rain. I was going to call my mom or Ryan soon..."

Before Troy could respond, his mother was unlocking the front door from the inside, having gone in through the garage and come through to let them in. "Come in," she insisted.

Gabriella was hurried inside, promptly seated on the lounge in front of a free standing heater and a warm blanket was brought over to wrap around her.

"I'm only a little bit wet, I appreciate the concern but I'm okay," she insisted.

Lucille examined her son's girlfriend: the still somewhat chattering teeth were enough to make her ignore Gabriella's request and trust her motherly instincts. "Humour me, sweetheart."

Lucille disappeared into the kitchen; meanwhile Jack had taken Gabriella's jacket into the laundry to put through the dryer; leaving Troy and Gabriella alone on the couch. Gabriella's legs were pressed tightly together, her hands clutching the blanket firmly around her slight frame. Troy had a hand rubbing her back over the woollen blanket – despite their separation throughout the week; it was a motion which was of second nature to him. He was sitting a safe distance away from her though, a clear divide between their bodies on the couch – a month ago, even with parents in the line of vision they'd be entwined in some way. The only sounds audible were kitchen noises, the hum of the dryer and the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner.

"You do realise that you could've gone around the side gate and waited on the patio? There would've been a bit more covering there," Troy said suddenly.

She turned her head to look at him, holding the blanket together with her left hand while her right pushed a clump of rain soaked straggly hair behind her ear. "Obviously I didn't realise that," she said, before adding wryly, "Next time I'm waiting for you in a rain storm, I'll keep that in mind."

"There won't be a next time," he admonished.

"You don't have to go all parental on me, Troy. I told you I would've called someone to pick me up any minute if you hadn't come back."

He softened. "I can't help it... I worry about you, like, all the time. I hate that you're here freezing your ass off because of me."

She shook her head slightly. Her hand snaked out from beneath the blanket to reach over and take Troy's in her own. Lucille picked that moment to walk back into the room – at first receiving an annoyed glance from Troy, but then an appreciative one when he spotted the two mugs of hot cocoa she was carrying with her. She set them down on the coffee table before saying quietly, "Your jacket shouldn't take too long in the dryer, Gabriella, but I'll check it shortly. Jack and I will be in our room if you need anything." She hesitated, a slight glance at the entwined fingers of the pair. Last she'd been aware things were barely amicable between them, though Troy didn't offer details about the scenario. Nonetheless, she erred on the edge of caution with the added warning, "And don't forget, open door policy."

Troy had been about to thank his mother with sincerity, but instead he rolled his eyes and his thank you came out with a sarcastic force. Lucille and Gabriella exchanged small smiles and the older woman departed the room. Gabriella's hand slipped away from Troy's, her ballet flats – which she had failed to remove at the front door in the rush of being dragged into the warm shelter of the house – were kicked off and she reached over to pick up one of the hot chocolate mugs, then tucking her legs up to one side of her on the couch. She brought the mug to her lips, blowing at the chocolate beverage before tentatively taking a small sip. Troy's eyes didn't leave her, watching each move that she made, observing the way her face scrunched up in anticipation for the drink to scald her tongue, and then relaxed as the scalding didn't eventuate, the way her pink tongue darted out and licked at a morsel of liquid she could feel on her upper lip.

"So," he finally said.

"So," she agreed.

Silence between lovers is always a powerful state – the power at times driven from a moving place, a place where despite the silence, there is a comfort. However at other times, the power of silence is uncomfortable. The silence at that moment fell into the latter category. The distance between them on the couch was penetrating, the lack of eye contact unnerving. She'd come over after almost a week's separation 'wanting to talk' and Troy couldn't help but wonder if this was a conversation that he wanted to be involved in; if he should maybe freeze frame in time, go back a minute earlier when his hand was in hers and for that brief moment in time he felt completely content and assured that everything could be okay.

"You wanted to talk?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

She nodded. "Yes."

And in the moment when she had her platform to speak, her mind was blank, and she didn't know where to begin.

* * *

**AN** - Don't forget to check out the ZA Angel's write-off details in my profile :)


	47. Chapter 46

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Author's Note: **No excuses. This took forever. Thank you all for your patience. Thank you Audrey for your support as always xx And a special thanks to my fanfic girls at FanForum who I speak to less and less (so, how long until this continental drift thing is gonna happen?) but who support me without even realising how much they support me. I couldn't do this without you girls.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 46**

_And I need you to know  
I'll never let go  
In this moment I will stay forever more_

_**Marie Picasso 'This Moment'**_

**

* * *

**Gabriella's weekend had been surprisingly peaceful. Troy's absence being a result of a scouting trip for basketball felt more natural within the context of their relationship. It was almost as though she could forget about the past weekend and the week that followed; and instead focus on the lack of conversion now being the result of basketball rather than the shortfalls of their relationship.

Tentative plans had been made during the week for a Sunday afternoon or evening Wildcat hang out; however since then no definite plans had been made and Gabriella hadn't heard anything else of it. Truthfully she didn't much feel like going, but if everyone else was going, so too would she. Knowing her luck if she didn't go she'd miss out on one of those stories that becomes 'the story' which is retold over and over and over.

And so around lunchtime she put down her novel and texted Paula to find out if there had been an update on things, as she seemed to be the organiser of the event. Gabriella had picked up her novel again and read no more than a paragraph when her cell began to ring, Paula's name coming up as the Caller ID.

"Hey!" Gabriella greeted the head cheerleader.

"_Hey! God, I feel bad, you should've already known, didn't Taylor call you?"_

"Um, not today? We hung out yesterday afternoon."

"_I spoke to Chad a few hours ago, and he had me on speaker phone with Tay. She said she'd let you girls know. Well, Marcus has this family dinner thing that he forgot about, plus there were some other excuses, people were broke. Long story short, don't think it's happening today." _

"Oh well..." Inwardly Gabriella was pleased that she wouldn't have to attend and pretend to be happy to be there when she'd rather continue to enjoy her book. She pondered, "I wonder why Taylor didn't call?"

"_Um well, I gather her mom was out and since Chad was over..."_

"Gotcha," Gabriella said, smiling slightly.

"_Anyway I was kinda bummed but it happens, especially when we're trying to get a bunch of people together. I guess it's a sign that I'm meant to be working on my history paper. But I think we were gonna try for next Sunday."_

"That's fine. I'm not sure when the show rehearsals will be but I'm sure we can work around it if people are available."

"_Have you uh... have you heard from Troy?" _Paula enquired tentatively.

Gabriella swallowed. "Uh, not directly. He was on Facebook... changing his status. Last one I saw he was at the airport in Connecticut waiting for his flight, his cell picked up on free wireless."

"_I saw that one. He texted me while he was waiting in Washington actually... I gather he was bored."_

"His layovers weren't that long, I'm sure he would've found a way to fill the time."

There was a pause over the phone, before Paula asked quietly, _"Are you okay?"_

Gabriella decided to feign ignorance to the intent of the question. "What do you mean?"

Paula wasn't willing to play along. _"Gabriella..."_

She couldn't help but feel wary. She had some classes with Paula, they worked together on the civics committee of student council, they got along well, and she'd certainly been the imparter of some great, objective advice in the past. But she was Troy's friend, long before she was Gabriella's. It wasn't that Gabriella had a lack of trust in the head cheerleader – but rather that she didn't want to put her in a tricky position.

"I have my reasons, you know," Gabriella said quietly, her hand clutching the cell phone a little closer to her ear.

"_I didn't ask."_

"You didn't have to. I just... I just needed some time."

"_Did it work?"_

"Pardon?"

"_Taking time. Did it work? I mean... every time I saw either of you this week, you both looked kinda miserable. And that's fine, it if was at least for some, you know, greater good. So, did it work?"_

Gabriella paused. "I think so. I just... I needed time to think about things when I didn't have him there, all the time. Because when he's there... I tend to not think rationally."

"_You think emotionally and uh... naughtily? Instead?"_

"Exactly."

"_And did your rational thoughts help with... whatever you needed them for?"_

Gabriella paused. "For a while. And then I just started to miss him so much that it was hard to be rational anyway."

"_Maybe now that you've had your time to be rational, you guys can talk and work through it together..."_

A slightly insolent sigh escaped Gabriella's lips. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"_Because it's the truth!"_

"It's so easy to say that though, but in reality... it's just a lot harder."

"_Maybe you're just making it harder by putting it off. It's never going to be easy."_

"You're not telling me anything I don't know."

* * *

Gabriella stewed over this conversation for a few hours. If anything, the week had brought her a little clarity, clarity as to just how imperative it was that she and Troy continued with their conversation. She was getting used to the pink elephant in the room but it didn't make it any more right that it was still there. Gradually she was being more and more blunt with Troy about her intentions but she couldn't help but suspect that although he was hearing, he was not necessarily _listening _to her. And as scary as it was, it was up to her to make sure that he was listening, whether he wanted the information or not.

She stewed all afternoon, glancing at the clock periodically. She tried to settle down and read but it was impossible. In a moment of bold spontaneity, she stood up and went out to the hallway. Ryan was home – he'd been out for lunch with Sharpay and his mom but had since returned – and she could hear him fooling around with his keyboard. She knocked on his door as he was in the middle of playing his melody. He called for her to come in without breaking his tune, glancing up at her once from the keyboard before completing the harmony.

"Beautiful," Gabriella declared. She glanced at all the sheet music that Ryan had spread across his bedspread. "Um, you look busy..."

"I'm just messing around really. I haven't played much lately. What's up?"

"I was kinda wondering if you could give me a ride somewhere?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Where?"

"Um, Troy's. He's due back from the airport... well, now-ish."

Ryan hesitated. "Did he ask you to go over?"

She shook her head. "No, I want to go over. I... I _need_ to go over. If you're busy I can walk or ask mom..."

"No I can go. I wanted to stop by the grocery store anyway. Just let me get changed," Ryan said, gesturing down to his grey sweatpants and black t-shirt.

Fifteen minutes later Ryan was pulling up outside of Troy's house. Gabriella peered out the window. Troy's truck was parked in its usual spot under the tree out the front, and there was no car in the drive way – but since they'd finished fixing up Troy's truck over summer, both Jack and Lucille's vehicles would be in the garage mostly. She gave Ryan a quick hug before promising him that she'd call if she needed a lift home, jumping out of the Audi and trotting up the front path. She rang the doorbell, waiting anxiously and hopping from foot to foot. When no one answered, she waited another minute before trying to knock. She carefully stepped into the garden bed to peer through the front windows. There was no sign of movement, at least not in the front of the house.

Glancing back, Ryan had already driven away. A part of her wanted to yank out her cell phone and ask him to turn around; but there was a voice in her head insisting that she wait. That she wasn't going to talk to Troy unless she stuck around and did it there and then whilst she'd had the nerve to come over in the first place. Luckily she'd just picked up her messenger bag without repacking it and so she was armed with a book. She was more than happy to settle herself sitting cross legged on the door mat to read _Dear John_ by Nicholas Sparks, which she'd been devouring over the last few days – time apart from Troy had given her more time to read, which she'd actually enjoyed. She was about halfway through the book when she reached a decent stopping point, and pulled her cell phone out of her bag. She frowned. She'd been there about twenty minutes, which meant that according to her calculations, either there was a massive traffic jam, Troy's flight had been delayed or they'd stopped somewhere on the way home. Any of the three was entirely feasible. And in those twenty minutes, the fluffy grey clouds had darkened and they were now a more ominous dark grey.

It started as a sprinkle, a light shower – and within minutes it accelerated into a full blown rain storm. She'd tucked her book away, not wanting it to get wet, and zipped up her purple sweatshirt right to the top. Not only was it rainy, but there were low rumbles of thunder in the distance and a bit of wind. It seemed like the storm itself wasn't hitting Albuquerque but the side affect of violent rain and wind was certainly in town. She glanced at the time on her cell phone, deciding to give Troy another ten minutes. That would've given Ryan enough time to go to the store and be on the way back home. And so she remained sitting on the door step, and as the wind picked up and caused the rain to blow in, all she could do was huddle up facing away from its angle of entry, clutch her messenger bag to her chest and will either the ten minutes to be up or for a car to return to the Bolton's, whichever happened first.

It was the latter which arrived first – in fact a mere minutes before her cut off time. She didn't even realise straight away, the rain was coming down at its heaviest and she was huddled up at her tightest. It wasn't until the black SUV was in the driveway that she registered its presence. She rose to her feet just as Troy leapt out of the back, darting over to meet her.

"What are you doing here?" Troy exclaimed.

Gabriella was a little in shock as he began to peel off her wet purple sweatshirt, his own black jacket being wrapped around her. Her teeth were chattering as she responded.

"I um... I... wanted to see you?" In hindsight she'd been a little rash to rush over to his house without at least calling first, or asking Ryan to wait until she'd checked if they had been home. "You're later than I thought you'd be."

"My flight was delayed," he told her, confirming that it was one of the plausible explanations which had run through her mind that had been the cause for his tardiness. His hands rubbed up and down her upper arms and she shivered slightly – only partially a reaction from the cold. "How did you get so wet?" he asked her.

"Well it wasn't raining when I first got here so when you weren't back yet I thought I'd just wait. And just as I was thinking about walking home it started to rain. I was going to call my mom or Ryan soon..."

The front door opened, Lucille letting the teens through. Gabriella felt a little blank as she was led through the Bolton household. This certainly wasn't how she'd envisaged talking to Troy – she didn't really have a clear picture of how it would transpire but this certainly was beyond what she had within her realm of various expectations. She was on autopilot as Lucille fussed about; and as Troy went through the expected routine of worrying about her being cold and wet. If she was appearing off in anyway, she suspected it wasn't from the sudden turn in weather. Rather, it was because the moment had finally arrived, she had her platform to speak with Troy and tell him directly, blatantly, what was going on – and suddenly, her mind was blank, and she had no idea how or where to begin.

She looked up into his earnest, bright, caring blue eyes as he sat beside her; and suddenly she found herself turning to face him, her slender arms wrapping around his firm body and hugging him tightly. He was still for a moment, but then his arms moulded around her frame, one hand splayed on her back and the other up higher, on her shoulder. She trembled slightly, finding solace within the warmth of his arms. No words spoken, and yet relief washed over both of them. Relief because time spent apart was painful. Relief because in a week, it had been only the one hug on Thursday afternoon that the two had exchanged and one hug in 168 hours was simply not enough.

"I missed you," she murmured, voice muffled into his shoulder.

"I missed you too," he replied softly, his breath tickling against her ear as he spoke.

In that moment, Gabriella could feel her resolve drifting away. All the things that she'd come to say, she could feel herself not caring to say them. She wanted to kiss him and assure him of her love and get on with the fairytale romance that she was living while she still could – while she still had the chance. There was a comfort, a solace, which she derived simply from being enclosed within the warmth of his embrace.

"Please tell me that this is over. Please Gabriella... coz... this week was just... it was awful. It was truly awful."

She couldn't disagree with him. Yes, she'd been able to spend time with some different people; read some books; sort through her head. But it had also been awful. Troy was so entwined in every aspect of her life and every fibre of her being – the week had been hard.

"It really was awful," she agreed quietly.

They pulled away from the hug, but this time, their bodies were aligned closer on the couch, turned to face one another more directly. Troy took Gabriella's hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her palm.

"In some ways this weekend was easier than the week, you know?" Troy confessed. "At least we were apart for a reason. During the week... it was against my instincts to not be right by your side all the time."

She nodded, and swallowed. She understood. She wouldn't blame him for not believing her empathy, but it was there.

"Um... how _was_ your weekend?" she asked, truly caring about the progress of his college search.

Troy sighed, shrugging. "It was okay. I uh... I don't think UConn is for me. I was feeling a bit cut up, like it was a waste of time, but sometimes the 'rentals have some good perspective on these things. Not very often, and don't tell them I said that either," he added, lowering his voice and glancing around.

"Occasionally they are good for something," Gabriella lightly teased.

"Yeah well... I haven't quite had the time to process everything. I slept most of the first flight." Troy paused, interjecting on his own train of speech. "You didn't come here to talk about my flights and my weekend, did you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, but I guess how your weekend went is relevant to what we need to talk about."

"Can I..." Troy hesitated, and then rephrased. "If I apologise again for last Saturday, what would you say?"

Gabriella sighed. "I would insist, again, that it is _not_ necessary. That it doesn't matter. That I didn't come here to talk about Saturday."

"Doesn't change that I feel like shit about it," he said darkly, eyes averting from her.

He still felt sick in the pit of his stomach when he thought about what had happened. As an event separate to all of the reasons why Gabriella had requested distance, separate to their anniversary – it made him feel awful. She reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it softly. She'd moved on from the incident, and beating himself up over it was not going to be conducive to dealing with the real issues that needed to be dealt with.

"You're not apologising for me, you're apologising to try to make yourself feel better," she observed quietly. "I promise you that what actually happened on Saturday... the only importance is that it was what made me realise that we can't keep avoiding talking about certain things."

He exhaled. "You're right, we can't keep avoiding it. I was talking to Chad the other night... it was a bit of a wake-up call."

"It's my fault that we put it off," Gabriella conceded, now her turn to be self-deprecating. "You've tried a lot harder than I have to... you know... make clear what is going to happen. That's been you for so long... back to summertime when you were all about planning for the future and all I cared about is this moment."

"It's a legitimate way to live," Troy assured her.

"Live for the moment sure but... I've been ignoring the future. Sure we've got like, almost five months of high school left. But you'll be signing to the NCAA a month or so before that, showing commitment even sooner. It's kinda snuck up and... and now, time is running out and decisions have to be made and..." Gabriella trailed off, and sighed before redirecting her train. "You know that I've said that I'm making decisions for me, and I am firm about that. But that decision that I make for me; I want to make it _with_ you. I feel like we owe each other that much. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "It does. And I agree, we do owe each other that much. I know that some people don't get that what we have is serious but... it is. I feel it and I can only hope that you feel it and if we cannot be a part of these decisions for each other then it's like, what does that say about our relationship?"

"I do feel it, Troy. I love you, Wildcat. I don't blame you for not having complete faith in that, not after this week. But I do love you."

"I do have faith in that," he protested, attempting to reassure her. "I... I just misspoke."

"Freudian slip, more like it."

She sighed, mentally pushing the matter aside and preparing herself to discuss what they really needed to discuss. Not only had Gabriella hoped that the time apart would give her time to contemplate things, but also that it would give Troy time to take her words the previous Monday and to mull them over and interpret them himself, to come to some sort of understanding. No matter how much progress they might've made, she couldn't help but feel as though he didn't truly understand the situation.

She spoke carefully. "I also know that you've been a bit frustrated that I have kept propelling this whole... putting off making decisions, or talking about our decisions. _I_ was the one who originally wanted to put off conversations about it and _I'm_ the one who has been avoiding it since we first started talking about it. It's not a sign of disrespect to us. Rather its... it's because..." Gabriella paused, again feeling the need to make sure that she was speaking eloquently, that she wasn't giving the wrong message. "My brain works fairly rationally. I like when things are definitive. When it comes to real life, I don't like working in hypothetical's and possibilities. And right now everything is hypothetical."

Troy nodded. He'd listened intently, hanging onto every word of her musing and explanation. "I get that. I'm gradually wading through my options but I'm still so unsure. I'm thinking no to Connecticut but maybe to New Mexico State, maybe to Butler. I'm hopeful that Berkeley turns out because I kinda like the idea of a west coast school. I doubt USC will become anything ideal, I bet it'll be like UConn, they just want me to be another number. I'm still harassing Boston but it's not looking great. I don't like the look of the other schools who've contacted me. And here you are and you've got like, the whole world as your oyster."

"Which sounds easy, but it's not." So many people would kill to have so many opportunities opened to them. Gabriella just wanted the decision to be made and to skip past the agony of weighing the pros and cons. "I've been talking to a lot of schools that you probably don't realise. Just, you know, working out my options. Mr. Davis has put in some calls for me, and so has the guidance counsellor, and I've e-mailed a lot of university liaison people to find out about things. I don't talk about it but academically, high school is pretty easy for me. You know that."

Troy nodded – it was an understatement to say that high school was easy for Gabriella. He'd sat with her while she was unguarded and breezed through her math problems or reeled off scientific principles like she was reciting her two times tables. "I do know. Drama class being the exception. Which is why you get so into drama club. It's different and challenging."

"I spent so long protesting who I was and finally I'm okay with it – and college will be different. In college, academia is revered; people are encouraged to stretch themselves. And so I've been talking to the right people, finding out my options. Some colleges have a more flexible program, some will let me fast track, some have summer programs, some have exchange programs, some have more advanced options so I could do some post graduate seminars if I felt inclined to do so, some have internship programs. All of this stuff is important to me – and it is why my decision will be for _me._"

"You're gonna find that school, Gabi, you're gonna find that school that is going to offer you everything that you dream of and need." He had such pure and unmoving faith in her – faith that he couldn't have in himself. "I'm still muddling about... I'm putting all this hope into Berkeley being where I'm meant to be, but what if it doesn't work out? What if I don't find that school that like... calls out to me? I said this just before to my parents, and my mom was going on about how everything just works out and everything happens for a reason... which sounds all nice and stuff, but I'd rather something more real to deal with it all."

"I don't know if it is healthy to have a school that calls out to you. I mean, look at Taylor," Gabriella pointed out. "I think I'm more nervous about all the regular round of college letters coming in for her sake than my own."

"Okay so let me pose this to you... if I don't have a school that I'm feeling _that feeling_ about, if I'm just going to be balancing the pros and the cons... what is wrong with considering not only the college and basketball, but other things?" Gabriella tensed up, and her tension wasn't lost on Troy. She knew that the 'other things' he referred to included her. Something which was at the very core of every fear she had about their decisions for the following year. Troy sighed, and went on to clarify. "I get that you hate it when I talk like that. I get that you say this decision has to be made for ourselves. But you say that coming from the idea that there will be a particular school that is the best school, and not compromising that. Fair enough."

He paused, allowing her to take in what he was saying. "Continue," she said warily.

He sighed. "I don't have a school that I desperately want to go to – okay, so I'd love to go to like, UCLA or North Carolina, but they don't even want to hear from me. I'm here at the moment, tossing up between schools that are about the same to me. Right now, it's between New Mexico State and Butler. There are pros and cons to both – Butler have a better history as a ball college, New Mexico will probably offer me a better deal – so it'll kind of even out. _Something_ has to break the tie – and I won't lie – if you were gonna be in Massachusetts or somewhere in the north east coast, yeah, I'd be more inclined to pack up my life and move to Indiana. Is that such a bad thing?"

She contemplated this. Perhaps the reason why she hadn't allowed Troy or her mom or any of her friends to be a factor in her thoughts about college was because of her belief that she would find a college that was most appropriate for her, within her specific situation. If there should genuinely be no difference between two schools, would there be something inherently wrong with allowing the nearby presence of a friend or lover to be a swaying factor? She couldn't see anything wrong with it; she couldn't bring herself to tell Troy that his thought process was illogical.

"Truthfully, I find it hard to believe that something wouldn't be inherently different, especially when you're looking at completely different teams, completely different coaches – and different states."

"But hypothetically," Troy pressed. "If that scenario did arise..."

She groaned, massaging her temples. "I hate hypotheticals."

"I know you do. But that's all we've got right now. And so..."

She closed her eyes and took a breath before conceding, "_Hypothetically_, if that scenario were to arise... yes it would make sense to allow something personal to influence the decision. Your preference for climate, the proximity of your parents..."

"You actually think that weather is of importance to me?" Troy asked, eyebrow quirked.

Gabriella shrugged. "You've grown up in New Mexico. I think that you'd find it hard to adjust to a colder climate. It's a different lifestyle."

Troy needed reassurance; he needed to know that regardless of what scenario came into fruition that they'd find a way to work through it. He had no problem with hypotheticals, in fact, if it were his decision they'd work out very possible alternate combination of where they could each be the following year and discuss how they'd make it work within the confines of that particular context. Gabriella on the other hand was already feeling uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. For her, a complicated scenario was just exacerbated into becoming even more complicated when they discussed things theoretically. She'd sat in the pouring rain for a reason that afternoon, and it wasn't just because she missed him. It was because the conversation they were in the midst of was necessary – however despite its necessity, it was problematic.

"I very much doubt it'll come down to the weather being a factor."

Gabriella sighed. "I know you're going to say I'm just deferring the inevitable – _again. _But Troy... I'm still waiting to talk to one of the professors at Stanford, and you've got your Berkeley trip next weekend. We're both talking theoretically. Maybe we can revisit things properly after you've come back from California? At least then, you'll be able to consolidate all of your options a bit more."

He exhaled, closing his eyes momentarily. "You're right; I do think you're just putting it off – again."

"Surely you can understand why, though?"

Troy sighed. "I suppose so."

"That was a no, wasn't it?"

"You're still narrowed down to MIT and Stanford?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes."

"You said that you're waiting to talk to one of the professors from Stanford..." Troy said slowly. "How has this come about?"

"Mr. Davis went to college with him," Gabriella answered truthfully. Troy sensed that she was holding back and merely quirked his eyebrows. She sighed. "And... I... may have been contacted by admissions last week."

"Contacted by admissions... you mean..."

"I was accepted," she said quietly.

Troy blinked, double taking. "Wha... You... whe.... you were accepted?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"To Stanford University."

"Yes."

"Which is kinda near Cal..."

"In a car it's about an hour, give some if there's traffic, between Berkeley and Palo Alto; yes."

"I thought... I thought you weren't expecting to find out for another month or so?"

"I wasn't. It's um.... it's kind of complicated. I don't think you really need to know the details."

"Oh I want the details... just later. Right now I'm too speechless to really take them in, anyway."

"I only found out on Thursday, and I started making phone calls on Friday trying to um... to sort some things out. While I was in the right headspace to be doing so."

"That's really amazing, babe. Like... seriously, congratulations," Troy said, genuinely proud. Most of the time he was somewhat immune to his girlfriend's prowess. But there were times when the smallest of things served to be the most awakening of reminders. As he sat contemplating that she'd succeeded in being accepted to her top two preferences – Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, he couldn't help but be in awe.

"Thank you."

"You seem somewhat underwhelmed..." he observed.

"I'm just trying to register it all, I think. I've had a few days to mull over it but um... yeah... it's not like it's brought me any closer to a decision. It just means that I'm in a better position to find out where I stand. My mom still wants to take a long weekend away to San Francisco pretty soon, like maybe the weekend after the show, so I'm hoping to go with her, take a day off school and go and talk to some people. Give the school a proper look, since I've been to MIT more recently and was accepted a while ago so I've had the chance to find out more."

Troy paused. "So now that you've been accepted to both... I mean... they're pretty similar, really, right?"

Gabriella blinked. "Um, not really, no... they're actually quite different."

"Okay so they're different. But one is in Massachusetts, and the other is in California. Northern California. In the Bay area."

She exhaled noisily. "Troy..."

"Seriously though. I mean... you have to admit... of all possible hypotheticals – this one is sounding pretty sweet, don't you think?"

She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip. "_This_ is why I didn't want to tell you that I got into Stanford. I was going to keep it t myself, but then I knew that you'd be mad at me if you found out I'd kept it from you and I just... I wanted to start being honest but I _knew_ you were going to do this. A part of me wanted you to come back from UConn and say that you'd found _the_ school."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Troy said, a little confused. "Um... what are you going on about?"

"Troy – you haven't even been to Berkeley! You don't have any idea of whether it's going to be compatible with you."

"I've talked about west coast schools all along, and you know I have. When we first talked about this stuff, in Jason's backyard after filming his movie, I said that the west coast interested me. And in theory, it is a school that matches up well with me. It's not out of reach, but it's in a competitive group which would be great exposure for me, the best way to actually hone my skills."

"You know I hate hypotheticals! Sure, Berkeley is great for you in theory. But in practice, you haven't been there, you haven't sussed out the situation there. And you're already sounding all... sparkly... about it."

"Sparkly?" he repeated.

"Yes, sparkly! Your tone brightened, your eyes lit up."

Troy cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if the prospect of attending an awesome college within a driving distance from my girlfriend puts a 'spark' into me."

"And I knew you'd do this too! That you'd make me feel like a bitch for saying this stuff. I don't mean it in that way, but I don't know how to make you understand other than being completely blunt with you about this. You need to understand Troy, that it doesn't matter if you go to Berkeley next weekend and find _the school_, the dream school where you're supposed to be. I'll be so happy for you, I'll be beyond ecstatic, and I will support you – but my decisions will be influenced by me, not you, _me_. And I desperately need you to do exactly the same thing. That's why I didn't want to tell you that I got accepted to Stanford, that's why I don't want to contemplate the hypothetical scenarios that may or may not occur. I have told you time and time and time again that the only way that I know how to do this is to do it for me and that I need you to respect that and if you can't then I think we're going to have a problem here..."

Troy reached out, grasping onto her flailing arm, both stilling and silencing her. His warm, slightly rough and yet always gentle hand rubbed a soft, soothing pattern over the fabric of his hoodie which encased her body.

"No more hypotheticals. I promise."

"But you want the hypotheticals," she protested a little wildly.

"Yeah, I kinda do," he admitted. "But – I want you more. And I _do_ respect you. So no more hypotheticals."

She remained still, silent, barely noticing the comforting caress of Troy's hands on her arms. She was staring at his chest, not really looking but rather focused on something else altogether.

"You're willing to put them aside for me?"

"For you, yes. I am."

"And with that... you're willing to not only respect but to _accept_ that the way I am approaching all this, it might result in me going to college thousands of miles away from you?"

"I do respect you Gabriella, I do respect the way that you think is best to make this decision. As for what that might result in..." he hesitated. "In the spirit of putting things off... how about we cross that bridge when we come to it?"

She allowed him to pull her in close, to retreat back into the warm safe cocoon of his arms where they were almost sheltered from the realities of the future.

Almost.


	48. Chapter 47

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **Thanks to all who've supported me and my muse during this really tough period. In particular I thank the girls from Fan Forum; as well as those who put up with my crazy ramblings on Twitter whilst I write (and for offering advice about things like adjectives for sex, colours for boxer briefs, and appropriate music to listen to whilst writing kinky scenes.)

A special thank you to my beta reader **Audrey **for not being afraid to tell me when my original draft of this chapter was a heap of shite, and to **Kelly **for the additional beta read/general all round support. xx

I wrote a one-shot recently called **One**** Moment In Time** which you can check out if you like. Also sometimes I post little drabbles on my LiveJournal.

**Chapter 47**

_So just let go  
And now you're mine  
And we'll make love  
And everything  
Hold this moment  
Take your time_

_**Hanson 'Sun N Sky'**_

* * *

Gabriella and Troy spent a half hour encircled in one another's embrace, before he reluctantly retracted himself from her arms to knock on his parents' bedroom door. He was called in found them both lying on top of the covers watching television. Lucille had wanted to eavesdrop on her son and his girlfriend however Jack had convinced her otherwise.

"Um, so if I could just grab the keys to my truck, I'm going to drive Gabriella home," Troy said casually.

Lucille and Jack glanced at each other for one moment, silently communicating. Jack looked back at Troy. "Nice try."

Troy feigned innocence, asking in fabricated confusion, "What do you mean, 'nice try'?"

Lucille rolled her eyes. "You know very well that your truck is confiscated for another week, Troy Alexander Bolton."

Again, Troy attempted to continue with the acting job, putting to use everything he'd learnt from Ms. Darbus over the years. "What? Oh, I thought you said it would be _one_ week, and since it was one week ago today..."

"We said _two_ weeks. No exceptions," Jack said plainly. "And don't even try to pretend that you didn't know. You might be some hot shot singer but the whole lying to your parents thing – really not the smartest idea."

Troy's expression dropped, conceding defeat, and he pouted. "It was worth a try."

Lucille swung her legs over the bed to hit the floor. "I need to get a few things from the store, I can run Gabriella home. I'll be a few minutes."

Troy nodded and retreated from his parents' room and returned to the main living area. He wasn't at all surprised to find Gabriella in the kitchen at the sink, rinsing out their hot chocolate mugs.

"What are you doing?" he chastised, coming up behind her.

"I'm just tidying. It's not a crime, Troy, you should try it sometime," she teased.

"Funny. Anyway, my mom is going to drive you home."

"No luck getting the keys back, huh?"

"Nope."

His eyes furrowed seeing that she'd moved on from the hot chocolate mugs and immediately took the plate that she was rinsing out of her hands. "We didn't even use this, put it down," he chided, placing it back onto the sink.

Gabriella promptly picked it up again from the sink, giving it one final swipe with the sponge before placing it into the dishwasher. "You know I like to be useful."

"Which I love about you," he assured her. "But isn't necessary."

"What are you kids doing?" Lucille's voice enquired as she rounded the corner, pulling her hair back with a hair elastic. "Gabriella sweetheart, were you showing Troy how to use the dishwasher?"

Gabriella giggled and Troy gave his mother a condescending look. "Funny, really funny."

"I'll just check that your things are dry honey, I'm sure they'll be fine," Lucille informed Gabriella with a smile, disappearing toward the laundry room.

Gabriella turned back to finish rinsing the final dish and placing it into the dishwasher. The moment she had closed the lid, Troy's hands fell upon her waist, twisting her around to face him and pulling her in closer.

"So we're cool, aren't we?" he asked softly. "You can't leave today until I know that we're cool."

"What if I said we weren't cool?" she asked, lightly teasing him.

He smiled. "Then I wouldn't let you leave."

She rolled her eyes slightly, but nonetheless squeezed Troy's side a little playfully, but also to comfort him. "We're cool. I think we'll have a lot to talk about after next weekend, though."

Troy's expression turned very serious and he nodded. "And it'll still be okay after that. We can talk it through and work out how we're gonna manage this and I know we can make everything work. Right?" His hands gripped a little tighter to her waist, pulling her in even closer, bodies now flush to one another.

"I love you," came Gabriella's simple response.

Her lips pressed to his in a chaste kiss – aware of their proximity to Troy's mom. Troy either had lost that awareness or perhaps didn't care, kissing Gabriella back and deepening the connection. A throat clearing in the doorway caused Gabriella to leap back from Troy, crashing backward into the kitchen bench behind her. They looked up to see Lucille holding out Gabriella's jacket.

"All dry," she said simply.

Gabriella's cheeks flushed and she accepted the jacket from Lucille without making direct eye contact.

* * *

"I got my audition! They confirmed my audition!" Ryan's elated voice rang out in announcement to anyone who was listening – though it was Kelsi whom the information was directed mostly toward.

The petite composer turned away from her conversation with Martha, Chad and Troy; turning to look toward where Ryan, Sharpay and Gabriella had emerged from the East High parking lot on Monday morning. In perfect synchronicity, the Evans' twins had driven into the parking area one after the other, having approached East High School from opposite directions. Ryan had leapt from his car to excitedly deliver the news he'd received via e-mail that morning to his twin, and after they'd screeched and hugged, the trio made their way up to the fountain to meet everyone else.

"What? How? When did you find out?" Kelsi exclaimed.

"They sent out an e-mail this morning," Ryan beamed.

"That's really awesome, I knew you'd get invited to an audition!" Kelsi gushed.

Juilliard admissions were tough – Ryan had sent in video tape of himself performing a self choreographed piece; Kelsi had sent in a CD with a composition: just to be invited to audition. Kelsi then frowned slightly. "I still haven't heard back from mine."

Ryan smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you're going to," he assured her. "They'd be crazy to not invite you to audition. Yours are a week after mine anyway, so you'll probably hear back next week."

"When's your audition, man?" Chad asked.

"Two weekends after the show," he responded, and proceeded to detail more of the Juilliard audition schedule. "Then it's Kelsi's audition the weekend after that, and Sharpay's call back is a couple of weeks after that."

Troy was happy for Ryan, he truly was, but he was a lot more focused upon the dark haired brunette who was beaming at the choreographer with pride. As Kelsi began to bombard Ryan with queries about his plans for his New York audition trip, Troy stepped closed to Gabriella, lightly running his fingers down the length of her arm.

"Come with me to my locker?" he requested quietly.

Gabriella nodded, accepting his outstretched hand. The moment that they turned away, Kelsi nudged Ryan with a gesture and a beaming smile. Similar observations were being made among the rest of the group. There was a certain darkness that infiltrated the group when things weren't right with Troy and Gabriella. They were the glue that held their mismatched friendship crew together. No one commented on the turn of events, but that didn't mean they were oblivious to it.

Once beyond earshot of their group of friends, Troy said earnestly, "You look really pretty today."

Her eyebrows quirked, glancing down at her outfit choice. It was a nice weather day, the sun out and shining, and so Gabriella had cast aside her jeans and opted for a floral skirt and a soft lilac cardigan sweater. It was a good omen for the rest of the week – she didn't like it when the week started out cold and raining. The outfit wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary for her, and the sincere tenderness in his tone surprised her and made her blush.

"Um, thanks?" she said a little questioningly.

He smiled earnestly. "Am I not allowed to compliment my girlfriend?"

"Of course you are, but I cannot help but wonder where the sudden compliment came from," she admitted.

Troy shrugged and answered honestly, "I guess I feel like I have to take advantage of these moments, not take them for granted, you know?"

All Gabriella could do was smile sympathetically. She more than understood the sentiment. And so she stood on tip toes, her soft lips pressing against his in a light kiss.

"Let me rephrase my reaction," she said. "Thank you for the compliment. You look nice today too."

Troy grinned. "I did spent a whole two minutes on my hair, I was hoping it would impress you."

* * *

At lunch time, Wildcats trickled into the cafeteria in small groups. Troy was determined to make up for lost time and he was juggling both his and Gabriella's lunch trays, one on each hand, in some futile attempt to demonstrate his attentiveness to her needs. They slid in with Chad, Kelsi and Ryan who were already seated around a table. Martha and Taylor arrived next, both girls having brought a bagged lunch with them. Chad called out to Jason who had emerged from the lunch queue glancing around a little dubiously. Jason hesitated – with all the division the week before, he'd been able to conveniently avoid the lunchtime group scenario with he and Kelsi at the same table together. He glanced toward another table with people he was familiar with, but decided to just bite the bullet. And so he forced a grin as he sat down in the spare seat between Troy and Taylor and greeted the table. He and Kelsi exchanged a small, strained smile.

The final two to enter the cafeteria were Zeke and Sharpay – and to the amazement and entertainment of the other Wildcats, Zeke merely gave them a head nod in acknowledgement before he and Sharpay found their own empty table across the other side of the room.

"Did anyone hear about their date?" Troy enquired, glancing around at the group.

"A little," Jason said with a grin. "I think it went well."

"Obviously it went well!" Taylor pointed out, gesturing over to them.

"Guys, we shouldn't gossip," Gabriella chided.

"Gabriella is right," Troy immediately said.

Chad snorted, contemplating an immature pretend coughing fit with 'suck up' being stated gruffly among the coughing, but decided to just let it slide. Smaller conversations broke out among the Wildcats, however Troy noticed Ryan staring over at his sister and Zeke with a glowering expression on his face.

"Dude, you look like you're gonna kill him. Chill," Troy said, nudging Ryan's arm.

"His hand is on her thigh," Ryan said with gritted teeth. "Baylor, get your hand off her thigh."

"It's on her knee," Troy said witheringly, rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't have picked you to do the overprotective brother thing."

Ryan groaned. "I can't help it. It's like a natural instinct. Like... okay, she had this summer fling at the country club between sophomore and junior year. I spent half my time making sure that he was treating her right. It's just a protective impulse, I can't quash it."

Kelsi leaned after, patting Ryan's arm. "You're just being a good brother. She's lucky to have you."

"Hoops is right though. You should chill. Zeke is a good guy," Chad added.

"Yeah, yeah." Ryan's tone was sullen, it was evident that he didn't particularly concede to Zeke's nobility and rather he didn't want to create tension.

"So, do you guys have plans for Thursday night?" Troy asked, directing the question to the group, but mostly to Chad and Taylor.

"Thursday night?" Jason echoed, eyebrows raising at the pointed question.

"Valentine's Day is Thursday," Troy informed Jason.

"Oh." A week and a half earlier the date would have been of significance to Jason. However it had become the furthest thing from his mind.

"Well I have no plans," Chad said with a roll of his eyes. "Because _someone_ suddenly has issues with Valentine's Day."

Taylor exhaled. "There's no _suddenly_ involved, Chad. I've always had issues with Valentine's Day."

"I got you a flower last year!"

"That was different. We weren't going out then!"

Chad rolled his eyes. "This is probably some kind of test. If I don't do something you'll get pissed at me."

"That's not in the slightest bit true," Taylor insisted – however despite her stubborn tone, Chad wasn't convinced.

"What is your problem with Valentine's Day?" Ryan asked her, eyebrows quirked.

"Valentine's Day is a materialistic, money making opportunity for manufacturers of greeting cards, flowers and chocolate."

"Do flowers technically get 'manufactured'?" Troy pondered.

Taylor ignored Troy's interjection. "Valentine's Day isn't about romance or love; it's a day in which boyfriends suck up to their girlfriends to get laid."

"And you shouldn't take away our right to do that!" Chad exclaimed.

"I object to your gender specific statement," Ryan said.

"Wow, you actually have to work that hard to get laid?" Jason smirked at Chad.

"At least I get laid," Chad quickly shot back harshly. Jason narrowed his eyes but didn't respond.

"That can easily change," Taylor quipped – only half joking, not particularly impressed with the remark from Chad, as truthful and widespread in knowledge as it may have been.

The conversation topic halted, and shortly after the bell rang signalling the end of lunch. Taylor headed off to her Global Studies class, the rest of the Wildcats were on free period but had their own plans for how to spend the time. Ryan, Gabriella, Troy, Chad and Kelsi were all headed for the music room – and the moment that Taylor was out of earshot, Chad turned to Gabriella.

"You have to help me," he begged. "What do I do for Valentine's Day? Do I do something?"

They all stood up from the cafeteria table, migrating in the direction of the music room. Chad and Gabriella were keeping pace just behind the other three, engaged in the spontaneous counselling session. She hesitated, pondering the matter for a second. A part of her was in complete understanding of Taylor's girl power diatribe.

"Chad, why is this a big deal to you?" she asked carefully.

"What do you mean, why? It's Valentine's Day and she's my girlfriend and I should be able to give her something without her freaking out."

"Okay, but _why_ do you _want_ to?"

"Well, because... because she's my girl. And because, you know..."

"I don't know, which is why I'm asking," Gabriella interjected. "For all I know you really do just want to use Valentine's Day as an excuse to get laid."

Chad sighed. "Why do girls think so little of us? Sometimes it isn't about sex. Yeah, I _think_ about it all the time but it doesn't mean that everything I do is about sex." Chad looked toward Troy up ahead. "Back me up here man!"

Troy glanced back. "I'm not even listening. You started asking for girl advice and I tuned out."

Chad made a face at him, accompanied by a quick flip of the bird.

Gabriella was looking at Chad with a contemplative expression, attempting to make judgement on his sincerity. Finally, she decided he had her tick of approval. "_If_ your motives are in fact pure... then I say to do something."

"Why only if my motives are pure?"

"Because if you do something and she sees through it when you start making moves toward the bedroom, then she's just going to get madder," Gabriella said logically.

"Good point. Not that it matters because my motives are pure. Well, maybe not pure as snow, maybe a dirty snow, but not quite the dirt that you're making me sound like I am. So you think I should do something? Even though she's talking like she is."

Gabriella blinked, having gotten lost somewhere in his snow-dirt analogy. "Yes. I don't think she's deliberately testing you but... deep down, Taylor is just as romantic as any girl. She just... likes to be independent and not defined by a boyfriend and she thinks that if she's all sappy about Valentine's Day then she is letting go of who she is."

He blinked. "That's ridiculous. A part of why I dig her so much is coz of all that stuff, and you're telling me that if I get her some flowers to show her how much she means from me, it's changing who she is?"

Gabriella shrugged helplessly. "This is _Taylor._ She's complicated."

"And likes to make my life complicated," Chad said darkly.

"You love it," she teased.

Troy, despite his claims that he was ignoring them, had started eavesdropping toward the end and interjected into the conversation. He pulled back from Kelsi and Ryan and slipped his arm around Gabriella's waist from the other side. "Speaking of Thursday, do we have it free?" he asked Gabriella. "Do you want me to ask your mom if it is okay if we go out?"

"Troy, I know that you know very well that we're free."

He grinned. He had seen – she'd scheduled his rehearsal with Chad during their Thursday afternoon free periods, and her own rehearsal was also during this time slot. They were both free from 3:00 onwards – as her the request that he'd made of her when giving her his availability. "I guess that was my suave way of enquiring as to whether we were going to make plans..."

"I don't think my mom was crazy about us going out," Gabriella told him regretfully. "I may have brought it up with her already. She knows you're flying out in the morning, plus being a school night and all. But she said that you're welcome to come over as long as you've left by my curfew and your mom agrees and everything."

He nodded. He suspected as much. "That's okay, I can work with that. Besides, I was thinking, maybe the weekend after the show we'll be able to go on a proper date – just you and me and a bit of romance."

"You, romantic?" Gabriella teased.

"You know that I can be romantic," Troy said with a confident grin.

Chad had quietly walked alongside the pair throughout this conversation – truth be told, he was delighted that things were relatively back to normal between the pair. However he couldn't keep his commentary to himself after Troy's remark. And so among a forced coughing fit, Chad wheezed out the word, "Whipped."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Coming from the guy who was just crying because he wants to be able to give his girlfriend flowers."

* * *

"Well, that was fucking shit-tastic." Chad's sour tone echoed throughout the music room a half hour later.

Troy and Chad had decided that another private rehearsal with just their immediate friends was in dire need. The pair were feeling nervous as Monday after school they were scheduled for their first rehearsal with Ms. Darbus. Their act was far from polished – both boys were envious of those who were pretty much able to just reproduce their audition pieces for the show. However they weren't alone, there were plenty of freshly created Acts for the show. Darbus's theory was that it was an opportunity for drama club members to be leaders, to be choreographers and trainers and to share their knowledge of the arts with fellow students. The theory was there – but free period Monday they would've both preferred to be shooting hoops or laying out in the sun, and instead they were doing a final run through with Kelsi, Gabriella and Ryan's assistance to ease their nerves about performing for their drama teacher. Well, technically they were under Kelsi and Ryan's assistance, but Gabriella had invited herself to observe.

"It.... wasn't that bad," Gabriella said diplomatically.

"It um... it can use a bit of work," Ryan said, tactfully, but honestly.

"A bit?" Troy echoed, eyebrows raised.

"A bit, and then some," he returned.

"I think it'll come together," Kelsi said optimistically. "You're both just unrehearsed – obviously this is a whole new thing for Chad..."

"All the more reason why we should just leave it to Hoops and I can have the night off," Chad declared.

"No, all the more reason why you guys just need to rehearse a lot more," Gabriella said quickly.

"I think this afternoon we'll go back to basics. Troy, you'll rehearse with Kelsi; and Chad can come with me. We'll work on your parts individually and then come together and work on harmonising," Ryan mused. "I might suggest to Ms. Darbus that we defer your appointment with her. "

"Don't wanna waste Ms. D's time after all," Troy agreed.

"And you don't want to look like a fool in front of your favourite teacher," Chad commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, and neither do you," Troy shot back with a roll of the eyes, the dig from Chad not making much sense when both guys had really come around to appreciate the good side of Ms. Darbus.

"Okay. Let's try this one more time," Kelsi said, before smiling at Gabriella. "And then do you want to go through your song?"

* * *

Rehearsals, yearbook planning, training and studies filled the free hours of Monday through Wednesday. Both Troy and Chad still were maintaining fairly strict training regimes, using one another for motivation. Troy was being ever the attentive and doting boyfriend – deep down still feeling the need to make up for his behaviour at the party. Gabriella was responding sweetly to his efforts, also feeling guilt for having forgotten their anniversary. On the surface. things were back to normal; however in reality they were far from perfect – and it didn't take a microscope to realise. A part of Gabriella was stalling until after Troy had been up to Berkeley. He'd had other schools contact him but none of them were schools that he would take their offers seriously; a few of them were from NCAA second division which he had little to no interest in. There had been talk of taking an unofficial trip to USC over spring vacation, but Gabriella knew that Troy thought that was cutting it a bit fine. His preference was to be committed to a school long before then, and maybe take another trip over spring vacation just to solidify the decision in his mind before the official signing period in late April and May.

Something was ringing in Troy's ears, a part of the conversations he'd been having with Gabriella – she was still relatively undecided. She declared that her priorities in decision making would not be related to personal relationships of any sort. However Troy wasn't about to make it easy for her – and he wanted her to know just how devoted he was to them and to their relationship. She needed to know that when she was weighing up her own options. Somewhere in her mind she _had_ to take him into consideration.

* * *

Thursday February 14th, Troy Bolton leapt out of bed the moment his alarm went off, ensuring that he would be at school before Gabriella, hitching a ride with his father. Some of his friends and teammates were hanging around at the fountain but he instead remained right by the parking lot, awaiting the arrival of Ryan's car. He leapt to his feet the moment that the sleek black car pulled into the lot and into the spot that was available beside Sharpay's pink monstrosity.

Gabriella had seen him waiting, eagerly looking over at her. Ryan gave Troy a small nod before heading straight over to awaiting friends, not wanting to intrude upon the moment of privacy which Troy and Gabriella sought in the midst of school grounds. Gabriella didn't say anything as she bridged the gap between them, her black flats leaving the bitumen and treading on the soft grass to meet him beneath the oak tree where he was leaning. From behind his back, almost like a magician, he produced a single, long stemmed red rose – carefully de-thorned for both his and her safety. Roses weren't her favourite flower however it was the tradition of Valentine's Day, and he knew if nothing else at her very core Gabriella was a girl with utmost respect for such traditions.

She shyly accepted the flower from his outstretched hand, her soft fingers grazing against his hand as she did so, and daintily lifted the delicate petals to her nose to smell.

"It's beautiful."

"I had bigger ideas of what to give you but somehow... somehow it didn't seem right."

Gabriella shook her head. With her left hand she clutched the rose to her heart, and she took a step forward before her right hand fell upon Troy's chest.

"This is perfect."

"Even if other people make grand gestures and I haven't? You're not going to feel left out?"

Her eyebrows quirked. "Other people? What do you know, Troy Bolton?"

He feigned innocent shock. "What are you talking about? I know nothing."

She laughed lightly and gazed directly into his bright eyes which beamed down at her. "Whatever grand gestures are made, it doesn't matter."

"Am I still coming over after rehearsal?"

Gabriella nodded. "Please? Today isn't about anything else. It can just be about you and me."

"You and me sounds good."

Her lips sought his, and were instantly met with the warmth and bliss that was desired, with the feeling of rapture and connection that came with something as simple as the fusion of their lips.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

Valentine's Day fever was in the air at East High, to the delight of some and the disgust of others. Ryan had been exchanging text messages throughout the whole morning; the look on his face alone was enough to tell everyone exactly who was at the other end of the line. Zeke had agonised over Valentine's Day, in a very similar fashion to Troy's wariness of overdoing it the year before given that he and Gabriella were newly dating. Zeke finally settled upon a fluffy grey Valentine's Day teddy, a single red rose, and a sappy card which he'd written a personalised message in which Sharpay refused to let anyone read – but the mere sight of had caused her to throw her arms around him in a tight hug.

Chad didn't say a word to Taylor about Valentine's Day all morning; and just as predicted by Gabriella – Taylor wasn't happy. She wasn't going to admit it to anyone. On the surface, she was embracing the power of the independence of women with both Martha and the newly single Kelsi. Inside, she was waiting for something to happen. Given the fuss that she'd made about adamantly not wanting him to do anything, she hadn't been surprised that he hadn't made some big public fanfare first thing. However she expected _something._ A card, a flower, a simple murmured exchange of the 'Happy Valentine's Day catchphrase. Each time she opened her locker and saw her usual school books and few practical items and nothing else, her heart sank a little further.

As girls sat around her in Calculus II just before lunch with flowers and teddies adorning their desks, she was close to sulking.

However Taylor underestimated Chad; and she should have learnt long before that it was wise to never underestimate Chad because he never failed to surprise her.

Because just as she stepped out of Calculus into the corridor with Gabriella by her side, throngs of students around them beelining toward the cafeteria, their lockers or the front gates, a familiar fuzzy sound came over the speakers, indicating a public announcement was about to be made.

"_Attention students of East High School."_

Taylor whipped around to stare at Gabriella. "Are you for real? Troy is making some massively public gesture and Chad won't say squat?"

Gabriella merely smiled, and motioned for Taylor to be still and quiet and wait.

"_We have a special public service announcement today in celebration of Saint Valentine's Day_," Troy's voice continued. _"With messages being collected in dedication to some special people out there. To make these announcements, I pass you over to co-captain of the Wildcats basketball team, Chad Danforth."_

"_Thanks Troy. To Paula from Marcus – Paula, Marcus wishes you a happy Valentine's Day. And um, what else do we have here? Dayna wants to wish her schnookie bear Mitch a wonderful day. In case anyone didn't see this morning, Troy is kinda crazy about Gabriella. To... you know what, none of these matter._" Chad's voice came louder over the PA. _"Taylor McKessie I love you and all the flowers and dumb teddies in the world aren't enough to prove just how much."_

* * *

"Was it really worth the five hours of detention you have to make up?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend with a roll of the eyes.

They'd finished with their rehearsal and given that it was a nice day out, they'd chosen to bypass the bus and stroll to Gabriella's house hand in hand, with plans to stop to get ice-cream on the way as they passed the small shopping complex.

Troy grinned. "Yeah. Coz I saw how happy Taylor was when we caught up with you guys. She was stoked. It was simple but effective."

"Simple? You guys cut class and broke into the PA room!"

"I didn't cut class. I just got a bathroom pass and never came back," Troy said defensively.

She shook her head disapprovingly. "You were lucky to get away with just five hours worth of detention."

"Come on, a little part of you isn't attracted to your boyfriend being rebellious?" Troy teased.

She shrugged. "I find it neither attractive nor unattractive. I guess your reasons were good."

"You knew that we had it planned! You badgered me until I gave in and told you!"

"I didn't know you'd be cutting class and breaking in to use the PA illegally and then getting yourselves into detention!"

"What, did you think that we were going to ask Matsui for permission to use the PA so that Chad could declare his love to Taylor?" Troy asked dubiously.

Gabriella paused. She had no comeback. She hadn't really thought about how Chad and Troy were going to put their plan into place. "Well..."

"All that matters is that Chad won brownie points, Taylor was happy, and Matsui agreed that we could serve our detention time after the show," Troy declared. He slipped his arm around her waist. "Come on, I thought we were going to get ice cream?"

Twenty minutes later, Troy was clutching onto a waffle cone with two scoops of ice cream – he normally was a classic guy, just getting strawberry and chocolate; but Gabriella had talked him into the chocolate marshmallow for something different to his customary order. Gabriella had chosen to have her two scoops in a cup, and had gone with the cookies and cream and vanilla fudge ripple. He'd wrestled Gabriella's spoon from her and sampled each of her flavours as they strolled along the sidewalk without any urgency.

"There's something classic about my strawberry ice cream," he said thoughtfully.

"You can get strawberry ice cream in a carton at the grocery store, if you're going to go to an ice cream parlour, you should take advantage of all the varieties," Gabriella reasoned.

"What if I hadn't liked my chocolate marshmallow, though?"

"I would've eaten it," Gabriella said cheekily.

Troy glanced over as Gabriella juggled her belongings. She had carried around her rose the whole day, refusing to leave it in her locker. She was holding the rose in her left hand which was also clutching at her ice cream cup.

"Do you want me to hold the rose?" Troy offered.

She shook her head. "It's fine. I promise."

"You know how I said this morning that I'd had bigger ideas? I really had come up with an elaborate plan for today," Troy revealed.

"You had?"

"Yup. I kinda got part of the idea from this guy who graduated a couple of years ago, I played with him in my first year starting in varsity. I remember he wrote a message for his girlfriend on the chalkboard of every one of her classes. She'd arrive and the message would be there. Except I was gonna write on all the pavement, like, from the parking lot. It probably would've worked out well since Ryan drove you and everything..."

"Something tells me the school might not have liked that," she pointed out with a small smile.

"Oh yeah, Jake got a week's worth of detention. But Katie really digged it so... he didn't care."

"For the record... I would've been utterly mortified and yet found it sweet... but..."

"But?"

"You don't need chalk and pavement for me to know how you feel."

Troy nodded. "I know... but... sometimes I feel like it can't hurt to remind you."

Gabriella couldn't help but feel somewhat light and giddy. There had been a vibe to their entire day, even with its simplicity it had felt deliciously romantic, like some cheesy Disney film. Troy was the epitome of the model boyfriend. Loving, sweet, doting, devoted and thoughtful. He'd bypassed the large gestures, but there had been smaller gestures which added emphasis – carrying her books all morning, insisting on buying her lunch even though she had lunch money from her mom, holding her hand at any given appropriate moment. He'd bought her ice-cream, fed her spoonfuls, let her steal mouthfuls of his chocolate marshmallow, and lightly kissed the dab of ice-cream which had pooled in the corner of her lip.

He was the boyfriend of most girls' dreams.

And yet, it felt wrong.

On the sidewalk of a major road in Albuquerque, a young couple flirted and tickled and playfully nudged one another. And despite the appearance of joviality, love and comfort; both of the pair could feel on a certain level that something was amiss. There was a cautiousness to the tender touches, restraint to the soft, chaste kisses. Gabriella could appreciate the _logic_ for the return of the Troy she'd interacted with for the first few months of their relationship. However in practice, the logic was flawed. Certainly their relationship was not all about sex; however it had become a legitimate part of it. It wasn't necessarily all about the act and the pleasures derived from the act itself. Rather it was about the passion and the escalation of emotion that came with it.

And somehow, the interactions of not only Valentine's Day but the few days before, had felt like a step backward. Reverting back in time was not going to be a solution to any of the problems that had transpired between them.

"This has been really nice," Troy said quietly, giving her a loving smile. "Just you and me, hanging out. We need Valentine's Day to come around more often."

"We shouldn't need Valentine's Day to have a day that's just about you and me," Gabriella pointed out.

He nodded. "You're right," he agreed simply.

The few minutes remaining of the walk back to Gabriella's house were silent. They entered through the back gate, dumping their bags on the white painted rickety outdoor table.

"I'm just going to put my flower in water. Do you want a drink?" Gabriella asked him.

Troy shook his head. "I'm fine."

She disappeared into the house, returning just a couple of minutes later to find Troy having settled onto the hammock in the yard. She smiled and went over to join him, easing herself to sit beside him. Wordlessly their fingers entwined, and without warning, Gabriella turned to face him, lips pressing softly to his.

"I love you," she murmured.

He didn't verbally return the sentiment – it wasn't necessary. The words had become a given. Instead he responded with a kiss – a kiss which he'd intended to be soft and chaste, but which Gabriella had responded to. A part of him was just as eager to respond and that part of him overpowered at first. However as soon as the kiss broached heated territory, he retracted, pulling back and then away completely. Gabriella thought she'd developed a fairly good sonar for determining Troy's mood – if the escalated breathing, tensed body and slightly flushed appearance were conclusive indicators, she could deduce that it was taking a huge amount of restraint to pull himself back – restraint that was entirely unnecessary. They were young, in love and alone – the perfect formula for letting oneself go.

"Let go," she murmured, her tone desperate. "_Please_." Sweetness and consideration were desirable qualities, certainly. However the Troy that she not only wanted but _needed_ in that moment was the Troy who was passionate and loving; who gazed at her with such a wanton look of unadulterated desire that she sometimes felt he was going to consume her whole.

They'd been without intimate touch for the longest period in months, and it was as though all of his hormonally driven desires had been accumulated and were desperately seeking release, begging him to ignore the voice in his head which was questioning if it was right, questioning if she was ready, questioning whether he was just going to fuck up again. However hearing her request - despite all of his self control, Troy didn't have the restraint to not acquiesce her plea. Her plea which gave him the permission his body craved. To taste and touch not only her lips and skin, but every fibre of her being.

Even on the somewhat precarious hammock, they were as close as two people could be whilst remaining completely clothed, bar shoes kicked off and jackets discarded. Bodies were flush together, writhing rhythmically, hands caressing with anxious desperation, and the kisses were longing and probing. Their most recent encounters had been during exam week, with an overall rushed intensity. And whereas there was certainly no guarantee of an extended period of privacy that Valentine's Day afternoon, the care factor that either one had was minimal.

Troy knew exactly where it was heading – they'd surpassed the point of heavy petting and moved into the next stages. However when Gabriella pulled away from him, gazed in his eyes and suggested imploringly, "Let's go upstairs," – his instinctive reaction was to freeze. He glanced in the direction of the house as her soft hands sought contact with his chest, lifting the hem of his t-shirt as she explored.

"Your mom?" he murmured, a soft grunt escaping his lips in response to her delicate fingers twigging his nipples.

"Won't be home for at least two hours."

"Ryan?"

"Rehearsal until 5:30."

Without further communication, Troy allowed her to pull him off the hammock, her soft lips on his slightly rough chin distracting him enough that he let her pull him into the house and up to her room. It was difficult to protest when a highly attractive girl whom he was in love with had her hand fumbling with his belt, jeans button and fly; fingers 'accidentally' grazing below along the way. Gabriella's black flats and his converse and socks had been discarded at the foot of the stairs, and not long after entering her room, his jeans were in a puddle around his bare feet, his button up shirt which had been hanging open was stripped and discarded. He was left in a simple white v-neck t-shirt and dark grey boxer briefs. Gabriella smiled – she was rather partial to boxer briefs and couldn't help but wonder if boys used similar methods as girls to select their underwear, with nicer pairs being selected when sex was a possibility. As her hands glided beneath his shirt and over the contours of Troy's chest – the skin soft and hard at the same time, in one of those curious oxymorons of life – it occurred to her that whereas Troy was in a state of almost undress; she was still fully clothed and Troy was showing no indication of altering the situation. She abruptly pulled away in a moment of fear.

"Troy, if you don't want me, if you don't want this..."

He cut her off before she could even finish the preposterous statement – and he cut her off in the best way that he knew how: with a kiss.

"Gabi," he murmured, lips lingering inches away from hers. "You _know_ that I want you. From where your hand has been wondering, I know that you know."

"That's just a chemically fuelled physical reaction. Perhaps emotionally..."

Again, he cut her off, this time using words as his tactic. "Emotionally, mentally, lustfully, spiritually, physically – you pick a way, and I. Want. You," he said, placing emphasis upon the final three words. "I want you when I'm in the shower and when I'm at the gym and when I'm in math class and when we're in the cafeteria with all our friends. And I most especially want you right now."

Logically, she'd known this was going to be the spirit of his response, but she couldn't help but allow her inner self conscious girl escape momentarily. She'd known what was going to be at the core of it all.

"Then what is going on? You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," he said defensively.

Gabriella sighed. "But you are holding back on me. You're making this into even a bigger deal than our first time."

"I know you say you've forgiven me, that it's past. But you have to get that the way you looked at me that night – that moment of fear and anger and disgust... it's like, _branded_ into me, it's etched into my brain."

"It was one night, one set of circumstances. This is today Troy, and today I want you to be _you_; not you of six months ago. We're more than this."

"You know, Chad would probably be disgusted if I knew what a pussy I was being," he murmured.

"You're not being a pussy, you're being caring, and considerate, and I love you for it. But.... you can stop now."

"You want me to stop being caring and considerate?"

She smiled. "Not completely stop. But maybe... tone it back a bit?"

In a swift movement, Troy's hands tugged on Gabriella's sky blue cardigan, pulling her forward to dissipate the gap between them entirely. Her body flush to his with his hands on her waist holding her in place, his lips met with hers in a soft kiss – a soft kiss that first deepened at her persuasion, and which he was happy to acquiesce.

"It's a fine line," he murmured, hot breath tingling on her lips. "Being caring and considerate but not _too_ caring and considerate."

His tone was light but Gabriella knew the meaning was serious. He was raging with a battle within, a battle that she now saw in his eyes and in every movement and she had a sudden sympathy for the self control he'd had for so many months while she'd been becoming comfortable with their foray into sexuality.

"It's a line that you've walked with perfection in the past. Don't overthink it," she murmured back. Her right hand raked through his tousled brown locks, lightly massaging at his scalp along the way.

"The idea of ever hurting you again..."

Her soft finger pressed over his lips, silencing him. The finger was replaced once again by her lips. Still clutching to her waist, he backed them toward her bed, finding it with the back of his shins, sitting down on the plush patchworkcomforter. He wriggled back onto the bed, his hand taking hers and tugging her along with him. He came to position leaning back against the pile of pillows which decorated the head of the bed. She'd followed; however instead of sitting beside him she chose to straddle him, kneeling with a leg on either side, her floral skirt flaring out over his lap. Once again her hands took up position back combing and teasing his hair. As the kisses became more insistent, Gabriella felt her cardigan slipping away from her skin, leaving her in the white tank top she'd worn beneath. Without thought his hands were tugging at the bottom of the tank, the thin material creeping up her taut stomach. She shivered slightly, and Troy hesitated, pulling back from the kiss. Forehead and nose connected with his, she said breathily, "Just felt a bit cold, that's all." One fluid movement and she made the next move for him, completing the removal of her tank top. He took in a sharp breath. Her bra was white and lacy, the cut was low and revealing. It invoked a surreal combination of virginal and sexy connotations, the raging lust within bubbling over.

"Fuck," he muttered with an approving once over.

He reached out and grasped onto the hair elastic which had her hair positioned in a side ponytail over her shoulder, pulling the tie free and allowing her dark locks to tumble over her shoulders. Lips met in a kiss which battled the intensity of the kiss from earlier, with their bodies in prime position to take advantage of the friction being caused. With Gabriella's skirt flared out, he could feel her panties directly pressing against his boxer briefs and the budding erection they encased. The movements were subtle at first but the longer they kissed, the more intent there was. Troy's hands moved up from her waist to grasp the lace covered bundles, his thumbs working the cups down and flicking over her pert nipples. A slight moan of satisfaction cut through their kisses.

"God I've missed this," Gabriella panted, eyes closed as she revelled in the building sensations. Troy's eyes clouded over as he watched her teeth clamp down on her bottom lip as she ground herself a little more purposefully into him. "I need you Troy... I need you so much..."

She needed him for so many reasons, the statement loaded with more feeling and emotion than the immediate connotation – however it was the simple and raging lust and desire for him at the immediate helm of desire.

He leaned forward a tad further, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek just in from her earlobe, before murmuring softly, "How much do you need me?"

She shivered, his breath tickling her ear and paused, temporarily thwarting the movement of her hips. He felt a longing need to be pressed up against her again, the loss of contact being felt not only in his groin but in every limb of his body. She then answered his question by staring him directly in the eyes, taking his right hand from her breast and bringing it down to swish her skirt aside – a quick peek of her matching white lace boy short panties being afforded – and press against the material of her panties – material that was more than a little damp.

"_That's_ how much I need you," she murmured.

His response was to immediately press his thumb against her clit through the damp material, her teeth clamping harder onto her lip, tilting her pelvis to thrust against his hand. In a monstrous effort to prove the ability of the masculine gender to multi-task, Troy attempted to unclasp her bra with his left hand whilst making his way beneath her panties with his right. Gabriella was quick to assist his fumbles, reaching behind her to undo the bra clasp herself, but allowing him to pull the straps down one by one and then to peel the lace away from her chest. He had experienced more success with his right hand, pushing the crotch of her panties aside to prove adequate access.

Gabriella clutched onto his shoulder with her left hand to steady herself and was attempting to even out the activity with her left, reaching down to pull away the waistband of his boxer briefs and release the awaiting snake. Her movements were slow, it was all she could really bring herself to engage in whilst being tipped so close to the edge of climax with his oh-so talented fingers circling the sensitive bundle of nerves. The edge of climax came even closer when he abandoned their kisses to instead focus on the flesh of her breasts, taking her left nipple into his mouth and using both his tongue and teeth to cause delicious ministrations, teasing, suckling, nibbling.

"Troy..." she gasped. "So... shit... so close..."

The addition of extra pressure to her clit was all that it took, a few quick movements of his thumb and the gasps of orgasm released from her throat, hips writhing and her sex pulsing against his fingers which continued with soft ministrations, prolonging the throes of pleasure.

"The perfect amount of care and consideration," she murmured, a satisfied smile on her face. "Which shall, of course, be rewarded appropriately."

She watched him with a smile as his fingers retracted from among her panties, drawing his moist digits to his lips to clean himself up. She didn't hesitate to kiss him immediately after – the taste of _Troy_ far more overpowering and quashing other flavours on her palette. Her hands tugged at the bottom of his white t-shirt that he was still wearing, both wanting and needing to feel his skin against hers. Bare chest to bare chest, flesh to flesh, the couple clung to one another as they engaged in a slow, languorous kiss; Gabriella still coming down from the heights of her digitally induced orgasm.

"Gabi," Troy groaned, as her hand came down to stroke his erection again. "I need you."

"Then take me," she responded, staring straight into his eyes.

"We need..."

"Where's your wallet?" she glanced around, eyes falling upon his jeans on the floor and not needing his response to know the answer. She retracted herself from his lap, scrambling down to retrieve the leather wallet from the back pocket. She knew precisely where to locate the little foil packages, retrieving one and again straddling him, this time a little further back on his thighs – because she had the task of removing his boxer briefs completely, shimmying the grey cotton down his legs and tossing them aside.

"Gabi... are you sure?" Troy found himself asking.

Her response was to tear the foil open and retract the condom to slip over his erect length. He shuddered at the contact of her fingers against him, aroused by her forwardness. As her fingers finished rolling the rubber down and continued in a downward stroke at the base of his penis, she looked him directly in the eye and said quietly, but firmly, "Yes."

"You're not even undressed yet," he mumbled dumbly, his fingers clawing at the hem of her floral skirt, pulling the material up to bunch around her waist.

"Then hurry up and undress me or work around it."

"Someone's impatient," Troy murmured sexily as he Houdini'd her panties off.

She was impatient, the desire she felt for him in that moment was overpowering, consuming every fibre of her being. It was more than lust, it was more than a physical need. When they were united physically, all the problems around them seemed to disappear, even if for just those brief minutes in time. During that time it was only about them and more than ever, Gabriella needed that – she needed for the rest of it to wash away.

She didn't even let him finish undressing her; skirt bunched up around her waist was enough for her. In the process of their movements Troy had slid down, now lying back against the pillows at the head of her back. She coaxed him to sit up straighter, still resting against the pillows but upright, allowing her to hold him close to her, to press her lips to his. She could see that moment of worry in his eyes right before they united, that part of him that was close to assuring her, yet again, that they didn't have to do this. She didn't want to hear it, and so before he could even speak, she brought her body down to encase his hardened length within her heated sex. There was that moment where they first united, that moment as his head broke through and he was first surrounded by her warmth and she was penetrated by his hardness – that moment that never failed to overwhelm. The fears in Troy's eyes washed away, replaced with waves of ecstasy and love and lust.

Sitting upright with their bodies pressed together, the position felt more intimate than any they'd been in before. Hands held the other one closer, Troy's on her waist and moving up the smooth taut skin of her sides and back. Gabriella's clung to the strength of his upper back and shoulders. They kissed one another – on the lips, and on each the other's neck and jaw and face. His hands supported and guided her body as she slowly but meticulously lifted and came back down, driving him into her depths.

No words were spoken. Words weren't necessary to communicate. The lack of spoken language didn't equate to silence – moans and mewls, grunts and groans, sighs and sobs; all filled the room, along with the sounds of lips smacking and sexes uniting. However the most poignant non-verbal communication was noiseless. When they'd pull away from the kissing, when the writhing bodies would fall momentarily still, and they would simply gaze into one another's eyes. Connected physically, and their loving, heated, adoring gaze creating a connection on a whole other level. A soft kiss or a thrust of his hips driving him into her and that moment would pass, but only to create a whole new moment – a moment of increasingly heightened rapture and ecstasy.

The first words that were spoken since he'd penetrated her core were in the midst of Gabriella's shuddering orgasm – a singular panted cry of his name escaping her lips, head thrown back as her back arched and her fingers clenched tighter at his body. She collapsed on him, hands roaming over his slightly sweaty skin as her body trembled and she pulsed around his hard length. A few more thrusts into her cavern was all it took for Troy to also achieve the same throes of climax.

He collapsed back against the pillows, Gabriella curled against him still with his softening member inside of her. A murmur of discontent escaped his lips as he eased himself out from her; her hand reaching out to softly pump up and down his length a few more times before snuggling beside him.

"You're still wearing your skirt," he murmured, hand tugging at the floral fabric that was creased and bunched around her abdomen.

She smiled. "Mm hmm."

Gabriella didn't protest as she felt him tug at the material to berid it from her body. It was nice to feel so sated and to snuggle against him, feeling only his skin against hers, no impeding barriers. She shivered slightly and Troy reached down for the throw at the foot of the bed, pulling it over both of them, needing to prolong the time that was just about them and nothing else.

* * *

Ryan was nervous. It was like they were in college and Gabriella had put a ribbon on their dorm room door, warning him not to enter. Except on Thursday afternoon it had been a text asking him if he could text her when he was on his way home. Given that she'd disappeared from school grounds immediately after her rehearsal was finished with Troy on her heels, Ryan didn't need a flashing neon sign telling him why she wanted such a warning. He'd procrastinated at school, remained chatting with Ms. Darbus and his sister and after driving Kelsi home he went inside to look at some sheet music she'd bought. He stopped via the grocery store and picked up some diet soda that he wasn't sure if they needed or not, but you can never really have too much diet soda on hand. Then and only then did he send Gabriella a warning text message – and he took the scenic route on the way home, backtracking and taking a tour of the neighbourhood. He was absolutely determined to _not_be placed into even more of an awkward position than he was already in, just knowing what they were up to was weird enough.

Both pairs of shoes they had been wearing were haphazardly discarded by the foot of the stairs. He slammed the door shut a little harder than necessary. He could hear some soft music playing upstairs but wasn't accosted by any other unusual noises and immediately relaxed. Nonetheless he erred on the side of caution and made his way into the kitchen to put away the soda. A glance out the kitchen window and he spotted their bags and books on the outdoor table. He was just fixing himself something small to eat – a snack sized tub of strawberry yoghurt and a banana – when he could hear footsteps coming down the stairs, moments later a fully dressed but nonetheless slightly dishevelled Troy and Gabriella emerging hand in hand.

"Hey Ryan," Troy greeted him casually, looking like circumstances were entirely normal.

"How was the rest of rehearsal?" Gabriella asked him, not quite able to look Ryan in the eye.

"Not bad. It's coming along. I've been involved in enough shows to know that things always seem worse than they really are," Ryan said optimistically.

"Me and Chad did better today, I think," Troy said.

Ryan nodded. "You did. I'm not worried about you guys, honestly. It doesn't have to be perfect."

"Hey, I'm just gonna call my mom," Troy said, having glanced at the clock on the wall. He directed the next question at Gabriella. "Are you sure I can stay for dinner?"

Gabriella nodded. "Positive, I texted mom earlier. Do you want a drink?"

"Um yeah, juice thanks, whatever kind you have is fine."

"We were going to watch a DVD in the lounge room, you want to join us?" Gabriella asked Ryan.

Ryan internally smiled at the notion of Troy and Gabriella presenting themselves as innocently as possible for when Elena returned home. He shook his head. "I'll pass. I have some things to do in my room. Thanks though." As they chatted, Gabriella had retrieved a couple of glasses from the cupboard, and orange juice from the fridge, pouring out two glasses.

"Have you had the chance to talk to Troy about my suggestion for the show?" Ryan enquired.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, but I will. Are you sure though? I mean I think Troy will agree but... do you think it's a good idea? I know you're in love with this song but..."

"I am in love with it, and I cannot think of anyone other than you guys that I want to perform it. I don't think that it would be an East High Show without a Troy and Gabriella duet. We do have a few minutes spare to fill...."

Gabriella cut him off. "Which I thought Sharpay had an idea for something?"

Ryan scoffed. "Sharpay has already gotten everyone to agree to extend the slot that her and I have, she'd invited herself to join the jazz dance troop, she's leading the finale number, and yesterday I overheard her trying to talk the band into doing a Paramore cover so she can sing lead vocals for them."

"Does Sharpay even like Paramore?" Gabriella asked with a smirk.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "No, but if she'd suggested a Kelly Clarkson cover they would've shot her down immediately. At least picking something rock with a female lead, she stood the slightest chance of having them contemplate the suggestion."

She smiled wryly, rolling her eyes. "Maybe the idea Sharpay said she'd share with us wasn't something that she would be in?" He merely gave her a look. "Okay there's no way, it is definitely an idea starring Sharpay."

"Listen to the song. You will love it. And talk to Troy about it!"

"What is she talking to Troy about?" Troy's voice interjected.

"I'll tell you later," Gabriella promised. She handed over his glass of juice. "Come on, let's watch a movie."

* * *

The movie watching was somewhat limited – the DVD had been slipped in, Troy agreeing to Gabriella's suggestion of _The Sweetest Thing._ It was a movie they'd both seen a few times – and Gabriella a few more times. They sat close together, hands entwined, legs entwined, bare feet nudging up together. A shy glance was followed by a soft kiss. It was Gabriella who deepened the kiss, such a contrast from their relationship a year earlier. A year earlier she'd been shy and unsure and Troy had coaxed her and relaxed her to let go. And here they were and it was Troy who murmured that they didn't have to do anything, and Gabriella who told him to simply shut up and _feel._

And feel they both did – physically and emotionally. The connection forged in the midst of a passionate kiss is incomparable to any other. And it was a connection which had been missing for a long time, in fact for the longest time for over six months. In the past, when they'd been apart geographically, emotionally they'd been together.

After having already had her needs satiated that afternoon, she hadn't quite expected her body and her hormones to respond to Troy with such a passionate desire. And there was rather prominent evidence of the equally raging desire being experienced by Troy. They'd shuffled into position with her lying back, and him propped over the top of her. Lips were fused together and he couldn't quell his body from reacting to her close proximity, the denim clad hardness grinding against her. In fact the desire was at such a heightened state that he was forced to pull away, forehead to forehead, and murmur regretfully, "I think we need to stop."

Gabriella misinterpreted the reasoning for his words, about to once again assure him that not only was she fine – that she was more than fine, that what had happened earlier wasn't a mistake. He saw the look which crossed her face, the look he'd already seen since they'd been engrossed in their passionate embrace, and shook his head. "Not because I think you don't want to, or that you regret earlier. Because we're in your living room, Ryan is upstairs, your mom is due home soon and if we keep doing this, I'm in danger of jizzing in my pants."

Gabriella blushed; and Troy's head bent down, nestling into the crook of her neck as he felt the sensation of her body vibrating with her laugh.

"Can we just lie here together?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded. He would do anything for her, and if that was what she wanted then it would be. The movie they'd stuck in was switched off – they hadn't paid a smidgen of attention anyway. They instead switched the TV to a music video cable channel. Troy had Gabriella spooned in his arms, both facing toward the screen however still not paying much attention. Instead, they were merely enjoying the sensation of being entwined in one another's arms. Gabriella was tracing a pattern on the back of Troy's palm which was slung over her waist and resting on her stomach.

"Hey? What were you and Ryan talking about before?" Troy enquired in a murmur.

"Ryan wants us to do a duet in the show," Gabriella informed him lazily.

"Mmm? Why?" Troy asked, vaguely interested.

"He loves this particular song, and thinks that it would suit us really well."

"It wouldn't be the first time that you and I have learned a song in a week."

She smiled. "It was less than an hour for the Mid Summer Night's Talent Show."

"Get him to burn me a copy. I'll have a listen over the weekend."

"I've already burnt you a copy," Ryan's voice wafted through from the kitchen.

Gabriella glanced up irritably, and called out, "Stop eavesdropping!"

"I wasn't eavesdropping, just overhearing. I was getting dinner started like your mom asked. I'm going out onto the patio with my book now. I'm going... going..." His voice became softer as he moved out of earshot.

"So, do you wanna sing with me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled, lips pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder. "Always."

* * *

After dinner, she walked him out the front door and all the way down the driveway. He turned to face Gabriella to say their goodbyes before yet another few days of separation. His hands nestled in the back pockets of her jeans that she'd changed into, pulling her in close to him. Her hands rested upon his chest, looking intently into his cerulean gaze.

"I'm gonna miss you," he murmured. "I feel like we're just getting things right and now I have to leave again? It should be just me and you this weekend."

One of her hands drifted upward, raking through his chestnut strands of hair, toying with the top of his ear lightly. "This weekend is important though, so it's okay," she said, tone consoling.

He nodded. "It is important."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Promise me something, Troy."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you are going into this weekend with a completely open mind. This weekend – see Berkeley for what it is and what it offers... not for where it is and what it's near."

"I can promise that, you know why?"

"Why?"

"I can go into this weekend with an open mind because... whether we're three miles or three thousand miles apart – it doesn't matter. I won't let it matter."

And with that, he pressed one more kiss to her lips and murmured a final farewell before heading down the street, a quick glance behind him to see Gabriella staring after him.


	49. Chapter 48

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **Thanks to all for your patience. Thanks to Audrey for the faboo beta read/and the in person chat about this chapter and the direction of this story as a whole xx

I update because evidently it is law to update today, on this special national holiday. Happy HSM2 Anniversary Day!

* * *

**Chapter 48**

_I wanna break every clock  
The hands of time could never move again  
We could stay in this moment (stay in this moment)  
For the rest of our lives  
Is it over now hey, is it over now_

_I wanna be your last first kiss that you'll ever have  
Amazing how life turns out the way that it does  
We end up hurting the worst, the only ones we really love_

_**Inevitable by Anberlin**_

* * *

Saturday night was designated as girls' night. Ryan was having dinner with his parents and Sharpay. Taylor had insisted that Chad find some alternate source of entertainment, and the four girls were gathered at Gabriella's with chick flicks and what they were dubbing as 'healthy party food' – cheese and crackers, carrots, celery and dip. Both Martha and Taylor were on weight loss missions in the countdown to prom. Elena Montez was at home but upstairs in her room, not really wanting to chance overhearing about some activity that she preferred to pretend her seventeen year old daughter didn't engage in.

They'd made their way through Bridget Jones' Diary while munching on chicken Caesar salads which they'd prepared together; and they took a break between films to replenish the snack food supplies and beverages when Taylor's phone began to buzz. A grin and a call out to the girls that they could start the next movie without her and she stepped out into the backyard to take her call – undoubtedly it was a certain afro-haired basketball co-captain at the other end of the line.

Merely minutes later, Gabriella's phone began to buzz, chiming with its text message sound. The little smile on Gabriella's face told the girls who the sender was.

"Girls I won't be long. Feel at home," Gabriella said, waving her hand around and snatching up her phone to leave the room.

And then there were two.

Kelsi and Martha smiled at each other, sitting in silence momentarily, before they both leaned forward to reach for the cheese and crackers plate simultaneously, both hands reaching out for the same cracker. Both hands snatched back, gesturing for the other to take it, and then both girls reached for a different cracker on the opposite side of the plate from one another. They both laughed gently, before the still in the room resumed.

"Kelsi?" Martha said quietly. "Can I ask you something serious?"

"Sure, of course," Kelsi said, facial expression immediately turning serious, avid attention being paid to her friend.

"Why did you break up with Jason? Really? And don't give me this 'story' that you told him. I don't buy it."

Kelsi sighed. The question had been lingering between them for the last week. Martha had stayed away from discussing it directly, and Kelsi had been more than happy to avoid the subject. However being asked so blatantly – she knew that she couldn't lie.

"There was no story. There might have been more involved than what I told Jason, but all the stuff I told him – it was the truth," Kelsi told Martha honestly.

"So what more was there to it?"

"Truthfully?"

Martha rolled her eyes. "No, just tell me a half truth."

Kelsi rolled her eyes and sighed, before taking a deep breath. "I broke up with Jason because I knew that you liked him."

The silence that had previously lingered in the air returned, however instead of it being a comfortable silence, it was stifling. Kelsi was staring at her hands which were folded in her lap, and Martha was staring at Kelsi in disbelief.

"You... you... what?"

Kelsi lifted her line of vision to meet Martha's. "I wish you'd have told me directly."

"How... how did you know?" Martha managed to ask.

"Does it matter?" Kelsi returned with a shrug. "You were acting so weird toward me... and I just told myself it was nothing because you were saying that we were fine but I knew everything wasn't fine. I was really worried that I'd done something to offend you or something."

"Kelsi, I'm fine with you and Jason going out! There are some days that it sucks, I won't pretend it doesn't, but I'd never want you to end things with him because of me!"

"Which is where the story not being a story comes in. Me and Jason... it was fun, and we hang out, and we have a blast, and I think he's really cute. But... it's not going to be a forever thing. I _know_ that. I doubt we'd have even tried a long distance thing for college, if we'd even lasted that long. And frankly, I care more about you than I do about him. What's the point in things being weird between you and I, just for something that I don't think would've lasted anyway?"

"But how do you know it wouldn't have lasted? It could've happened! But now you'll never know."

Kelsi shook her head. "I don't believe that. And you know what? If it really is meant to happen someday... then it'll happen. But right now... me and Jason being together isn't right."

"Because of me?" Martha said bitterly.

"Because my friends are more important to me than a crush," Kelsi clarified. The exasperated sigh that came from Martha indicated that she wasn't happy. "You're upset with me."

Martha looked up, clearly distressed. "I'm... I'm feeling like..." she let out an exasperated sigh. "Liking a boy shouldn't be like this! It shouldn't lead to... to all of this."

"What's all of this?"

"To me feeling like shit! To _Jason_ being hurt. I like him, and because I like him, he got hurt. How is that fair? Because I like him, you felt the need to choose. I made you choose."

"You didn't _make_ me do anything," Kelsi insisted.

Another irritable sigh escaped Martha's lips. "When I found out you'd broken up with him... I felt happy. I thought to myself that obviously things weren't as great with you guys as they'd seemed and I felt _happy_ about that. Even seeing him with Liana, even seeing how that cut you on the weekend – it was easier than seeing him with you. I was _happy_ about all this. Which in itself makes me an awful person."

"No it doesn't. It makes you human. God, if only it could be so simple to say to yourself 'I just have to get over it' and snap your fingers and have it be done. Anyone who thinks it is that simple obviously has never had to deal with... well... liking someone who..." Kelsi trailed off.

"Doesn't like you back that way," Martha finished with a wry smile. "You can say it. It's the truth."

"Things with Jason..." Kelsi sighed. "On the surface they were okay. But deep down... I know he was getting impatient with me being so wary to 'progress' things. Nearly all my college applications are in New York, nearly all of his in California. Lots of little things... it was okay now, but in a month, two months, six months time?" Kelsi shook her head. "Maybe he was feeling differently but I... I felt like it was only a matter of time before we would've agreed to go our own ways."

"I still don't understand how you knew," Martha said. Her eyes flickered upstairs in the direction where Gabriella had headed – she didn't know, but she had suspicions.

Kelsi sighed. "Don't be mad. Like I said, I was worried. I was worried because you were acting weird around me. It's not worth being mad about, because I would've found out anyway – if you'd kept acting like you were I would've just asked you more directly instead of trying to get you to open up to me. And I'd hope that if you asked me directly, that you'd be honest with me – just like I was with you just now when you asked me to tell you the truth."

Martha sat silent for a moment, attempting to process all the information which had been catapulted at her. She swallowed. "I'm... I'm kind of in two minds right now. Half of me feels wretched, feels like it's my fault that you've messed up something great and feels guilty."

"And the other half?"

"And the other half... feels grateful. And wants to say thank you."

A small, knowing smile was exchanged. At the heart of it, Martha was grateful. She didn't agree with what Kelsi had done, but she could appreciate the sentiment behind it. And for that and that alone, she was grateful.

Kelsi's response was simple. "You're welcome."

* * *

Meanwhile as Kelsi and Martha conducted their heart to heart, Gabriella was up in her bedroom. Troy's text message had been a begging request to call him. Glancing at the time, Gabriella had prepared herself for her boyfriend to be a little inebriated and she was blushing at the recollection of one occasion they'd been on the phone whilst he'd been away on a college trip – when he and Chad had been partying at New Mexico State and she'd been privy to hearing the grunting and moaning and panting as he had relieved his tensions.

She dialled his number, only having to listen to his callback tone briefly before the other end of the line picked up. Immediately, Gabriella could hear the tell tale signs of a party environment – loud music and talking. He didn't say anything straight away.

"Troy?" Gabriella intoned questioningly. "Are you there?"

"Gabi, baby," he said a little breathlessly.

"Troy, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm great." She heard him take a deep breath and then he spoke. He spoke seven words. Seven words which were destined to lay the foundation for what their futures were to be together.

"This is it. I've found my school."

* * *

The Wildcats had a Sunday night hangout planned. The organisation of the event had consisted of using Facebook to promote to anyone who felt like coming that they were hitting up the cinema around 5pm. In a flurry of text messaging, Kelsi and Jason had separately declared to Gabriella and Zeke respectively that they didn't want to come because the other one would be there – and the final result was that neither attended. Martha didn't feel right going when Kelsi was refusing to go. Gabriella arrived with Ryan and Sharpay. Sharpay was a reluctant attendee, but she and Zeke had made unofficial plans to go together. Paula, Marcus and Zeke were already waiting out the front of the cinema parking area. Hello's and hugs and handshakes were exchanged, the hug between Sharpay and Zeke lingering longer, the pair separating slightly from the group while everyone else smirked and silently observed the flirtatious interactions.

Before Gabriella could even turn to enquire as to who else they had confirmed as attending, Chad's silver Lancer came booming into the parking lot – literally booming, the 'doosh doosh' of heavy bass audible from where the group gathered. More hugs and handshakes ensued as both Chad and Taylor emerged from the vehicle and joined the group. Gabriella and Taylor split apart as Gabriella quietly updated Taylor on the lack of Kelsi or Jason's presence.

"Did you notice that Kelsi and Martha were acting kind of weird last night?" Taylor enquired.

Gabriella nodded. "I asked Kelsi about it earlier. She basically just said everything is fine. It was weird... it wasn't like, tense, it was just like something was going on that we weren't a part of," Gabriella mused.

To the girls' surprise – and slight disdain – a few more people arrived to join them, a couple of baseball guys who Chad was friends with, and hanging off them was Liana and Monica. They smiled and waved politely – not exactly at the hugging level of friendliness. Taylor and Gabriella looked up in surprise when Sharpay joined their little duo just to the side of the group.

"I don't like her," Sharpay said with gritted teeth.

They glanced up to see Monica and Zeke chatting cordially. Gabriella rubbed Sharpay's back consolingly. Bad blood aside, she understood the feeling of discomfort and jealousy, particularly in the earlier stages of a relationship. Liana had made her blood boil when she blatantly flirted with Troy in public view. However Gabriella knew Monica a little better and was fairly certain Sharpay's insecurities were unnecessary.

"They're just friends," she said quietly. "I'm pretty sure Monica and... what's his name?" she glanced at Taylor.

"Brad," Taylor supplied, slightly more familiar with the baseball guys than Gabriella courtesy of Chad.

"Thanks. Monica and Brad are going out."

Sharpay sniffed. "She was with Zeke when she hooked up with her ex. It could happen again."

Before either of the girls could respond, they were interrupted by Paula calling out, "Hey Gabriella? Troy's coming, isn't he?"

Gabriella nodded. She'd spoken with Troy about the matter on the phone that morning – she couldn't hide the smile on her face at the prospect of seeing him again. Gabriella was simultaneously excited and nervous. Excited because she'd be seeing Troy soon; nervous about hearing more about his college decision. Excited that he'd had such a wonderfully fruitful college trip; but nervous because intuitively, she was aware what commentary would accompany it. She wanted to have faith in him and his ability to _not_ start making pointed remarks – but Gabriella Montez was a realist and she liked to be prepared for the reality that would take place.

"He and Coach flew in at about twenty past four. His mom agreed that he could come straight here from the airport as long as he was going straight home after. So they shouldn't be far away."

"We were thinking that we'd go in and get tickets and everything now? The movie starts in fifteen minutes."

The group headed inside; luckily the ticket and candy bar queues were fairly barren. Gabriella was rather pleased with Troy's tardiness as it provided her with the opportunity to purchase both of their ticket and snacks without an argument about who was paying. Five minutes before the movie was due to start, however, his lack of presence was disconcerting.

"You guys can go in and get seats, I'll wait out front for him," Gabriella offered.

A look was exchanged between Taylor and Chad. "We'll wait with you," he offered.

The group was in agreement, and Chad, Gabriella and Taylor headed back out the front juggling their arsenal of drinks and snacks. Taylor swatted Chad's hand as he took a giant handful of popcorn from their bucket.

"Don't eat it all now, there will be none left for the movie," she chided.

They didn't have to wait long, Chad the first to spot Mrs. Bolton's car pulling into the complex and heading toward the drop off zone where they were waiting. Troy leapt out from the back seat and then stood by the driver's window, his mother handing him a green bill. He leant over, kissed her on the cheek and called out, "Thanks Mama!" as she pulled away.

He sprinted the short distance over to his friends, almost barrelling Gabriella over as he engulfed her in a hug. She stumbled backwards a few steps from the force of his embrace but he was under control and kept her upright and safe. Through some miraculous force, she managed to keep her grasp on the extra large cup of soda she was clutching onto, although it came perilously close to slipping through her fingers and crashing to the ground.

"I missed you baby," his muffled voice spoke into her dark tresses which were out and spilling over her shoulders, his head dipped and taking a moment to inhale the scent of her familiar shampoo.

"I missed you more, pookie," Chad remarked.

Troy retracted from Gabriella's embrace to playfully punch his friend on the arm. "So you should, diddums," he played along.

"So, I hear you're feeling the blue and yellow," Taylor commented.

"It's not yellow, it's _gold,_" Troy emphasised, his expression clearly disgruntled at Taylor's labelling the colour incorrectly. "And it's technically Yale Blue."

Taylor smirked. "You definitely are feeling it then to know specifically what they call their shade of blue."

He nodded, responding seriously. Of allof his extended group of friends, Taylor was one of the ones who would handle and appreciate his serious response. "Yeah. I totally am. I mean it's not set in stone but... I think this is it."

"You just know, don't you?" Chad said, tone also serious, referring to his own experiences in Sacramento.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, you kinda do. And hey! Sac State isn't far from Cal!"

"Not quite the U of A dorm we could've been sharing, but not too bad," Chad agreed. There was a pang of sadness, for years both of the pair had talked about going to U of A together, not ready to move on and see the opportunities that existed outside of their little universe.

"I can't wait to hear about every minute of it," Gabriella declared, taking a hold of Troy's hand and squeezing it. His excitement on the phone had been infectious – she could hear in his voice just how genuine his draw to the college was, as a whole package.

"Guys, we'd better head in," Taylor said, glancing at her watch. "The movie starts in a few minutes."

"I have your ticket, and I bought some candy and we can share this," Gabriella told Troy, motioning toward the jumbo drink she was holding. She'd tucked the packages of Sour Patch Kids and Reeses Pieces into her purse.

They headed back into the cinema complex, along the way Troy trying to make Gabriella take the bill that his mother had given him, Gabriella remaining resolute that she wasn't going to accept it. He slipped it into her back jeans pocket – taking the opportunity to squeeze her backside – but she promptly took it back out and slid it into his side pocket. Entering the cinema, they found their group of friends on the far side taking up a couple of rows about halfway toward the back. Ryan had been planning to avoid sitting next to his sister and Zeke but she had hissed in his ear that he'd better not leave her side. And so Paula and Marcus were sitting just behind the rest of the group, holding the other four seats in the row. They all called out greetings to Troy, he successfully managed to exchange handshakes and one armed hugs with everyone before plopping down in the seat beside Paula – Gabriella, Taylor and Chad sliding into the other seats.

"Hey, you have a Cali tan," Paula commented teasingly – not that his already tanned tone had actually changed.

"Looks like I might have it all year round, too," he added with a grin. He then turned back to Chad. "You're taking your car with you to Sac, right?"

Chad shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. Are freshmen allowed to have cars on campus?"

"Depends on the school. MIT you're not allowed in freshman year," Gabriella told him.

"Mom said that if I take it then she'll drive with me and then she and Jayme will fly back together."

Troy grinned. "I hope you can. You'll be able to pick me up and then we can go visit Gabi at Stanford."

"Like I'd want to be there while you guys are visiting," Chad scoffed. "Aren't you gonna take your truck?"

"As if Troy's truck would make it to California," Taylor said.

"Don't diss the truck," Troy said defensively, before relenting and confessing, "You're probably right though. I'm kinda hoping I might get something better for my birthday. Hey babe, do you think your mom would let us roadtrip out there together when we move?"

"Hey, I didn't know you'd decided to go to Stanford," Paula commented, turning to look at Gabriella.

It was a perfectly innocent comment, and yet she'd succeeded in expressing exactly what Gabriella was thinking. She cleared her throat. "I haven't," he said pointedly, glancing at Troy.

He wasn't fazed, just smiled and rolled his eyes. "Right. You're not sure yet. I know that."

Chad glanced at his buddy, and then glanced at Gabriella. Her face was gloomy; Troy seemed oblivious to her disgruntlement. He cleared his throat.

"So, how was the party?"

In successful Chad fashion he managed to divert the tone of gloom and engage the group in a conversation about college parties and fraternities and sororities which continued throughout the commercials and trailers.

Gabriella remembered a time in her sophomore year when she'd gone to the movies with her mother and she'd looked condescendingly at the loud group of teenagers being disruptive and making inappropriate noises. Suddenly she found herself immersed within that group; who even as the movie began were talking and laughing and throwing popcorn around. Instead of feeling disgruntled at the immaturity around her or feeling the need to shush her friends for the benefit of other patrons, she found herself leaning over to drop an ice cube down Chad's back.

It had become a life that not only that she was accustomed to; but it was a life that she wasn't sure how she could ever choose to leave behind.

* * *

"It's about fifty miles – depending on the route you take. Anywhere between an hour and two, also depending on the route and traffic. There's public transport but it'll be like, three hours and like changing buses a couple of times. I'd never expect Gabi to do that. So I might have to spent a bit of time in Palo Alto but that's okay."

Troy was chattering to Kelsi and Martha about his weekend – both girls had been interested to hear all about it and had missed his commentary the day before. Gabriella glanced at her boyfriend who was sitting beside her at their cafeteria table in irritation, before stabbing at a mushy carrot on her lunch plate with a little more violence than intended.

"You've done your research," Ryan remarked.

"I had a look into it," Troy said casually – skimming over the truth of the matter. In truth he'd looked it up very specifically. He'd also looked up the cost of flights from San Francisco to Boston – checking both from Oakland and San Francisco International Airport – he'd made comparisons between the academic calendars of the schools. And the more that he looked into it, the more perfect Stanford was looking for Gabriella, in his eyes. Certainly he hadn't been there but he'd looked around their website a lot and he could see her there, in the environment they provided. The reputation of Stanford was undeniably more than solid, he had no doubt that they had the facilities to provide Gabriella with the academic environment that would allow her genius to be honed and where she could thrive.

"I'd hope that you've been looking more into Berkeley than Stanford, Troy," Gabriella remarked.

"I've done my research on Cal. It's solid, it's more than solid. It's the best all around offer that I'm gonna get – and I _felt_ it there Gabi, and that's all I need."

"You're making me jealous," Kelsi confessed. "Here you guys are, Martha has her Sarah Lawrence acceptance, Gabriella can go wherever she wants, Troy and Chad are both sorted and I haven't even heard back about my Juilliard audition yet."

"You'll get an audition," Troy said confidently. "You're the playmaker! They'd be insane to not have you audition for them, and then they'd be insane to not accept you."

Kelsi shook her head. "I appreciate the vote of confidence but I have to be realistic. Juilliard is as competitive as an Ivy League, if not more so, and there are so many talented musicians and composers in this country who would kill for the very same spot I want."

"Realism is good, but confidence and positive thinking are as well. You can be positive and realistic at the same time," Gabriella advised.

Kelsi wrinkled her nose. "I prefer pessimism myself." She sighed and then turned back to Troy. "So how does the acceptance thing work with Berkeley?"

"I think I'm gonna go back again for another visit over spring break," he mused. "My dad said we can swing it; I'd been planning to go visit USC but I might not bother now. Their team isn't great and I like LA but the Bay is way cooler. Anyway, I don't officially get to sign until like, April, May. But we've got a verbal agreement and I'll just like, keep in touch with them and everything."

"You're going to visit Stanford soon, aren't you?" Martha asked Gabriella.

"I think so, my mom was going to take Taylor and I."

"You should come when I go to Cal! We can suss out the distance." Troy's eyes were sparkling, contemplating how they could convince their parents to make a joint family weekend out of it. His excitement the night before had been contagious and his mother was already talking about getting time off work herself so she could also head out to look at the campus.

"I think I'll go sooner than that. I really need to get things into perspective." Gabriella was choosing her words very carefully, very well aware that everything that she spoke about Stanford was going to be scrutinised by Troy.

He looked a little disappointed; the joint weekend away was certainly appealing to him. But he was quick to turn it into a silver lining. "That's understandable. I know you have reservations about Stanford but I think going there will make you feel better about it all."

This was too much for Gabriella. With as much dignity as she could muster, she set down her fork and stared at him. "Reservations? I have _reservations_ about Stanford?" she repeated, eyes widening.

The others exchanged glances. There was no mistaking the tension that was boiling over in Gabriella's tone, a tension that wasn't entirely East High cafeteria friendly.

"Well... yeah," Troy said, a little stupidly. He wasn't oblivious to her annoyance but he was confused as to why.

"Troy, I don't have _reservations._ We have talked about this," she said, her tone both exasperated and pleading. "I don't have reservations because I haven't made a decision yet."

"And your lack of a decision is because of reservations..."

Gabriella shook her head, the look on her face enough to cause Troy's sentence to come to a halt. "I'm sorry, I cannot do this right now." Abruptly she picked up her belongings and made her exit from the cafeteria, leaving Troy looking dumbly after her.

"Well?" Ryan said, looking at him pointedly.

"Well what?"

"Are you gonna go after her?" Kelsi asked.

"Should I?"

All three of them responded in perfect unison with a sing song of, "Yes!"

Troy appeared a little startled but then finally reacted, darting out after Gabriella in the direction she'd headed up the stairs and to the next level. He skidded as he tumbled out the doorway and glanced wildly in both directions down the corridor, scanning to spot her. He was in luck, eyes glimpsing her dark curls just before she turned the corner.

"Gabriella!" Troy called, taking off in a run to catch up with her.

She didn't glance up but she hesitated momentarily, eyes cast downward on the floor. Begrudgingly as Troy caught up with her and grabbed her arm, she allowed him to turn her around. Her arms crossed over her chest a little defensively, still looking down, now focused on his scuffed up black Converse shoes.

"Don't do this, don't run away from talking about this stuff," he said simply. They'd been running for long enough. They'd agreed that they would no longer be running.

She sighed. "I didn't want to talk about it in there, Troy, surely you get that."

"Okay, so let's talk about it here."

She pursed her lips. "Are you going to keep doing this?"

"Trying to get you to talk?"

"No!" she sighed. "Talking about Stanford like this. Talking about it like... like you've decided for me. You've _just_ come back from California and you're already making it sound like you know everything about it and what's best for me and... I feel like we're just going around in circles here. You're saying that you understand, that you get that I need to make the right decision for me and that you respect that... but I don't know if you _really_ do."

"Of course I respect that!"

"Well Troy, to be honest, you're not acting like it."

He sighed. "Am I a bad person for getting excited coz my girlfriend and I might actually get to go to college in the same area? Do you seriously want to say that there's something wrong with that?"

"_Might_ Troy. Might. It's just _one_ option. I know you're excited about Berkeley. I'm so genuinely proud of you, I'm happy that things have worked out this way, and I'm excited for you because just like you've looked into my schools, I look into yours and I know how amazing of an opportunity Berkeley will be for you, on so many levels. But... you might have it all figured out but _I don't_ and I seriously don't think you get that."

There were no flowers to distract them, no pretty view to stare at and make the tension of the moment seem less harsh, more bearable. Standing in the East High corridor with everyone distracted by the cafeteria and their own worlds, there was nowhere to run.

Troy sighed, leaning back against the bank of lockers that were behind him. His fingers ran through his hair, scratching at his scalp before looking at her directly, their eye line meeting directly.

"Gabriella, I get it. But I don't want to get it. I wish that I didn't get it. I'm ignoring it. I want this so badly and it's like I think that if I talk about it enough, maybe you'll get it too. Maybe you'll get how incredible this could be for you and me."

The bell sounded, the shrill ring cutting through the silence.

"Let's go to rehearsal," Gabriella said quietly.

"Gabi..."

She looked at him. "I appreciate the sentiment of why you're doing this but... I can't cope with it. I just can't. And I'm sorry if that makes me a bitch. But if you can't just, like, stop it; then we're going to have to figure out something until I... well... until I decide."

"I'll stop it."

"You already said that. You said that when we've talked about this before."

Troy sighed. "I'll try harder." She raised her eyebrows. "I will, I swear!" he insisted.

She wasn't entirely convinced, but decided to leave the matter. "We really have to go to rehearsal," she said, deflecting the matter.

He nodded, and turned her toward him to press a soft kiss to her lips. "Love you."

"You too," she responded softly.

"Whatever happens, we're gonna make it work. I swear."

On the surface his tone was resolute, confident.

It was a facade.

* * *

"5, 6, 7, 8."

Sharpay's shrill voice echoed throughout the room as she counted in the dance troupe. Ryan winced at the pitch of her tone – his head was thumping with a headache. However he wasn't about to tell her to be quiet because he was one to give credit where it was due and that afternoon, it was all due to Sharpay. Thanks to his headache he wasn't performing to his full potential that Wednesday afternoon and she was really stepping up her game and taking a leading role by assisting Ms. Darbus for one of their final rehearsals before the show. They were at Lava Springs, it was the first entire run through of the show. The ideal was to be able to test for time and to get everyone familiar with the order of events; however there was so much disorganisation with many of the individual acts that they weren't really succeeding with the intended goal.

Ryan was lying across several of the fold out chairs which filled the seating area of the stage facility in the back row. He'd taken headache pills but they didn't seem to be kicking in. It had been a busy few days for him. Between show rehearsals, student council, his involvement with overseeing various committees, now in full preparation mode for his Juilliard audition and not to mention school work, it had been more than hectic. He'd woken up that morning feeling generally awful – aching body, sniffly, a sore throat – and the day at school had led to the niggling headache he'd had that morning exploding.

"Duckie?" he heard his mother's gentle questioning voice, and sensed her sit down in the chair closest to his head. "What's going on?"

"Headache," he responded with a pout, giving the explanation he'd been giving everyone.

She cooed soothingly, scruffing his hair gently. "Why don't you go lie down in the lounge?"

"Can't. Have to be here. The show is this weekend."

"I know the show is this weekend but you just lying here isn't doing anyone any good."

"Your mother is right," another kind adult voice said from behind him.

He glanced up to see Ms. Darbus looking down at him. "Mr. Evans, go lie down – or better yet, just go home. Even the greatest of performers need a day off sometimes – and better to have that day off now and have you rested and well for opening night."

"I'll go lie down in the lounge," Ryan conceded. "But I'm not leaving. Then if you need me, you can come get me. Okay?"

Ms. Darbus nodded, not having any intent of retrieving the young choreographer. He was claiming it to be a headache but despite his acting talents, she suspected more was going on – his voice sounded scratchy and he'd sneezed more than once.

Ryan didn't even glance back as he left the stage area with his mother, being led into the tranquil employee lounge area. Derby Evans might've been a bit of a socialite and partial to the odd seaweed body scrub, but when her child was in need she went into motherly action. Within minutes Ryan was settled with a blanket, a glass of water, a cup of honey and lemon tea, some tissues and the lights had been dimmed. She'd also put his cell phone within reach and told him to call her if he needed anything.

She closed the door softly behind her and headed back out to the stage area to check in on the progress. They were just taking a break and she spotted her daughter over by the refreshment stand, talking with a tall African American boy who she recognised as being one of Ryan's friends who'd worked at the club over summer. She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head, lips pursing as she observed the interactions. Whilst there was no blatant public display of affection, there was no doubting the flirtatious sparks flying between the pair.

"Hi Mrs. Evans!"

Gabriella had been sitting by Kelsi and Troy as they drank some water and snacked on fruit, and had been across the room as Ryan had been led away. She wanted to check on how he was.

"Hi Gabriella," Derby greeted her, distracted as she watched her daughter discreetly from a distance.

"Is Ryan okay?"

"Hopefully he will be. I think he'll have a nap," she replied.

Gabriella followed Derby's gaze, sensing her distraction. "Oh, aren't they cute? I have to admit I was sceptical as to whether they'd ever get together but they seem really happy so far."

"Together?" Derby echoed.

Gabriella paused, and then her eyes widened. "Umm... well. Not _together_ I guess. I don't know if it's official... they don't really talk about it. But um..."

"So what is happening then?"

"Uhm..."

Gabriella felt beyond awful. In her own moment of tiredness she hadn't really used that filter between her brain and her mouth and it hadn't occurred to her that maybe Sharpay hadn't been forthcoming with her parents about her dating Zeke.

"You know what, Gabriella, you don't need to tell me. If you'll excuse me..."

"Of course," Gabriella squeaked, and retreated wide eyed back to Kelsi and Troy.

"Is he okay?" Kelsi asked.

"I think I just screwed up," Gabriella said, not even hearing Kelsi's question. Her teeth began to gnaw on her lower lip.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"Um... I think I just told Sharpay's mom about her and Zeke..." She went on to detail the conversation.

Troy looked up, seeing Derby approaching her daughter with a determined look. He shrugged dismissively. "Honestly Gabi, she wasn't exactly hiding it. She knew her mom would be around today, and they were being a bit obvious."

Kelsi nodded in agreement. "Sounds like you just confirmed what Mrs. Evans had already seen for herself."

"I still feel awful. God, I hope she doesn't tell Sharpay I said anything," Gabriella groaned. "The last thing I need is Sharpay having another reason to hate me; we've actually been okay lately."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kelsi said optimistically, rubbing her friends arm consolingly.

Meanwhile just across the way, Derby was approaching her daughter – whose hand was now rubbing up and down the arm of her companion, seemingly completely unaware that just feet away her mother approached.

"Pumpkin?"

Sharpay's eyes widened, her hand snatching away from Zeke's arm.

"Mother?" she said questioningly, her almost fearful tone one that Derby had rarely heard from her daughter.

Zeke was calm. With warning of the impending meeting he would've had time to work up the nerves – like when he'd been preparing to meet her parents when he'd first picked her up for their date. But without that time to work himself up, he was actually relatively calm. He straightened himself up and smiled charmingly.

"Hello Mrs. Evans, I don't know if you remember me but I'm Zeke Baylor. I worked here at the club over summer vacation under Chef Michael."

He extended his hand out to her, which she took and then nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes, I remember. Nice seeing you again. Are you involved with the show?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am, my friend Jason Cross and I are doing a bit of a comedy act of sorts. Nothing of any real talent like that which your daughter has."

Sharpay blushed, something else Derby had rarely witnessed her daughter do.

"Pumpkin, do you think I could have a word with you for a moment?" Derby said calmly.

Sharpay nodded meekly. Often, she could shout and stomp her foot at her mother and get her way; but Derby had a tone which meant that she meant business – and Sharpay wasn't about to stomp her foot with Zeke right there, anyway.

"Uh, I'll just be over with everyone else," Zeke said, taking the hint and excusing himself. "It was nice seeing you again, Mrs. Evans."

"Likewise... I'm sure I'll see you again soon," she added.

He nodded. "Looking forward to it."

He glanced back behind him as he walked away, making brief eye contact with Sharpay and smiling encouragingly at her. She grimaced and then turned to face her mother, smiling dumbly and asking, "Yes?" as though she had no idea of what was coming – when in reality she knew precisely what was coming.

"So this is where you've been going all dressed up," Derby said, slightly teasingly.

She wasn't mad – a little hurt that her daughter hadn't been able to confide, but not mad. She was even a little pleased – for all of her confidence, Sharpay hadn't dated much and it worried Derby a little that Sharpay was so focused on her career that she was missing out on a critical part of her youth – socialising and having fun.

Sharpay didn't confirm the assumption but she didn't deny it. Arms folded across her chest, she glanced down at her silver peep toes.

"He's a really great guy," she said simply.

Her mother nodded. "I'm sure he is."

Sharpay hesitated. "Are you going to tell Daddy?"

Derby sighed. "I think you should tell him. If you're planning to keep seeing him in particular."

"I am."

Derby contemplated the matter. "I'm not going to tell him. But if he asks me about it I'm not going to lie. Is that a reasonable compromise?"

Sharpay was relieved. She really had wanted to tell her parents – sneaking out simply wasn't in her, and there was only a certain number of times she could go out on a Friday or Saturday night dressed up without suspicions being piqued. But she preferred it to be in her own time. She knew the best way to handle her father, something her twin had never quite mastered the way she had.

"Your father will want him to come over for dinner... and so would I. Get to know him a little better – since he seems important to you."

"Zeke won't mind that," Sharpay spoke honestly, knowing that he really wouldn't.

"I'd suggest that it might be good to tell him before your birthday dinner," Derby added.

Sharpay and Ryan had decided a little while ago that for their birthday in a couple of weeks, they were going to host an elegant dinner party at their home. Invitations were in the process of being printed up and due to be given out within a few days. Sharpay knew that her mother was right.

"I will."

"And your father will be at the show and if you don't want him to find out how I found out..."

Sharpay winced. She really hadn't been thinking very clearly. She'd known her mother was around but when Zeke had come up to chat to her during the break, her senses had drifted away.

"Not the greatest idea," Sharpay agreed.

"Anyway. I'm sure you'll be starting back again soon. And I want to go check on your brother."

Sharpay's face clouded with concern. "Is he okay?

"Sleeping off his headache, nothing to worry about."

Famous last words.

* * *

On Thursday, Ryan came to school coughing, sneezing and spluttering.

Rehearsals continued regardless, things coming together much more smoothly on Thursday afternoon, pretty much an entire dress rehearsal with very little going wrong other than some technical lighting and sound issues.

On Friday, Ryan stayed in bed – well to be precise he'd gotten out of bed and Ms. Montez with one look at him had sent him back upstairs, insisting in her 'I might not be your mother but I am _a_ mother and you _will_ do what I say while you're living under my roof' tone that he needed to rest. That night he was feeling a lot better, even getting up to have some dinner and hearing from Gabriella about that afternoon's rehearsal and their current progress, assured that they'd managed to run things without him. He'd figured a good night's sleep and he'd wake up in the morning ready and raring to go.

On Saturday morning – show day – Ryan woke up, stumbled out of bed feeling a bit better than the day before. He ran into Gabriella in the hallway on his way to the bathroom and went to say 'good morning' and out came a tiny, hoarse whisper; the latter syllable of morning not even emitting at all. His eyes widened.

"Um, lemon and honey tea?" Gabriella suggested, biting her lip.

Ryan was in panic mode. He'd seen interviews with some of his favourite recording artists talking about how they managed to perform through the worst of illnesses, not talking all day long, drinking tea and managing to pull off a show stopping performance that night. He swallowed, and nodded.

He could only try.

* * *

Sharpay was livid.

It was 9:15am on Saturday morning; bright and early for high school students. However final dress rehearsal was scheduled for 9:30am, and Ryan had texted his sister requesting she come a little early. She had presumed he wanted some extra time so they could rehearse – but when she arrived to find him having a conversation with Gabriella with her talking and him writing on a notebook, her eyes widened and she felt herself become a little faint.

A few of them were gathered around in front of the stage – Ryan, Gabriella, Kelsi, Theodore, Troy, Chad, Ms. Darbus and now Sharpay. Troy and Chad were more focused on the hackey sack which Chad had brought along with him. Chad had commented cheekily that he was proud to more dextrous with his feet than Troy, and Troy had been quick to shoot back that Gabriella appreciated that he had superior hand skills. Once Sharpay had arrived and proceeded to freak out at Ryan, the hackey sack was long forgotten.

"Sharpay, it's not like he purposely got sick," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes at the immaturity and lack of sensitivity – though she wasn't sure why she'd expected more from the blonde drama queen.

"You've felt off for days, you obviously didn't look after yourself properly," Sharpay snapped at her brother.

Ryan just sat quietly. There was something serene about not being allowed to talk back at Sharpay. Ryan was accustomed to trying to calm and reason his sister, but he'd simply written on his sheet of paper 'not allowed to talk' in large block capital letters, waved it at her face and then slumped back into his chair.

"This show should never have happened. I don't know why we ever bothered. Obviously the universe didn't want it to happen, we lost our auditorium and our budget and we're putting on this tacky talent show and now this! WHAT ABOUT OUR MEDLEY? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?" Sharpay's face was going a little red. This was _not_ the smoothly running show that she'd hoped for.

"Why don't you just do it alone?" Chad suggested. He was entertained by her dramatics but Ryan ws his buddy and he could see that Ryan was less amused. "Seriously, Sharpay. I've hardly ever heard you sing solo."

She sighed. "I would, but the whole dynamic of our medley is having two people. The songs have two clear parts that bounce off each other."

"Okay so... someone has to learn Ryan's part," Kelsi said calmly. "In case his voice doesn't come back in the next..." she glanced at her watch. "Nine hours. Surely someone knows these songs."

"Gabriella listens to the _Wicked_ soundtrack almost every day," Troy offered.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Troy!" she hissed. That morning, as soon as she'd heard Ryan's voice – or rather lack of voice – it had occurred to her that the medley the twins had prepared would work better with two people and that Sharpay performing solo was not the best option. It had also occurred to her that she knew every line and every note of Ryan's part, however she wasn't about to volunteer that information herself.

"You do! You even had _Defying Gravity_ as your ringtone for a while."

All eyes turned to Gabriella, Sharpay's an intense, contemplative stare. Though Sharpay would never, ever admit it out loud – Gabriella had a fantastic voice. If she really did know the songs, then it may very well be a perfect match. Still, Sharpay wasn't prepared to let it happen that easily and so, she strutted over to the microphone stand, thrust the object at Gabriella and demanded, "Glinda's verse of _For Good_. No time to queue the music. Kelsi? Accompaniment? Go."

Normally, such a demanding request would have Gabriella nervous. Sure, she'd now had starring roles in both _Twinkle Towne_ and _Once Upon A Time_ as well as a focal role in _A Midsummer's Night._ But to be thrust a microphone in front of her peers and being asked to sing a song entirely unrehearsed – it was a different matter.

However there was a certain amount of challenge in Sharpay's tone – if she refused or protested at all, she'd feel like she hadn't met that challenge. And so, fuelled by competitive determination, she took the microphone from Sharpay's manicured hand and took centre stage.

_I've heard it said__ t__hat people come into our lives for a reason__  
__Bringing something we must learn__  
__And we are led__t__o those who help us most to grow__  
__If we let them__a__nd we help them in return__  
__Well, I don't know if I believe that's true__  
__But I know I'm who I am today__b__ecause I knew you__  
__Like a comet pulled from orbit__, a__s it passes__..._

Ms. Darbus's arm came to rest upon Kelsi's hand, silencing the accompaniment and in turn silencing Gabriella.

"That's all we need to hear. Miss Montez will be the understudy for Mr. Evans. I'd suggest that you three girls conference and decide on a new arrangement – you'll probably want to cut _Popular_ and _Dancing Through Life_ and use _What Is This Feeling_ instead," Ms. Darbus said, taking control.

Sharpay nodded curtly – it was an appropriate suggestion. "Gabriella, Kelsi, to the piano in the rehearsal room," she said promptly, taking control.

Gabriella glared at Troy, who shrugged helplessly. "Sorry," he mouthed.

* * *

Ryan sat in the back row of the auditorium, paying close attention to the dress rehearsal as it progressed. The irony was that he was now feeling okay – lack of voice aside. He was making notes of a few things to give feedback on once the rehearsal was over. His short contemporary dance piece was still being used – but it was the third act of the show and so once his rehearsal had completed – flawless – he'd taken up his current observatory position.

Ms. Darbus came to sit beside him as the string quartet rehearsed their up tempo TV Theme medley. She glanced at the page in front of him, observing his notes.

"Good feedback," she nodded approvingly – Ryan had always had a good eye for picking up on the subtle things that could really enhance a performance.

He went to respond vocally out of habit, but her finger wagged at him warningly. She then gestured to the mug of green tea with lemon and honey on the floor. "Drink up." She'd been exposed to the theatrical arts for many years and she'd seen many a miracle when it came to the return of one's voice – with due care and attention, it was possible to be nurtured back to health.

He rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless. He knew she was right. He'd pretty much given up hope but ultimately if he hadn't at least tried then he would be regretful so it was best to follow the strict rules.

Up next after the string quartet was the fresh new addition of Troy and Gabriella's duet – they'd first ran through it in total the day before and Gabriella had told Ryan it had been fine. He'd sensed something in her tone when she'd said 'fine' that she had some reservation. When he'd first heard the song he'd immediately thought it would be something that both of the pair would resonate with and in his experience it was their emotional connection to the lyrics that was behind the power of their performances. With all of his absence throughout the week it had been Kelsi who'd worked most directly with their preparation and so this was first for him. Ms. Darbus nudged him as Troy and Gabriella took their positions on stage.

"Have you seen this yet?"

He shook his head. She pursed her lips and he cocked his head, quickly scribbling out - **Something wrong with it? I picked the song.**

Ms. Darbus sighed. "We'll see."

It took three lines for Ryan to see the problem.

_If I should die before I wake__  
__It's 'cause you took my breath away__  
__Losing you is like living in a world with no air__  
_

Gabriella looked like standing on stage singing with Troy was the last place she wanted to be. She looked as though singing the lyrics was of difficulty, something that made her feel uncomfortable. She had her arms wrapped around her middle, her eyes were directed toward her black low heeled pumps rather than a loving gaze at her boyfriend.

_I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave__  
__My heart won't move, it's incomplete__  
__Wish there was a way that I can make you understand__  
_

Troy, on the other hand, seemed to connect. He had a natural stage presence which had surprised everyone the winter before but now seemed perfectly natural, something people came to expect from him. He was performing just as Ryan had envisaged – it was Gabriella that was the problem.

**Maybe she's nervous?** Ryan wrote on his notepad, flashing it at Ms. Darbus. The older woman simply shrugged. She didn't care to speculate – all she knew was that it seemed awkward and unbalanced. Vocally it was fine, but it was missing that certain something which was associated with a duet being performed by this particular pair.

Intermission was soon after and just as they would that evening, the twenty minute break was taken, rehearsing to the minute all of the set changes, costume changes and so forth which needed to take place. There was an area at the back which was being set aside for performers – when they weren't on stage they were free to use the back route to watch the show, as long as they were on time for their acts, being required in costume a whole act before their own. Gabriella's solo was three songs after the break and so during intermission she slumped into the seat beside Ryan which Ms. Darbus had since departed.

"How has it been? It seems fine from backstage," she commented.

He shot her the thumbs up, indicating that everything was going to be okay; before grabbing his notebook to enquire, **are you okay?**

Her brows furrowed and she nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Ryan decided to just bite the bullet and ask. **Your duet with Troy... you seemed a bit uncomfortable. Nervous maybe? Don't you like the song?**

Gabriella sighed. "I'm not really nervous, I'm terrified about the number with your sister but not about the one with Troy."

She didn't say anything more, hoping that maybe his voicelessness would make Ryan less prone to prodding her to reveal more. Her hope was fruitless. He gestured with his hand for her to go on.

"I like the song," she added. "It's beautiful..."

Ryan waited. He didn't speak – or write – he simply waited.

"On Thursday, me and Troy were up on the roof. Sort of... partly rehearsing." She didn't specify what the other part of what they were doing was – she didn't need to, Ryan understood and smirked. She blushed. "Anyway he got really serious like he does and was saying how the lyrics were really perfect and... I don't know. I guess I just... a part of me thinks you chose the song perfectly and the other half of me feels like Troy is taking the lyric to heart a lot."

Ryan paused. It was such a deep topic to be discussing when he couldn't actually communicate with spoken word. He wrote simply – **West coast you v East coast you?**

She nodded. "Yes. Exactly."

Ryan again began to scribble, his writing becoming scruffier as he rushed to get the words out. **Gabi, I don't know what's going on in your head exactly, but tonight is like you're acting. You do it like you've been doing it and you sound great but you look awkward and uncomfortable. Find a way to bring it unless you want people – including Troy – to be asking questions that I don't know if you can answer.**

* * *

Meanwhile backstage, Troy and Chad were preparing for their number, which was first back after the intermission. They were in the back corner of the male dressing room area. Troy was calm, Chad was nervously glancing over his lyrics. During rehearsals he'd gradually gotten more comfortable, but as the room was being dressed and ready, it was sinking in that this wasn't just some fun number he was performing for his friends – they were putting on a real show where friends, teachers, parents and other members of the community would be paying actual money to gain entry and watch them perform. It was unnerving.

"Hey Chad?" Troy said.

"Yeah Hoops?" Chad said, clearly distracted.

"Did you see me and Gabriella singing before?"

Chad paused. "Um, yeah, a bit from side stage."

Truthfully, he'd been standing with Zeke and Jason, all three of them watching and commenting on the lack of 'energy' being put into it by Gabriella.

"Was it just me or did she seem a bit... I don't know... uncomfortable? I asked her if she was okay and she said she was feeling nervous. But she really wasn't acting nervous, I know what she's like when she's nervous."

Chad wasn't sure what to say and so simply suggested, "Maybe try to talk to her about it later, dude?"

Troy nodded. "I think I will. I'm going to her place for lunch after this rehearsal. Maybe it is just nerves, you know, since we just had this song thrust at us. And now she's doing this other number practically unrehearsed."

Chad clapped his hand on Troy's back. "I'm sure it'll be fine Hoops, chill."

* * *

The rehearsal was far from perfect, but it was satisfactory. Most of the problems were technical – the kind of things that were better to go wrong in rehearsal because only then could they be amended for the show. One of the girls who was in both a dance and a choir performance had an elaborate costume change and only two minutes to do it in and had missed her cue every rehearsal, so they'd organised for someone to be there ready to assist her.

Both of Gabriella's duets – her ballad with Troy and the medley with Sharpay – were identified as needing an extra run through after everyone else was dismissed and given strict orders about what time to return in the evening. Ryan had reiterated to Gabriella that if all else failed, she had to put herself into the shoes of a character instead of trying to sing directly to Troy. The rehearsal that followed was significantly better. Troy, with good intentions in mind, promised Ms. Darbus that he and Gabriella would privately run through it a couple more times before the show; but this in itself put Gabriella slightly on edge – it was harder during a private rehearsal to assume a character.

However the show had to go on, and so she merely smiled, nodded and then moved onto rehearsing her latest duet with Sharpay – which was looking to be a solidified part of the show, Ryan's voice so far not having come back at all.

"Maybe you and Troy need to like, go find a room or something," Sharpay suggested lowly, wrinkling her nose as they took their positions on stage. "Because Galinda really shouldn't be so tense."

Gabriella glared at Sharpay. "Thanks."

Sharpay huffed. "Just some advice, that's all, from a performer to an amateur."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella's mothers had continued with the bond they'd formed, which also continued to be both a blessing and a curse for the couple. They'd have preferred to have their own lunch however Elena had invited Jack and Lucille to come over before the show for lunch, and at Derby's invitation they were all going to Lava Springs early for some pre-show drinks. Family meal time meant watchful eyes at all points, and whereas those watchful eyes had become accustomed to a certain amount of affection, there was still a filter that a teenager automatically had to use in the presence of adult authority.

Additionally, Troy was anxious for the parents to depart so that he could talk to Gabriella. He'd considered waiting until after the show but he could sense that something was troubling her, she didn't seem quite relaxed. She'd spouted off an excuse of nerves to Lucille, and given the news of her new part in the show, said excuse not being questioned. The rules of life dictated that when he wanted something to happen, it wouldn't; and Elena poured a fresh glass of wine for herself and Lucille – Jack agreeing to take the driving role. Troy pondered to himself that perhaps he should have attempted subconscious reverse psychology – willed the adults to remain at home all afternoon, and then they'd magically decide to leave immediately.

"So Troy, I hear every other word from your lips is California," Elena commented.

He grinned – his agitation drifting away at the mere mention of California and being given the opening to talk about it again.

"Pretty much yeah. It's a good feeling having it all sorted. I've been a bit stressed about it all. All I really have to do now is sit back, keep my grades up and it should all be sweet."

"It's nice when all your hard work pays off."

"Absolutely. It'll be really close to heaps of cool places, like Santa Cruz and San Jose."

"Your mother tells me you're looking forward to learning to surf?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "A few years ago when we went to California over summer I had a few lessons. I'm pretty good with skateboarding and snowboarding so I figure it should transfer to surfing pretty easily."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with your basketball training," Jack warned. "There are rules you know, about making sure you don't get involved in activities prone to injury."

Troy rolled his eyes and said, "Yes dad," in a bored tone.

"It sounds like a lot of your friends are figuring out where they're going to be next year," Lucille commented, and then frowned slightly. "All growing up so quickly."

"How's your decision making coming along, Gabriella?" Jack asked.

"Slowly," Troy answered for her.

Gabriella glared at him while Lucille frowned at him.

"It can't be easy, having so many great options. You have to pick the one that's right for you," Jack said wisely.

"Yes. That's exactly right," Gabriella agreed whole heartedly.

Jack's tone changed, turning to Troy and saying with a smirk, "You're gonna be really popular if the guys find out you're dating a Cardinal." Jack was referencing the Stanford athletics mascot.

Troy grimaced. "They can deal. I might have to wait a while before mentioning it."

"Maybe I'll just move to Boston so you don't have to worry about it," Gabriella said – the light hearted sarcasm she was aiming for with an edge of hardness.

Troy stared at her. "Funny."

"It would be convenient if you guys both moved to the Bay area – we could go out to visit you together," Lucille said with a smile.

It took every ounce of Gabriella's willpower whilst in her present state of utter annoyance to not voice her thought that if it was _convenient_ for everyone else then she would just have to make their wishes become a reality.

"Are you staying in Albuquerque next year, Ms. Montez?" Troy asked.

"At the moment it looks like it, Troy," she confirmed with a smile. "I'm going to have to settle somewhere so that Mija has somewhere to leave her things she doesn't take with her – to wherever that might be."

"Bet you never thought that Albuquerque would be somewhere you'd want to stay."

"That you're right," Elena chuckled. "But the city has its appeal. Plus I do like the location – I feel peaceful being close to Colorado and my sister isn't far away either."

"You know if Gabriella went to Stanford, it'd be way closer than if she moved to Boston."

"Why don't I just go to U of A and not move out of my room then?" she suggested snarkily.

"That won't work, at U of A all freshman have to live in the dorms," Troy responded, deciding to ignore her sarcasm.

Gabriella pushed her empty plate away – they were just sitting around talking and suddenly making small talk was something of more stress than she felt necessary to put herself through. It wasn't any of the three parental figures who were the root of the stress though; it was the boy who seemed to put her through more stress than calm in recent times. She knew that he meant well, she knew that at the heart of it all was just him not wanting them to separate – something she didn't want to begrudge him for. However he was like a dog with a bone, he just couldn't let it go and the good intent was marred by the disrespect she felt that he was showing her. She was close to snapping, to kicking him, a boil over of every little remark he'd made ever since promising – again – to stop making said remarks. However she couldn't allow herself to boil over, and the only way she could see herself avoiding it was to get out of the room.

"May I please be excused?" she choked out.

Elena glanced sideways at Lucille, whose eyebrows raised. The expression of tension and annoyance was one which very infrequently filled her usually bubbly and easy going daughter's features. "Um, sure sweetheart," Elena said warily.

Gabriella picked up her plate and carried it into the kitchen, clearing, rinsing and placing it into the dishwasher in record speed. She bolted up the stairs to her bedroom, having closed the door behind her for less than a minute when a knock came at the door. She sighed irritably, and yanked it open to see Troy waiting expectantly – not that it surprised her. She'd known he would follow her, even when all she wanted was five minutes to compose herself.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

Using his fingers, he made quotation marks. "Using the bathroom."

"You do realise that they know very well that you're up here?"

"I don't care," he said bluntly, entering the room without her permission and taking it upon himself to close the door behind them. "What the hell was that?"

"That?"

"Yes. You sighing and throwing me dirty looks and huffing away."

"Troy, I'd rather just be alone right now, if I could be alone for just five minutes it'll be okay," she begged, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

"No! You're pissed at me and you need to talk about it, not stew away and then pretend you never felt pissed at me."

"I'm not pissed at you," she lied, sitting on the edge of her bed and staring at the floor. She was avoiding looking at him because in the best of occasions Gabriella found lying to be difficult; looking at him just made it harder.

"Don't lie to me."

She sighed irritably. "Fine, okay, I'm pissed at you. Happy now?"

He shook his head and sat beside her on the bed. "No, I'm not happy that you're pissed at me," he said, his tone soft. He could never be happy in any scenario that involved Gabriella being discontented with their relationship. "But what matters more is that you talk to me about why you're pissed."

She looked at him, eyes wide. "You seriously need to ask?" He didn't respond, the look he gave her indicating that he did indeed need clarification. "You promised me that you were at least going to _try._ You looked me in the eye on Monday and promised."

"We're eating with our parents, what do you expect me to do? Sit there and explain the fucked up-ness that is our situation? They were the ones bringing up the idea of us going to college near each other."

She leapt to her feet, hands on hips as she demanded. "How exactly is it fucked up? I think it's a pretty standard situation really. You're decided and I'm undecided about my college plans. Pretty straight forward." She began to pace the length of the room by her door. "Why is everyone insisting that I be decided? Most people don't even have their acceptances yet! And why is everyone acting like I should be making a decision that will be most 'convenient' for them. What about what I want?"

Troy rose to his feet, meeting her mid pace, hands grasping her upper arms to still her. "No one actually wants you to make a decision based on convenience," he said patiently. "Everyone knows how important this is for you, this decision. College is going to be... you know... _your_ time. You can be done with all this easy high school shit and actually be challenged. We get that, all of us."

Her arms flailed, pushing his comforting caressing hands away. "Then stop pressuring me! Don't you think I'm stressing enough about this as it is, I don't need you making it more stressful for me!"

Troy blinked. He couldn't lie – his comments weren't completely unintentional, he'd let them slip during appropriate occasion. But he'd never thought of them as being stress inducing.

"I don't mean to stress you out," he said honestly. "I really don't."

"Then why do you do it? You've made your position clear. I get it. I get that you want us to go to college near each other, I understand how close Stanford is to the University of California. You reminding me over and over and _over_ isn't going to change anything here."

"You know why I do it, Gabi? I do it because I feel so helplessly out of control here. If I had better options here, that would be fantastic. If I could have Boston or NYU or Princeton or anywhere on the east coast in my mix of things, I'd be so much happier. But I don't. My next best option is to live in Indianapolis which seriously, might as well be as far from Massachusetts as California. You're the one with the control here and so that's why I keep saying stuff. That's my level of control. To remind you of how amazing it could be. Don't you... doesn't that influence you at all? When you close your eyes and you think about these cities and these colleges and where you can see yourself for the next four years – well knowing you if you fast track it might be three, but whatever... don't you think about the difference between being a drive and a flight away from me? Like, seriously?"

Now the annoyance was building up in Troy. He was staring at his girlfriend, at the girl he was so completely in love with, as she looked back at him fairly impassively. The most passionate of pleas seemed to not affect her. He wanted to be open minded and understanding and allow her to make her decisions in her own time. And to a certain extent he was – but he was the one being understanding and patient and getting so little in return.

"What do you want from me, Troy?" Gabriella exclaimed. "What is it that you want me to say to you? That of course I'm going to choose Stanford just for you, just for us?"

"Yes!" he exploded.

The air went silent for a moment.

He hadn't spoken that thought out loud before, and yet it was the brutally honest truth of how he felt. He swallowed, evening his tone.

"Yes. I want you to say that. And you know what? I don't think that's unreasonable."

She'd _known_ that he felt this way, that it was the unspoken truth of his opinion. Whilst unspoken it had mildly irritated her; hearing it aloud was utterly ludicrous.

"How is that even slightly reasonable?" she asked, attempting to quash the incredulousness in her tone.

"Stanford is one of this country's most prestigious colleges," Troy began, about to go on one of his speeches about the amazingness of Stanford. She knew the statistics of Stanford. She didn't need to hear them again, and the placid expression on her face told him that it wasn't the right tact. He sighed, and changed his path. "Gabi, this isn't me choosing U of A and asking you to stay here in Albuquerque. I'd never, ever want you to hold yourself back. But this is _Stanford. _As far as compromises go, it's not exactly the worst one you can make! I've researched Stanford and MIT and I've looked into so much stuff and honestly, they're pretty on par from what I'm seeing. You don't have family in Massachusetts, your mom isn't moving to Boston. I don't get it. If this was reversed, if you had one college that you _really_ wanted to go to and I was deciding between two colleges that were similar and one was on the other side of the country from you and one was in the same state – there is no doubt in my mind as to which one I'd choose. No doubt at all."

"They're not even, Troy. There is an entirely different culture at MIT and at Stanford. They follow different logical paths into graduate school. The cities and lifestyles are completely different. And the schools themselves are offering me different things."

"Different how?"

"MIT are more willing to work with me to fast track. It's more accepted to take eight courses in a semester if you feel so inclined to do so. They're more..." she paused, and looked him in the eye. For the first time throughout very discussion they'd had about college, she levelled with him. "If you weren't a factor, I'd have sent my acceptance to MIT already. Granted, because of you I've put in a lot more effort to learn more about Stanford and it's a better option now than it was before. But don't mistake it Troy – you are the sole reason why I'm contemplating Stanford at all, you are the reason why I am finding this decision so difficult. Because my inner gut tells me that I should be in Boston but this foolish part of my heart..."

"Why do you call your heart foolish? Why is that so foolish?" he asked, voice soft and pleading. To him, there was nothing foolish about listening to her heart.

"Because I'm not that girl, Troy, the one who bends herself for a boy, any boy, not even you."

Troy closed his eyes. "I know that I get really intense about us. And I'm okay that you're more practical about it. That's okay. I'm not, like, offended. But I'm scared Gabi, if you decide that there's some specific major that some east coast school offers you wanna do and... and... I just... I know how I'd deal but I don't even know..." he trailed off. He didn't know how to say the words. They were simple words, and yet they simply weren't forming.

"What do you want me to say?"

He swallowed, stared down at her carpet, and finally responded quietly with, "I just wanna know that we're gonna be okay. That's all."

"If we're gonna be okay?" It was now Gabriella's voice echoing his.

"Yes. You and me. Us. Because I know that no matter what happens, I'm not letting go of this. And I just... I just need to hear it from you."

He might have been confused and borderline insecure about her lack of faith in the Stanford decision; but he knew that the only way that he was going to be able to bring himself to come to terms with the situation was to be told exactly this. That it was going to be okay. He was repeating it over and over and over and not once had the words left her lips.

"I want to believe that it's all going to be okay but... I just can't have that kind of blind faith. I can't. I don't know how."

"That's easy. You just _do._ If you love me..."

"Don't do that! Don't! Don't say that like it's even an option that I don't love you. This isn't about whether I love you or not!"

"Actually, it _is._ I love you so much that sometimes it fucking hurts! I love you so much that I'm okay that maybe you're not as... intense... about it as I am, I'm okay with you choosing MIT or Harvard or Yale or the University of fucking Middle of Nowhere if that's what you want. I'll deal with that. I will work at it, I'll find extra loans and work part time to get enough money come see you and beg my parents for airline tickets for Christmas presents."

"Troy..."

"No! I have to finish this. I have to say it. Gabi, I'll do all that for you. If you decide that you don't want to go to Stanford, I'll be okay with that – but only if you can look at me now and tell me that you are not only willing but you _want_ to make this work, whatever it takes. If you can say that then I'll stop talking about Stanford, I'll stop talking about how long it takes to drive or how far away we'll be from the beach or any of that stuff. I'll be on board this 'go MIT' team if that's what you need for me to do. But if you can't say that... then I don't know what we're doing here."

Gabriella was silent, clutching at Arnie so hard that her fingers were turning white.

Her silence was all that Troy could handle.

Moments later her bedroom door slammed behind him with a force that shook the walls; he clambered down the stairs, taking them three at a time and landing with a thud on the ground floor. He was one movement from grabbing at the front door handle when a firm hand grasped on his shoulder, and he was turned around to face the concerned expression of his father.

"Troy..."

"I have to go," Troy said hoarsely. There was a lump in his throat, a rage burning within his chest. He stared at his father imploringly, begging him to go with it.

Jack hesitated, then nodded. "I'll apologise to Elena for you."

"Thanks," Troy mumbled, courtesy the farthest thing from his mind at that moment.

A final curt nod from his father was all the permission the younger Bolton needed; the front door to the Montez home being yanked open and Troy taking off down the street at a run. He didn't know where he was running, or even why he was running, all he knew was that he was running away.

* * *

_**Acknowledgements**__: Lyrics used in the course of this chapter are obtained from _No Air_ by Jordin Sparks; and _For Good_ from the Wicked Soundtrack. No money is made from this piece of work, no copyright infringement is intended._


	50. Chapter 49

**The Someday Trilogy: This Moment**

**AN: **This chapter is dedicated to Kylie, whom as far as I'm aware doesn't even read my work any longer. What feels like forever ago I was asking her for ideas for male/female duets that aren't 'romantic' and she'd suggested that some of the songs from _Wicked_ could be covered in that context, like, they needn't be specific to any gender, and gave the example of two males she knew covering _For Good_ even though in its original form it is two women. This introduced me to the magic that is the _Wicked_ soundtrack and it just so turned out that some of the lyrical relevance to my characters was uncanny. This is just one of many, many, many ideas and inspirations filtered throughout the earlier stages of TST:TM that are credited to Kylie, thanks to that era when I always had a friend in my time zone to chat to late at night while writing. I'm indebted to Kylie and her _Wicked_ love forever and eternity because some of these lyrics have helped my muse in unimaginable ways in recent times.

If you aren't familiar with _Wicked_ and the _Wicked_ soundtrack, I actually really highly recommend that you listen to it; and in particular that you look up the full lyrics to the songs I'm featuring: just go to Google, type in the name of the song and 'lyrics' and it should pop up. There's a lot of poignancy to these lyrics and as I'd never go into song fic territory I feature very few lyrics, just enough to deliver the precise point.

Thank you to Audrey and Kerry who both pre-read this chapter for me. Love you both! xx

**PLEASE READ THIS PART OF THE AUTHORS NOTE, PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE:**

A lot of the talent show is covered in this chapter; some people have indicated they were looking forward to hearing more about it, others probably will just skim through parts of this chapter. Just know that if you skim, you may miss some of the lyrical poignancy. I won't be offended if you do feel the need to skim those sections because as an author I do feel it slows down the pace, however I couldn't really figure out a way to cut it down without including the things that I needed/wanted to include.

* * *

**CHAPTER 49**

_I'm afraid that after this moment  
We may never see each other again  
So hold on tight, you and all others  
So you won't wind up saying...  
How life is a road that I've gotta keep walkin'  
Love is a river that I'm gonna keep flowing  
At the end I wanna wind up back at the beginning  
I'll be there when the wind stops blowin'  
I'll be there when the grass stops growin'  
But at the end I wanna wind up back at the beginning with you_

'_**Back at the Beginning' Anastasia**_

* * *

The door was locked, the curtains were closed and the room was lit only by the dim lighting of a lamp in the corner. There was background noise of the Jonas Brothers playing from a room up the other end of the hallway, but Chad wasn't about to tell his sister to can it. They'd struck up the agreement that she wouldn't tell on him for having his door shut while Taylor was over and he would let her play the Jonas Brothers at whatever volume she desired. She might be young, but she was cunning – an attribute which ran in Danforth blood, so it seemed.

Chad's red t-shirt with white lettering reading _'OK, OK, I'll Get Help'_ had been pulled off and tossed aside, currently on top of the math textbook on his desk. He was in the midst of unbuttoning Taylor's purple blouse, only the bottom two buttons remained fastened. He was having difficulty multi tasking because his right hand had been distracted by her white bra and was tugging the cup down to reveal her dark, hardened left nipple. His left hand wasn't quite dextrous enough to pull open the nimble buttons and eventually he gave up, his focus now upon the breasts which lay before him. His messy, wet kisses traced down her neck, down her chest, and to the ample swell of her breast.

"You know, I never quite understood what Gabriella found so appealing about the whole singing boyfriend thing but I'm kinda starting to get it..." Taylor murmured.

He glanced up at her. "If you're making that comment to take away my nerves, it's not really helping. I think distracting me is the better technique."

She rolled her eyes. "Distracting?"

"I heard you moan just then, not seeing you complaining."

Taylor's fingers ran through Chad's hair, finding their way to massage his scalp briefly. "I've heard you guys. The act is really good – and it'll be something totally different than anything else in the show."

"My lips are on your breast," he murmured. "And you wanna talk about the show?"

She smiled. "Not really..."

"Good, then we're on the same page..."

A lazy smile crept onto Taylor's lips as Chad's fingers once again pried the cup of her bra down, only to have the sensation of his lips at her breast interrupted by the buzzing of Chad's cell phone. She pouted.

"Can you ignore it?"

Any other day and Chad probably would've ignored it, however he was aware that his mother just might call to check in on him – since he had Taylor over – and figured best to answer now and alleviate her concerns that he was engaging in exactly what he was hoping they would engage in. And so he begrudgingly leaned over to his nightstand and glanced at his cell phone. He frowned at the number displaying on his screen.

"It's Coach," he said to Taylor, perturbed enough by receiving a phone call from Jack Bolton's cell phone on a weekend in the off season to not feel inclined to ignore it and let it go to voicemail.  
"Coach?"

"_Hey Chad... have you heard from Troy?" _Coach Bolton's tone was no nonsense straight to the point.

"No, not since rehearsal this morning. Why, you lost him?" Chad joked.

The joke wasn't responded to. _"If you see him or hear from him, can you try to get him to call me or Lucy? Or... if he doesn't want to, can you just let us know that he's okay?"_

"Is he okay? What's going on?" Chad was registering the urgency in Troy's fathers tone, an urgency that was frightening him a little.

There was hesitation. _"Uh... he had a fight with Gabriella."_

"A fight?" Chad said dubiously. A fight hardly seemed to be cause for such concern – if he knew Troy, he'd probably be shooting hoops at the park, blowing off steam.

"_A big fight," _Jack elaborated.

"Did they break up?" Chad asked, the alarm bells ringing. If there was anyone who knew just how deeply devastated Troy would be if such a scenario had eventuated, it was Chad. Troy was never one to do anything half heartedly, including his relationships.

Another hesitation, and Jack admitted, _"I don't know."_

"Shit," Chad swore, not even feeling the need to apologise for cursing. He'd recognised the tension of late, but wouldn't have conceived it blowing up into anything quite that big. "I'll try to get in touch with him. And for sure I'll let you know and stuff."

"_Thanks Chad, appreciate it."_

"What's going on?" Taylor asked, having only heard Chad's end, but that end of the conversation alone being enough to worry her.

Chad reached down to the ground, scooping up his t-shirt and pulling it over his head. "Troy and Gab had a big, big fight, apparently. I think Coach is worried about Troy... he didn't really explain much. Just said he'd appreciate if I'd call him and see if he's okay."

Chad wasn't entirely surprised when it rang out, and he shot through a quick text instead of leaving a voicemail, just asking Troy to call.

"Maybe I should call Gabriella," Taylor said, biting her lower lip. She began to do up the buttons of her blouse. "We could probably find out what exactly happened, if I can talk to her."

Chad groaned, running his hand through his now even more mussed up than usual hair. "I knew this was gonna blow up, I could feel it. Fuck, this all should've been avoided."

Taylor shook her head. She understood the sentiment of feeling the tension building, she more than understood the lack of cohesion between Troy and Gabriella when it came to willingness to discuss the impending future. However the blow out had been inevitable, in one form or another. "It was never going to be avoided, it's needed to happen for a while – especially if it's about what I'm guessing it's about."

Without any further information from either of the two parties involved, Taylor and Chad intuitively knew what had likely gone down.

"It didn't need to be this bad. Coach sounded really worried, it's not like him to worry about something like this unless it was a seriously fucked up fight," Chad paused, before pointing out, "You know, all Gabriella had to do was be straight with Hoops from the beginning."

Taylor blinked. She'd been in the process of leaning across the bed to reach down to her bag on the floor to fish around for her cell phone. However Chad's words had distracted her and she looked up. "Pardon? From what I hear, Gabriella has always been straight with him, she's never committed to anything, and Troy is the one who keeps trying to put words into her mouth – like with all his Stanford talk all week long." Taylor was both defensive of her friend as well as accusatory of Troy's behaviour.

"No, she'll just sleep with him and insist that she loves him... doesn't that equate to some kind of commitment?" Chad asked.

Taylor felt a little bewildered hearing that sort of statement from Chad's mouth – Chad whom as far as she was aware had more flexible approaches to the notion of 'commitment'. She clutched to her cell phone she'd located. "Every situation is different, Chad."

The two became silent, tension washing over the room.

"We haven't even talked to them and it's like we're taking sides," Chad remarked, glancing down at the carpet.

"I don't want to fight about this," Taylor said earnestly. She stood up, a hand resting on his chest. "It's natural that we feel a certain loyalty toward our friends. The last thing you and I need is something to fight about. Not when we've been really good lately."

He gave her a small smile, squeezing her side affectionately. "It has been good. Really good, lately."

"And when we had our rough patch, Gabriella and Troy managed to not take sides, and not fight about it..."

"Aren't you the one who likes to remind me that we're not Troy and Gabriella?' he pointed out, a little teasingly

She pursed her lips, and said a little grimly, "I do, and at the moment, I think that's probably a good thing." She held up her phone. "I'm going to call Gabriella."

Chad nodded. "And after you do that, I'm gonna go to a few places and try to find Troy."

* * *

The drapes were drawn and the lights were off. She'd tugged off her jeans, replacing them with sweatpants and was cuddled in her bed under the warm cocoon of her blanket, clutching to the stuffed monkey she'd named Arnie which Troy had won her at the arcade a year earlier. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that there was a show that nigh; however she was numb to any awareness of what time it was and lacked any care as to when she needed to get ready. When Troy had stormed out of her room she'd been left standing alone, wide eyed and shaking. Intuitively she'd known for the longest time that it was the very matter of conflict between them – that he expected some sort of compromise and she was adamant of her right to not compromise. She knew that he didn't _really_ understand, despite all of his efforts to claim that he did. She knew that when it came down to it, he would be deeply, deeply offended; that in his typical black and white world, Troy would take her need to make an independent decision and equate it as being an illustration of her love – or lack of love – for him.

It was because of her love for him that she'd put it off. Misguided as her logic might have been, it was because of that love that she had wanted to put off the inevitable conversation.

Five minutes after Troy's departure, her mother had appeared at the door of Gabriella's room – Gabriella still standing still, unmoving, staring at the doorway. Willing him to come back. Willing time to reverse. Willing herself to make better decisions.

But she couldn't turn the clock back; she couldn't go back to that once upon a time when their future had an open slate.

As a mother, Elena Montez had known the day would come that she'd have to deal with her daughter going through grown up experiences. It hadn't been easy, guiding her through current times. First date, first kiss, first love... even the first serious talk about contraceptives or having the knowledge that her daughter had, for the first time, consummated a relationship: none of these rites of passage contrasted with that which her mija was currently experiencing.

First heartache.

It wasn't the first fight, it wasn't the first time that she'd cried over a boy. But without Gabriella speaking anything out loud, Elena could see from the look on her daughter's face just how deeply affected she was by the fight which had just transpired.

"Mija," Elena had murmured.

Gabriella had looked up – she'd been staring straight at her mother hadn't really registered that she'd been standing there. A tremble of her lower lip and Elena could see that she was about to break.

"I think I... I think I..."

Elena had stepped forward, hands gently leading Gabriella over to the bed. "Sit down, mija," she said gently. Like a child, Gabriella allowed herself to be taken to bed, the throw blanket at the foot of her bed wrapped around her shivering shoulders.

Chocolate brown eyes from the impending tears stared in bewilderment at her mother's concerned gaze.

"I think I've lost him," she whispered. "And it's my fault."

In the comforting arms of her mother, Gabriella wept.

She had cried for Troy, she had cried for every fear and every nerve that she harboured about what the college experience would bring. She had cried for that look of stricken horror she'd seen on his face, she had cried for her father, she had cried for every scraped knee and menstrual cramp and inner fear and self doubt she'd ever experienced.

Gabriella retracted herself from her mother's embrace and moved into bed where she remained stoic. Elena had pressed a soft kiss to Gabriella's forehead and told her to take a nap and then they could perhaps talk about it more later.

Gabriella didn't know if she would want to talk about it but mutely, numbly nodded and just clutched to Arnie a little tighter.

And there she had remained.

She couldn't sleep, her brain was swirling with every moment from the last few months that she'd misspoken, every moment that she should've dealt with things differently, every conversation he'd had with Troy or Taylor or her mom which should've indicated that despite the words she'd spoken, that Troy truly wasn't comprehending things.

_"When you're in a relationship… a part of it is thinking about how everything you do affects the other one. Right?"_

...

_"Like, if you went to Columbia, then I could go to NYU; if you went to Harvard, I could go to Boston. That kind of thing."_

_..._

"_You and Troy may be separated for college, mija, and rather than ignoring that, I think it'll make it easier for both of you if you face that fact now.__"_

_..._

_"You're not listening to me. The fact is that I__don't__always put Troy first. And... the fact that you of all people don't understand what I am saying... that is what hurt me. Because I'm making the most important decision of my life and I'm making it for me."_

_..._

_"You make it sound like I'm breaking up with him or something."_

_"You honestly think you can make a relationship work from opposite sides of the country during college?" _

_"And it's like I want to savour each and every available moment with him. I would never, ever want to look back and regret not spending time with him, regret not experiencing something with him."_

_..._

_"But Gabriella? I'm your boyfriend. We've been together for a year, we share ourselves intimately, I'm trying to work out a way for us to keep being together despite whatever else might happen... I've been kinda pretending that I haven't noticed, but deep down I've known that you've been holding back to me about something. And the stuff you're saying now... it's scaring me."_

Intuitively, she'd known that whilst he had _said_ he understood her position – that deep down he felt differently. She'd known, and she'd allowed him to go on harbouring those inner thoughts that when it came down to it, that when the critical decisions needed to be made – that she'd come around to his side.

Knowing that she had no intent of doing so.

Her cell phone began to buzz on the nightstand and it was the only noise that had succeeded in getting Gabriella moving. She glanced around wildly, that tiny part of her hoping that it was Troy, calling to apologise, calling to tell her that they'd find a way to get through it and enjoy the time they had together and just let the fates decide what would happen. She didn't even look at the screen properly, her glassy eyes answering the phone a little wildly, "Troy? Troy?"

"_Gabriella, it's Taylor," _her best friend's voice came over the other end.

Gabriella sunk back against the pillows. "Oh... um... sorry I... we um... I hoped it was Troy," she said feebly.

"_I know. I um... I heard you guys had a fight?" _Taylor's voice was questioning.

It didn't register in Gabriella's brain to wonder how Taylor knew; instead she was grateful that she didn't have to explain.

"I screwed it all up Tay... I... shit, I did everything wrong."

Gabriella hadn't cried in a little while – it was as though she'd run out of tears, all dried up. However without warning she felt her lower lip begin to tremble and the tears begin to well again. She took a deep breath, attempting to at least hold the tears back until she was off the phone. However for all the ups and downs in her friendship with Taylor; when she was needed she was nothing but the true loyal best friend and she had no intent upon having the conversation on the phone.

"_Do you want me to come over?" _Taylor asked.

Gabriella hesitated, and sniffled. "Um... I don't want to put you out."

Her answer was close enough to a yes for Taylor.

"_I'm coming over_," Taylor said resolutely._ "Sit tight."_

* * *

A half hour later and Gabriella was curled up in bed with Taylor sitting cross legged in front of her, a tub of vanilla fudge ice-cream between them, each girl with a spoon in hand. Taylor hadn't had time to stop by the grocery store and had simply gone with what was already in her freezer. Elena Montez didn't usually approve food in the bedroom but in current circumstances had no objection.

Taylor had encouraged Gabriella to mull out the whole scenario aloud, from the beginning, and sat quietly listening, asking appropriate questions and making sympathetic noises as Gabriella rambled.

"If there was no Troy, I'd go to MIT," Gabriella admitted. "It's not that I want to actively choose to be away from him. But I don't want to compromise myself. It's not like I actually want us to break up. But at the same time, I don't know _how_ to do a long distance relationship. I don't know if that's something that I believe I can do... or that I'd will him to do. I know he's crazy about me now – I might be a little insecure about all sorts of things but I've faith in his devotion at the moment..."

"I sense a but?" Taylor prodded.

"Things change in college," Gabriella said honestly. "They do. People change, you meet more people, when there's time and distance apart..." she sighed. "Troy seems to think if I go to Stanford then it's this magic solution to everything but I don't think he comprehends how far apart Berkeley and Stanford really are. Neither of us are going to have a car with us – I'm pretty sure that freshmen at Berkeley are discouraged from having vehicles with them – and getting from Berkeley to San Francisco is pretty simple but to Palo Alto is more complicated. He'll be playing ball, it's not like he's actually going to have his weekends free. I don't know about Troy but I hope to get some sort of part time work, even just one shift a week..." she trailed off, sighing, and then added quietly, "I just don't know."

"Have you put it like that to him?"

"I don't know. I think when I'm trying to explain things to him I just get all muddled up. He... he frustrates me so much! He's so black and white, he thinks it is so simple, that I either love him or I don't and that what I decide to do next year symbolises whether I love him or not," Gabriella sighed, and then added quietly. "Sometimes... sometimes I think that maybe loving someone just isn't enough. And I don't know if that's the case with me and Troy but his tunnel vision isn't helping me to sort through it all."

Taylor didn't know what to say. She empathised entirely. Although she and Chad hadn't voiced it, she knew that they both harboured doubts about how a long distance relationship could work. They'd probably give it a try, but she was sceptical as to how it would be effective. She couldn't comprehend being in a relationship as co-dependent as Troy and Gabriella over long distance. As painful as breaking up would be, the pain of being separated geographically would be overwhelming. But she was all too familiar with the black and white world that Troy lived in. He'd grown up in the pretty house with the garden with the loving parents who told him that if he worked hard enough at his dreams he could make them come true. Gabriella had grown up being told that sometimes life just screwed you over and it was beyond your control.

"Why is it that you and Chad can leave things be?" Gabriella asked, feeling beyond frustrated. "You guys are neither agreeing to commit nor not commit, just wait and see?"

This was Gabriella's greatest wish. In her ideal scenario of how senior year should play out, it would involve she and Troy simply existing in the moment and not worrying about the future prematurely.

Taylor sighed. She sympathised with Gabriella's desire but knew that she was existing in some Utopia if she truly had ever believed that Troy would be capable of such a lack of definition to their relationship.

"Because we're not you guys," Taylor said simple. "Because Chad isn't Troy. Because Troy is... Troy is that guy who puts all of himself into everything that he does, physically, emotionally. He puts all of himself in and then..."

"...expects everything to work out," Gabriella finished. She rubbed her eyes. "The hardest thing about it all is that his heart is in such a good place. How can I be mad at him for wanting us to be together?"

"The issue isn't that he wants you to be together, the issue is that he hasn't listened to you when you've tried to explain to him your position," Taylor pointed out. "If he'd allowed himself to listen, to really listen, to what you were saying..."

"But then you could say it was my fault for not trying harder to make him listen. I knew he didn't really get it, that when it came to the important moment that he'd expect me to make commitments that I'm not sure if I can make." Gabriella groaned, spoon digging into the ice cream and taking a mouthful, contemplating as she swallowed the sugary goodness. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm being unreasonable."

"How are you being unreasonable?"

"Because... because Stanford really is an amazing school..."

"Gabriella, I saw you when we went to visit MIT, I was with you when we went for a walk along the Charles River. You can't tell me that you didn't feel like you belonged."

"Who is to say that I won't feel that in Palo Alto?"

"And that's why we're organising this trip out to California," Taylor reminded her. "You're the one who kept telling Troy to not force himself to feel excited about the University of California just because it was near Stanford. Same goes for you in reverse."

"But the reason I told him that is because I thought I wanted to go to MIT and so that was an invalid reason for him to be drawn to Berkeley. In reverse it's a different scenario." Gabriella paused. "I'd be lying to you if I said that his scenarios about weekends away at the beach and meeting up in San Francisco aren't appealing. Of course they're appealing – they're more than appealing. And best case scenario maybe it'd go like that; but worst case..." Gabriella swallowed, not able to find the words.

"Is that even though you'd be close, it's still too far to make it work? And you've compromised yourself and it doesn't work out?" Taylor answered.

Gabriella nodded glumly. "Exactly. But if I told Troy that, then he'd just insist that we'd make it work, how could it not work, if we love each other... and we're back at the same problem where he just doesn't get the reality that sometimes life gets in the way."

"I wish I knew what to tell you, Gabriella," Taylor said softly. "I think... I think you and I are too alike for me to be objective here. I don't think I could handle being in a relationship like yours, not now. I know that you love him, but... I think it'd all just be too much for me."

Gabriella sighed. She didn't have a response. The majority of the time, she was perfectly content with the intensity of their relationship. Troy had this way that he would look at her, this all consuming look, which made her feel special and adored and so purely and sincerely loved. But there were moments when it made her feel claustrophobic, those moments of late being more frequent than they ever had before. The love itself she had no issue with, but rather it was the expectation that came with it.

"Hey... how did you know?" Gabriella asked suddenly, eyebrows furrowed.

"How did I know what?"

"That Troy and I had fought?"

"Oh... um... I was at Chad's and Coach Bolton called Chad. To ask him to try and get in touch with Troy."

"Oh."

Gabriella hadn't really given a though to where Troy had gone or what he was doing. She knew that wherever he was, he was pissed and he was upset and that alone was more than Gabriella could handle. The thought of him hurting because of her wasn't a comfortable thought.

"I hate to bring this up, I know it's the last thing on your mind but... are you going to do the show tonight?" Taylor asked, a little hesitantly.

Gabriella whimpered slightly. The ideal scenario would be to remain in bed, to eat copious amounts of junk food and perhaps watch a teary flick – _The Notebook_ was sounding ideal. However she'd made a commitment, and Gabriella wasn't one to back out of a commitment.

"I guess I have to. How long til I have to get ready?" she glanced around to look at a clock.

Taylor looked at her watch. "You're going early to rehearse with Sharpay again?" she questioned – having been kept up to date on everything that had happened that morning by Chad. Gabriella nodded to confirm. "Then maybe in a half hour?"

"So there's time for more ice-cream?"

* * *

Being a born and bred New Mexico boy, Albuquerque wasn't anything particularly new or exciting for Chase. He'd never lived there full time but it had been a place he'd frequently visited over the years. However since meeting Ryan, Albuquerque had a whole new meaning, a whole new level of excitement. Sitting on the Greyhound bus within ten minutes of the final destination – Alvarado Transportation Center – he felt antsy. He'd packed up his textbook, iPod and water bottle which had been in the seat pocket in front of him and was peering out the window as the bus drew nearer and nearer. He'd been looking forward to the weekend ever since Ryan had told him about the show and that he'd be performing. Ryan had told him that if he was busy with school then coming up may be less fruitless than originally intended – since he was no longer performing the duet and wouldn't really be available to 'chat.'

Chase wasn't fazed by the new development – he had most been looking forward to seeing Ryan dancing and his solo contemporary piece was going ahead as planned, voice or no voice. And so he'd stepped onto the Greyhound bus as planned without any qualms. By the time he stepped off in Albuquerque he was regretting choosing not to drive – the bright idea to save some gas money and alleviate the strain on his spluttering car wasn't seeming so bright any longer, after cramming in on a packed bus with a peculiar odour and swinging by to pick up some recently released inmates.

However the antsy, cramped, uncomfortable bus ride seemed like a small price to pay when he finally laid eyes upon Ryan again. He emerged from the bus terminal, coming through the building to find Ryan leaning against his Audi in the pick-up zone just outside of Alvarado Transportation Center, a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses perched on his nose. Chase grinned at the sight of him, shifted his backpack and picked up the pace. Ryan pushed the sunglasses down a little further, providing a momentary glimpse of the beautiful blue eyes which Chase adored so much.

"Hey you," Chase greeted Ryan. Ryan opened his mouth, about to respond, and Chase reached out, clamping his hand over his mouth. "No talking. You told me the rules clearly in your text earlier."

Ryan pouted. Somehow pulling out his notebook and writing down how great it was to see him, how much he missed him and how hot his ass looked in his skinny jeans wasn't going to have quite the same ideal impact.

"Yeah, pout all you like, I don't care," Chase said cheerfully. "Now let's hurry up and get back to your place unless you want me to kiss you right here in public."

Ryan was quick to pull open the back door of his car and grasp the strap of Chase's bag, tossing it in, slam the back door and pull open the passenger door. Chase grinned as he hopped into the car, helping himself to flicking through Ryan's CD's before he'd even run around to take his spot in the driver's seat. He selected Rihanna's album _Good Girl Gone Bad_ and popped it into the stereo.

"So I researched flu induced loss of voice, good news is that I'm pretty sure all the contagiousness of your illness is gone," Chase said slyly.

Ryan opened his mouth, about to reply, but received a thwack on the arm.

"Do I have to put tape over your mouth?" Chase chastised. "I've been here two minutes and had to shut you up twice."

Ryan smirked, pulled his iPhone from his pocket and pulled open a text message screen, quickly typing out, **'kinky.'**

"Yeah, trust you to take it that way."

Ryan reached across, right hand taking Chase's momentarily and squeezing. He looked sideways, glance meeting Chase's, the smallest of smiles being exchanged.

Sometimes words aren't necessary.

* * *

Ms. Darbus was wide eyed. It was 5:30pm, an hour and a half before show time. It seemed apparent that all the honey and lemon tea hadn't done its trick and Ryan was still sidelined as far as performances requiring his vocal chords were concerned. And now, a half hour after the cast had been due back at Lava Springs, and one of their other strongest male performers had failed to show up. It had been Chad who'd sidelined Ms. Darbus upon his arrival, explained calmly that they were trying to locate Troy and he'd probably lost track of time. And to add to the catastrophe, Gabriella was red-eyed and vacant, Sharpay had resumed being mad at Ryan and frustrated with her newfound duet partner for her lack of dedication, everyone in the immediate Troy-Gabriella friendship circle was awash with concern and it was permeating through to the whole cast – a feeling of tension and wariness.

Ryan was feeling helpless. He'd arrived early with Gabriella to assist with the set up – Chase had come along, helping out with setting up chairs and folding programs. No one had questioned his presence beyond that he was friends with Ryan and Gabriella – his assistance was merely appreciated.

They'd made some last minute alterations to the order of proceedings, since the way the set list had been there were three songs featuring Gabriella (her solo, her duet with Troy and now her duet with Sharpay) within fairly close proximity. Her solo was shifted toward the beginning of the first half, the duet with Troy second back after intermission and her duet with Sharpay was the final act of the show. Gabriella was on auto-pilot, allowing people to primp her hair and put make-up on her face. She was aware that Troy wasn't present but she wasn't particularly worried – she knew that he, like herself, followed through on his commitments and she'd quietly told Ms. Darbus that she needn't fret and she was certain that he'd arrive.

* * *

Lucille Bolton, on the other hand, was beyond fretting. Jack had tried to assure his wife that Troy probably just needed some time alone but she couldn't help but feel upset that her boy was hurting and she wasn't there to cuddle him and fix up the scrape with a bandaid and a kiss and make everything better. At her insistence, Jack had driven around to everywhere that he could possibly conceive that Troy might be – school, the garden, every basketball court in town, the mall, the driving range – and there was no luck. They'd called, with Chad's help, just about everyone they knew and no one had seen him. His cell phone which had been ringing out was now going straight to the irritating voice mail service that he still had in place, even with the knowledge that he might be contacted by colleges.

The house phone began to ring, and Lucille snatched it up immediately, the extension sitting right behind her at the dining table. It was a recorded message with a request to accept a collect call, the recorded voice being Troy's tired voice saying 'yeah it's me...' She frantically pushed the buttons to accept the call, and the call was connected.

"Oh my God, Troy? Troy are you there?"

"_I'm here mama."_

"Oh my God Jack! Jack!" she called into the next room. "It's Troy!"

"_And my ear just got blasted off."_

She lowered her voice. "Sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. My cell phone died and I ran out of gas so I had to walk until I could find a pay phone..."

Jack came into the room and Lucille repeated what Troy had just said.

"Where are you, baby?"

"_Um, like, at the corner of Tramway and Montgomery. Outside Smith's. It's not that far, I could run..."_

"Shush, don't be silly, we'll be there soon. Uh... since it's so close to the show time, maybe we'll just pick you up and we'll worry about gas for your truck later?"

He went silent for a moment. _"I guess."_

Lucille sensed that his hesitation wasn't so much about leaving his truck, but rather about the need to get to the show on time. "It'll be fine, sweetheart, I promise." She then added teasingly. "You have to be there just to see Chad sing in public, anyway."

He let out a slight chuckle. His mother knew how to put a smile on his face. _"True."_

"Do you need me to bring anything from home?"

"_I took all my stuff for the show there already... um, so, just my phone charger?"_

"Okay, done. Stay outside _Smith's_, don't go anywhere! We'll be there soon."

"_Kay... thanks mama."_

* * *

Forty minutes after Troy was meant to arrive and twenty minutes before show time, Jack Bolton screeched to a halt out the front of Lava Springs. Lucille had turned a blind eye to the speeds they were reaching. Troy took a deep breath from the backseat, gave his parents a brave smile and said a simple, "Thanks. I'll see you after the show."

He hopped out of the car and the front passenger door opened, Lucille calling out a quick, "Troy?" and stepping toward him to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

"I think I'll need it."

Jack called out to 'break a leg' and Troy turned, heading into the building. He'd only just made it through the entrance where audience members were mingling in the foyer, where a stand with drinks and snacks for sale was set up and some student council volunteers were handing out programs. Taylor had volunteered her time as well and was in charge of front of house, in constant communication with back of house ensuring they knew when they could begin to seat audience members and overseeing the snack stand, ticket booth and other volunteers. She spotted Troy as he slipped in, her eyes widening and marching up to him.

"Hurry up," she snapped, grabbing him by the arm.

"Sorry. I texted Chad?" he said feebly.

"Yes. That you did. A bit late with that text. They're waiting for you." She escorted him all the way to the seating area where the final touches were being made. A team of student volunteers was in charge of ensuring all of the chairs were clean, straight and evenly spaced apart. Ms. Darbus was just in front of the stage with a walkie talkie in hand. They had a similar situation to last time East High had used Lava Springs facilities, in the midst of the final stages of erecting a walkway with metal poles and fabric, going from the side of the stage to the nearby conference building-come-dressing room area, and blocking off the sides of the stage from the view of the audience. A couple of last minute alterations to costumes were taking place, amidst the tidying of the seating area, a girl stood in a sparkly leotard and skirt with her arms out while the home economics teacher took up the falling hem of the skirt. Kelsi was near Ms. Darbus by the orchestra pit – the orchestra wasn't being used for the whole show, only particular numbers, and she was making sure that the alterations to the running order of the show had been modified correctly on the sheet music at each music stand.

"Wow, things look like they're running behind," he remarked.

Taylor glared at him. "No thanks to you putting people in a panic."

It was Kelsi who spotted Troy somewhat embarrassingly trying to slip through to the dressing area without being noticed. She gasped. "Troy!" she called out.

Ms. Darbus shifted her attention toward the dishevelled Troy who stood to the side of the seating, biting his lip cautiously. He scratched the back of his head, approaching her.

"Sorry I'm late," he mumbled.

Ms. Darbus was about to lash out at him about the sin that was tardiness, in particular within circumstance where one has vested responsibility and where others rely upon his timeliness. However she'd taken a moment's pause, observed his demeanour and appearance. She held back her speech, deciding she'd have a word with him at a later date but in the present moment, there simply was no further time for further delays. And so she held the immediate response within, and turned to Kelsi.

"Ms. Nielson. Can you escort Mr. Bolton into a changing area and organise for someone to assist with his costuming and make-up?"

Kelsi nodded, wordlessly in agreement and grateful to Ms. Darbus for reigning in the annoyance which was clear on her face. She physically took his hand, leading the way.

"Everyone heard?" he asked quietly.

"We don't know details. And the only reason we know anything is because your dad got Chad to try to help find you and..."

"... and Danforth has a fat fucking mouth," he said bitterly.

Kelsi deposited him into Dressing Room C – officially the room for Troy, Chad, Zeke, Jason, Ryan and a bunch of the guys in the rock band.

"I'll go find Jasmine and get her to help you with your hair and make-up. There's a new running order which is up around the place. We'll just worry about getting you and Chad on first, he has the notes on the new cues."

Troy nodded. Kelsi hesitated, and before darting off to find Jasmine, grasped onto Troy's arm, squeezing it gently.

"You'll be fine. If there's anyone I know who can get through this, it's you."

He gave her a small smile, grateful for the vote of confidence but not so sure that it was warranted. He was somewhere between wanting to listen to angry rock music while punching a hole in the wall and physically crying and he hadn't even really confronted the idea that in an hour's time he was meant to stand side by side with his girlfriend and sing a love song when he was struggling to believe that the last year of his life hadn't been a big waste of time. Every vote of confidence that he could find the strength to get through the night was appreciated.

He turned the handle on the door, confronted by his three best buddies all pacing around the room nervously. With Troy's disappearance, the novice performers had been given a few hours reprieve and distraction from thinking about the night that lay ahead. However as soon as the text had come through to Chad's phone confirming that Troy was on the way, it was time to get down to business. They'd all bitched and moaned as they'd been fussed over with stage make-up and hair products, and then were left to their own devices. Jason and Zeke were in the latter half of the show and were free to take seats in the designated area of the audience for cast members – there was a very specific route and procedure to ensure that those in the show could watch from the audience as long as they entered and left their seating in silence and were dressed and ready to go a whole act before their own. However they'd chosen to hang with Chad backstage, at least until Troy had arrived.

"Dude!" Chad greeted him.

"Hey man," Zeke said, a little cautiously.

"Hi," Troy said, equally cautiously. He cleared his throat and said simply, "Don't wanna talk about it." He headed over to the corner he'd staked out for himself, slinging his backpack down. He spotted a power outlet, eyes brightening a little so he could plug in his cell phone. He then went over to the costume rack, a section with his own three costumes in chronological order. He picked up the first set of clothing and turned into the corner to quickly pull on the new change of clothing.

"We might head out and sit in the audience... no point in hanging back here," Jason said.

Troy glanced up. "Make sure you record Chad's performance – focus on him, not on me."

All three of the guys laughed, a little forced, but glad to hear Troy making a joke. Zeke and Jason departed, leaving just Troy and Chad.

"Troy?" Chad said hesitantly, as Troy pulled off his polo shirt and pulled on the top half of his costume.

"Don't ask me," came Troy's pleading response.

"Don't ask you what?"

"Have you ever felt like someone physically tore your heart out of your chest and put it through a mincer?" Troy asked, his description a little melodramatic.

"Um... no. Not really."

"That's how I feel. So if you're gonna say 'are you okay' then think about that before you ask me."

"I wasn't going to ask," Chad said truthfully. "I wouldn't have presumed that you feel okay."

"Oh."

"What I was gonna say is... if you wanna talk about it... you know I'm here. I mean I don't know exactly what happened..."

"I don't know exactly what happened either." Troy let out an aggravated sigh, and sat down in the chair to pull on his shoes for his first performance. "Might talk later. Not now... just have to get through tonight."

"Yeah, of course."

"Is she here?"

"She?"

"Gabriella." Usually her name rolled off his tongue somewhat melodically; that evening, that name felt sour.

"Yeah. She is. I think she was here a bit early, you know, to go through the new number." He kept his tone neutral – he would support Troy, but he didn't want to take sides or sound vindictive.

"I don't know how we're gonna do this," Troy murmured. "Right now I just... I can't even look at her. In more than a year of being with Gabi, I've not ever legit felt pissed at her but now... now I am."

"You'll get through it coz you're Troy, and that's what you do," Chad said simply. "You get through things."

* * *

Meanwhile as Jason and Zeke had departed the room, Zeke had said that he'd meet Jason outside, needing to make a quick pit stop. Sharpay had her own little dressing room which, even just for a one night production, she'd adorned with her personalised decorations and photographs. She found that they helped her with getting into the right performance zone. He'd helped her carry in her box of things earlier that morning and then helped to put them up – helped meaning that he'd done all the work while she'd instructed him from her place in the high backed chair in front of the mirror about where to place everything. He hesitated just outside the door before knocking lightly. Her airy voice called back, "Oui?" and he grinned as he creaked it open.

"Hey," he greeted her.

She smiled. "Hi."

She was dressed in a leotard and skirt combo, ready for her role she'd created in the jazz dance group.

"Me and Jason are heading out to watch from the audience, since we're not on until the second half. But I just wanted to come by and say good luck."

"You mean, break a leg," she corrected. "It's bad luck to say good luck in the theater."

He blinked. "Right... yeah... that."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and just so you know, Troy arrived."

"Oh okay. Well that's good. Now if he and Gabriella could kiss and make up, that would be great because the girl is a basket case."

Zeke frowned. "Something tells me that isn't going to be happening all that easily."

Sharpay shrugged. "Whatever. I just really... this finale is very important to me. It's all about my favourite musical, Ryan and I have spent so long working on it and this morning it seemed like it would all work out reasonably but this afternoon when she got here she just wasn't with it. No boy is worth jeopardising my show over."

"And to think that I'd gotten the impression that this show wasn't that big of a deal to you," Zeke mused.

"Every time I perform is a big deal. Especially tonight."

"Why especially tonight?"

She hesitated, before confessing, "I don't really perform with Ryan."

Zeke hid the knowing smile – he'd suspected as much. "If you want to pursue performing as a career, I guess that's something you'll have to get used to, right?"

Zeke was right, Sharpay knew this. "Yes," she agreed. "It is... but it's just different."

"Different can be good. Right?"

"It can."

* * *

It was a relief that his number with Chad was first in the show. It helped Troy to compartmentalise things. He didn't need to worry about Gabriella or anything that had happened earlier that day, not yet. All that mattered was that he and Chad performed their medley to the best of their ability and living up to the expectations everyone had placed within them. Chad was nervous, Troy didn't need to be told to know, and it helped Troy to throw himself and all of his focus into making things as natural as they could.

The concept had come during a brainstorm with Ryan, Kelsi, Chad and Troy. Chad had been adamant that they would not be doing any 'dumb boy band songs', and expressed concern that a mass portion of music out there was either about love or sex – he'd feel weird singing about the former with Troy, and the school wasn't about to let them sing about the latter. Ryan and Kelsi had immediately protested, listing numerous songs that were about neither subject matter. Troy had then said jokingly, "we should just sing about basketball" and the idea had formed from there. They'd tossed around lots of ideas – the Lil Bow Wow rap song _Basketball_ had been on the list, as well as a punk cover of _Eye of the Tiger_ which Chad had seen on YouTube. Eventually the idea had shifted and grown and once they had a few songs on the list, the conclusion was reached that they'd perform a medley of songs by the same artist, a medley of songs which loosely fit into the concept of athletics, competition and winning.

The 'costume' that had been agreed upon, in light of the theme, was blue jeans and their Wildcats basketball jersey. Troy glanced over at Chad, looking a little wide eyed as they were about to step on stage. Troy nudged his friend.

"Just have fun with it man. Only time you'll be wearing a basketball jersey with no real pressure."

Chad nodded. "Yup. Sure." _No real pressure._ Not exactly how Chad was feeling. Seventeen year old boys didn't step on stage to sing in front of their family, friends, teachers and peers without any pressure.

The curtain was closed after the act before them, leaving a brief window for the set to be changed and Troy and Chad to take their places on stage. Right before the curtain was revealed, Troy nudged Chad again, pulling a silly immature face. Chad rolled his eyes but nonetheless stifled a laugh.

All it took was the red curtain being pulled aside to reveal the two boys standing in front of microphone stands with feet apart, arms crossed, heads down for the crowd to burst into cheers. The familiar opening riffs of the first portion of their medley sounded – _Another One Bites The Dust. _It had been a conscious decision to have Troy opening the number with the first half of the first verse, to set the energy and tone – the danger if Chad had been first to sing, the nerves may overtake and the performance would begin at level 1 when it needed to be level five. Troy set the mark – and Chad stepped up to the mark. After the first two verses and the subsequent choruses, the music cut off, lights dramatically dimmed, full silence cutting through the room for a whole three seconds. The next song began with no music – both boys leading a 'stomp stomp clap' rhythm, encouraging the audience to join in, the lights gradually focusing with a single spotlight centre stage as Troy began the all too familiar rap of _We Will Rock You._ The chorus was performed together, followed by Chad taking on the second verse and again, rejoining for an animated version of the chorus.

To wrap up the medley, there was a song which resonated deeply with both boys, and perhaps more deeply that year than any other year – _We Are The Champions._ The sting of losing the championship trophy was something that would remain with the co-captains forever, even as they'd both moved on and pretty much secured their places in college teams. Championship trophy or no championship trophy on display in the middle of the East High hallway – it didn't take away from the Wildcat fighting spirit and the true champions they were within.

If the thunderous applause and standing ovation were anything to go by, the medley was a smash hit. Silly grins on faces, the boys waved and ran off stage.

"Oh my God!" Chad exclaimed, the minute they were far enough away to speak. "Oh my God that was incredible! I feel like I'm about to shit my pants but oh my God!"

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Troy said with a grin. There was an adrenaline rush that came with performing that reminded Troy of the minutes before a basketball game when the cheerleaders would be leading the crowd in frantic cheering and chanting, getting the team revved up and motivated.

"Fuck yeah it was!"

"Thank you," Troy said.

"For what?"

"Because for four minutes I forgot about how shit I feel."

Chad didn't say anything, just clapped Troy on the back. "Come on, we can go watch a few acts."

Troy nodded. The guys stopped by the dressing room to each grab a sweatshirt – another of the rules of being allowed the privilege of watching from the back was that they were never seen in costume – even if the costume was just a pair of jeans and a Wildcats jersey. Troy glanced at his cell phone which had had the chance to charge up – wincing at the site of numerous text messages from Chad, his mom and Kelsi, enquiring about his whereabouts. He pocketed the device and then led the way out of the dressing room. Chad had been about to lead the way and suggest a different path through the labyrinth of corridors but he was too late.

For Troy rounded the corner and, quite literally, ran into Gabriella.

Out of habit and male intuition, he took a moment to give her the once over, the stirring inside approving very much so of the dress he knew she'd borrowed from Kelly, who'd worn the item once to her cousin's wedding and yet to find a purpose to rewear it since then. He recalled with a pang of remorse the blush on her cheeks as she'd told him that she was excited to wear this dress because the blue reminded her of his eyes. The sweetheart neckline provided a glimpse of her cleavage, the bust was embroidered with sequins and a decorative bow, and the skirt was a twirly tulle which fell just above the knee. (.) All Troy knew was that she looked ridiculously pretty and all he wanted was to tell her so; however his moment of observing her had already broached into the land of inappropriate given the current circumstances.

"Um... hi..." Gabriella said quietly, staring down at her silver heels.

"Hi," Troy returned, his tone equally soft.

He'd seen her looking vulnerable before – like in Breckenridge when she'd returned from her time spent visiting her father's grave. A part of him felt compelled to say to hell with their argument, to hug her and insist they'd work through it. But unlike any disagreement they'd had in the past, Troy felt like he'd been struck by her comments, scarred by her apathy. The ten seconds he'd spent appreciating her appearance and wishing they could shove the entire incident aside were marred by the feelings of utter revulsion which followed up as everything came flying back to him.

"I was worried you weren't going to come tonight," she spoke, a little timidly.

"Yeah well, I made a commitment. Commitment means something to me." There was an undertone to his comment which wasn't lost on Gabriella. She wasn't sure if he was trying to incite an argument, but she wasn't about to take the bait, not backstage with

Chad standing just a few feet away acting like the running sheet on the wall was a thing of fascination. She glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I have to go... my song..." she said simply, not even acknowledging his prior comment.

He had been baiting her, a little, though was grateful she'd not taken it. He swallowed his pride, and said, "Gabriella, we have to talk about... how we're gonna do this song."

She nodded in agreement. "After my song," she managed to choke out. "We can discuss it then."

And with that she about faced and with the click clack of her heels on the wooden floorboards, she walked quickly toward the corridor leading to the stage.

"Dude, you okay?" Chad murmured, turning to see Troy watching after her as she disappeared around the corner.

Troy took a couple of deep breaths, nodding. "She had to look fucking amazing, didn't she?"

"What, so, first time that the real issues get brought up between you guys, the real issues that you've wanted to address like forever, and you wanna say to hell with them just because you wanna get your dick wet?" Chad asked in disbelief.

"For about five seconds," Troy said truthfully and then added darkly, "But then it all came back and then she could probably have stripped in front of me and I wouldn't have cared." Chad blinked, and Troy narrowed his eyes. "Dude, stop imagining my girlfriend stripping!"

Chad turned serious at Troy's wording. "Your girlfriend? You're still using that term?"

"Well... yeah. We had a fight and we're pissed but... we didn't break up."

"But the issues you fought about, if they don't go away..." Chad trailed off, seeing the morose expression on Troy's face. "Guess that's a bridge to cross another day."

Chad and Troy continued on the path toward the cast viewing area in silence.

* * *

Meanwhile, just off the side of the stage, Gabriella was sitting on a chair, head in her hands. She felt a warm hand on her back, and glanced up to see Ryan. He rose his eyebrows, silently asking her if she was okay. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. He knelt down on the floor in front of her, arms wrapping around her in a hug.

"I love him so much," she choked out in a whisper. She took a deep breath, pulling away, willing the tears in her eyes to hang back. She glanced in one of the mirrors which had been set up side stage, checking her appearance. "I just have to get through tonight, and then I can go home and cry."

He handed her a bottle of water, Gabriella gratefully taking a small sip, clearing her throat ready to go.

Her number was introduced and she walked across the stage as gracefully as she could, hoping that the audience couldn't see through the smile shaped mask which adorned her face. Running into Troy just before her number was the most awful timing she could imagine. She'd heard he was there, she'd listened through the speakers as he and Chad had performed – pleased they'd pulled it off – but had hoped beyond anything that she could avoid facing him for just that little bit longer.

At the back of the audience, she could see Troy and Chad slipping into one of the back rows, and swallowed as the introductory bars of her song played. There was a certain irony to her solo – when she'd picked it, it represented all of her innermost fears and thoughts which she'd been afraid to express. Now they'd been expressed, and not taken so well, and it was almost as though she was being presented with opportunity to explain them in a way which might be taken better if their lyrical significance was understood by Troy.

_Sometimes I feel like I'm a bird with broken wings_

* * *

_These days it feels naive to put your faith in hope__  
_

In the audience, that lyrical poignancy was indeed reaching out to Troy, feeling a pang in his chest.

_'Cause although we like__  
__To know what life's got planned__  
__No one knows if shooting stars will land_

He'd listened to her rehearse before but suddenly the lyrics took on a whole new meaning – it was more than just a pretty ballad that she and Kelsi had picked out, it was a pretty ballad with lyrics that clearly bore a heavy level of meaning in Gabriella's heart.

* * *

Troy returned to his dressing room to find Gabriella pacing outside. She was still wearing her dress, but had ditched the high heels for a pair of ugg boots and had thrown on a purple sweatshirt over the top of the dress. He swallowed.

"We need to talk," she murmured. "Find a way to do this."

He nodded. "Ummm..."

"There's a room up here," she said curtly, gesturing for him to follow her.

Silently, he followed her down the hallway, around the corner, where she ducked into a spare room with various supplies – sewing kits, AV equipment – that they had back-ups of in case of an emergency.

"Your hair is straight," Troy murmured.

She nodded. "Um... they got me a blonde wig for the number with Sharpay. They say it'll be easier to put on if my hair is straight."

"I thought you weren't technically playing the characters. Is Sharpay putting green paint all over her skin?"

Gabriella scoffed. "No, there's just a specific line in one of the songs where it'll work better if I'm blonde... so she's wearing a black wig and I'm wearing a blonde wig."

"Ah. I see."

They fell silent. Troy swallowed. "Your solo was amazing," he offered generically, before adding, with a dash of hesitation. "I um... I was listening to it."

"You've heard me sing it before."

"Yes but this time I was... I was really listening. He paused before querying, "Is that really how you feel? Like... a 'heavy black bird caged within'?"

She closed her eyes, lower lip trembling. It was taking every ounce of her being to stand before him and not break down crying. "I can't talk about this now. Not tonight." She was pleading him, pleading him to drop it.

The truth was that he couldn't talk about it yet either, and yet the words just kept spilling from his lips involuntarily. "I finally get the problem, all because of a stupid song. I believe that shooting stars will land and you... you don't want to believe."

She looked up at him sharply, accusing of his wording. "I _want_ to believe. My life has taught me that you simply shouldn't believe."

There was so much that he wanted to say and yet he knew that none of it was yet to form any sort of sense. He regretted bringing it up.

"You're right. Not tonight," he murmured simply.

"Not tonight," she agreed.

"We have to find a way to get through it." Troy's voice was flat, quiet, monotone. "We can't let down people... Darbus, Kelsi, Ryan... they've worked so damn hard on this glorified talent show."

She nodded. She was in agreement. Neither was the type to run out on responsibilities they had, commitments they'd made.

"Um... I have an idea," Gabriella said hesitantly.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

"Where the hell are they?" Kelsi hissed at Ryan.

He merely shrugged his shoulders, eyes as wide as hers, glancing around hopelessly. Their stage manager, Derrick, was on his radio demanding their presence. The first number after the break was halfway through and neither Troy nor Gabriella were present side stage as designated, a mere two minutes until they were due on stage.

"We need to stall," Kelsi said wildly, and hissed at Derrick, "Call the act that is after Troy and Gabriella."

"What's going on?" Sharpay appeared, clad in her bathrobe in the midst of changing her wig and make up.

"A slight delay on the next act," Theodore said grimly.

Sharpay brightened up. "Oh, just let me get changed and I'll sing..."

"No time for that," Ms. Darbus said. "We need an available act _now."_

"That song you were working on," Ryan said hoarsely to Kelsi.

"You're not meant to be talking!" she said wildly.

He rolled his eyes, ignoring her, knowing she was deflecting from the matter. "You should do it."

"Do you have a prepared song you could perform?" Ms. Darbus asked.

"Um... well... kinda?" Kelsi squeaked.

"Do you need anything other the microphone at the piano?" she asked.

"Uh, well, no?" A dose of courage would've been appreciated but in terms of physical items necessary, everything she'd need was present.

"Excellent. That's our fill in. If Montez and Bolton aren't present shortly, we'll cut it."

Kelsi was wide eyed. "Are we sure the next act isn't ready? We can just swap them around? I'm certain Troy and Gabriella aren't far away, they're probably rehearsing!"

"The next act won't be ready," Derrick reported, having received an incoming update on the P.A.

"I... I don't..." Kelsi was wide eyed, feeling panic overcoming her. Not once in her entire time of being involved with performing arts and musical theater had she sang in public. She wrote, she played, she taught, she encouraged, she supported, she hand held – but never did she star.

Ryan took her hands in his, squeezing them. "You're always the one supporting everyone else. It's your turn to shine."

"I don't want to shine," she whispered, feeling her breath hitching in her throat.

"Which is why you're so special," Ryan spoke seriously.

Theodore was overhearing the conversation, and although not as close to Kelsi as Ryan, understood the panic she was experiencing, knowing that she wasn't accustomed to performing.

"We'll have the piano positioned side on, you won't even have to look out at the audience. Pretend they aren't there," he advised.

Kelsi knew that she had to do it, that they'd been left with no other choice, and internally was cursing Troy and Gabriella the timing of their argument and the fallout for everyone. But a small part of her enjoyed the thrill of the nerve, and knew that it was a challenge she had to face. She didn't really have time to allow for her panic to escalate – she knew the song by memory but was rehearsing on an imaginary piano regardless, mouthing lyrics to herself. By the time that she was ready to go, she was being pushed on stage and the sudden addition to the program was being announced – no mention of the _reason_ for the addition.

Kelsi had seen performers both thrive and collapse under pressure and nerves. She didn't want to collapse – and so with a slightly shaky hand, she sat down at the piano, stared down at the keys, and pretended that the audience didn't exist.

_Just a day__  
__Just an ordinary day__  
__Just trying to get by__  
__Just a boy__  
__Just an ordinary boy__  
__But he was looking to the sky_

Kelsi was halfway through her song when Troy and Gabriella appeared in the wings – not that she had any awareness of their arrival. To those who observed them, there was a noticeable separation between them. The temporary truce was purely in the name of the show – there was no doubting that the sting of pain was still there, neither one quite looking the other in the eye. Gabriella held out sheet music to Ryan, informing him softly, "We're doing this instead."

He glanced over the notes and lyrics, contemplating the matter momentarily before giving Gabriella a quick nod of approval. Ryan had only overheard the song at Lava Springs when Troy and Gabriella had performed it, and he'd been present when Kelsi had begrudgingly worked on transposing it for Sharpay. However the upset in Kelsi's voice when it had become evident that it wouldn't be performed in its original intended tone had rang true in Ryan's ears and he didn't need to hear a rehearsal to give his blessing.

Gabriella and Troy were fortunate enough to catch the end of Kelsi's performance. She was far from perfect – singing had never been Kelsi's number one strength – but there was a certain glow and shine about her as finally, she was given the centre stage that she'd been in the shadows of for so long.

After finishing her song, Kelsi didn't have time to compose herself. She was somewhere between shaking and fainting and crying and squealing as she did a small curtsy and darted off the stage into the awaiting arms of Ryan who gave her a strong hug. With an air of calm, Troy walked out on stage leaving Gabriella to hand the sheet music to Kelsi.

"Ready to get back out there?' she asked.

Kelsi glanced down at the sheet music that she'd been given, scanning over it. She looked back up sharply, leaping from one form of near heart attack to another. "You guys are gonna do this?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes. We are."

"I never thought I'd see this performed..."

"Which is a part of why it should be performed."

Kelsi gave her a small nod and the girls walked out on stage, joining Troy who'd just reached centre stage with the microphone, about to begin speaking. The stage hands, according to Troy's hastily whispered instructions as he and Gabriella had arrived to perform – turning the piano on wheels around so that Kelsi would be facing the audience, placing a stool on either side of the piano bench. Gabriella settled sitting at one of the stools, placing her copy of the sheet music on the bench just in case she needed to reference it, pushing Troy's over to his side.

"Um... we've made a last minute change to the program. Tonight is meant to be about showing you guys all of the really talented people who go to East High," Troy explained. "Me and Gabriella... this is kinda just fun for us, we fell into it all by accident. But there are people here at East High who are seriously gonna become famous and I'm gonna be able to say that I knew them way back when. One of them is Kelsi Nielsen. Over summer she wrote this really amazing song which was meant to be performed here at Lava Springs for the Midsummer's Night Talent Show but that got... screwed up. Twice." Scattered throughout the audience and backstage there were those in the know, those who understood just how it had been screwed up. "And so, we've changed the program so that this song can finally be performed tonight."

He made his way back to his stool, the audience applauding politely. He moved the sheet music so it was within his better vision but knew that he wouldn't need it. Some songs, their lyrics just become ingrained within your soul. It didn't matter that he hadn't heard it or sang it in more than six months. The song had become a part of him forever.

Gabriella picked up the microphone that rested on the piano, flicking the on switch as the opening notes began to sound melodically from Kelsi's piano.

_You know the words 'once upon a time' make you listen, there's a reason_

_When you dream there's a chance you'll find a little laughter or happy ever after..._

When Gabriella thought back to the summer between junior and senior year, her mind wasn't filled with memories of Sharpay's meddling and Fulton's strikes. Instead, she was taken back to a place of fun and laughter with her friends, picnics on the golf course, splashing in the pool, sneaky kisses with Troy in the music room when they thought no one knew where they had disappeared to.

_It's like I knew you before we met, can't explain there's no name for it..._

Troy still felt personally responsible for the talent show disaster; it was almost ironic that twice now he and Gabriella had come a fraction away from letting their own disagreement impact upon a performance to take place on the Lava Springs stage. It had been Kelsi and Ryan's interference which had saved the show over summer; and indirectly it was Kelsi who had saved the show again. Sitting on other side of her at the piano meant that Troy didn't have to hold

Gabriella's hand or look her in the eye. It meant that he could focus on the melody and on his part of the song and harmonise with a faceless female voice singing her part.

_Together we're gonna sing yeah, we got the power to sing what we feel..._

The voice wasn't faceless though. Her voice could never be faceless. Back in their fated New Years Eve meeting more than a year earlier; before he'd ever even really looked at Gabriella, it had been the sweet sound of her voice which had captured his attention, caused him to look sharply in her direction and give her a second glance – and then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth.

_You are the music in me..._

Troy and Gabriella were both deaf to the applause. Certainly being taken back to a time in their relationship which had been light and loving and free allowed them to get through the song with more ease. But as the final lyric was sang and the song came to a close, the emotion of it all seemed to crash down like a tonne of bricks. For reminiscing of the best of times served to amplify the pain of the current scenario, to highlight just how painful it was to look at the other and feel such hurt.

They grasped hands with Kelsi, took a bow, and then exited stage right. They were all met with hugs and congratulations from people around them who were stoked with the way they'd managed to essentially pull a rabbit out of a hat. On stage as she'd bowed, Kelsi had felt beyond elated at finally seeing her special song come to live on the stage where she'd envisaged it being performed as she'd originally wrote it. Following the specified etiquette, they were silent as the trio headed back up the constructed corridor, waiting until they were in the confines of the dressing room building to speak. Troy held the door open for the girls, and the minute he'd closed the door behind them Kelsi shrieked, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Oh my God you guys, I cannot believe you pulled that stunt but I'm so happy that you did!" she threw her arms around Gabriella in a hug. "You were so beautiful." She then turned to Troy hugging him tightly. "You were amazing. Wayyy better than that awful version I upped the temp of for Sharpay."

Troy laughed, a little uneasily. "Yeah, she kinda made that a bit out of my range, huh?"

"She did, but it's all worked out beautifully and to get to hear one of _my songs_." Kelsi was beaming from ear to ear.

"We've heard your songs before, in Twinkle Towne, and Once Upon A Time," Gabriella pointed out. "And you wrote Everyday!"

"Yeah but I don't know... this is different. This song was special to me."

Just as it was special to Troy and Gabriella.

"I'm just really glad we could perform it for you, Kels. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner," Troy remarked.

"I think Ms. Darbus was about to have a heart attack when you appeared with new sheet music!" she said with a giggle. "But it turned out well and that's all that really matters."

An announcement came over the speakers they'd set up, requesting for the string quarter to make their way to the wings. Kelsi clapped her hands excitedly. "I want to see this one. I'm going to go lurk around in the wings. Gabriella, let me know if you want to run through _Defying Gravity_ again, we have time."

Gabriella nodded. "I should be okay, but I'll let you know if I feel the need."

With one final squeeze of Troy's arm, Kelsi departed – the true reason for her rapid departure less about feeling the need to listen to the string quartet and more about wanting to leave the couple alone. No one could really fathom the depth of emotion that the two were feeling, no one could truly comprehend that it wasn't a fight that could be fixed with an apology and a bandaid.

No one, that is, except for Troy and Gabriella, who stood before each other.

"We got through it," she said quietly.

He nodded. "We did."

"I always loved that song, from the minute we first rehearsed it at Lava Springs by the piano in the music room," Gabriella said wistfully, reminiscent of that simpler time.

He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his grey dress pants. "Yeah. It's a nice song. Glad we could pull it off for Kelsi."

She took a hesitant step toward him, a hand reaching out for his. Her fingertips grazed against his and he snatched his hand away quickly. She was hurt by his reflex but couldn't exactly blame him.

"I love you," she said quietly. "I do."

There were so many replies on the tip of his tongue, such as a bitter _"Not as much as I love you" _– a phrase he'd used before in a teasing manner, leading to a playful squabble as to who, in fact, loved the other more. It came close to slipping out, but then he found himself looking straight at her for the first time since being in her bedroom that afternoon. Her eyes were a little teary, looking at him imploringly. There was almost a hopeful expression on her face, a hopeful expression that both confused and disturbed Troy.

"Why are you saying that?" he finally asked.

She swallowed. "Because I want you to know that."

"Why? Because it'll make everything better?" Troy folded his arms across the chest, awaiting her reply.

She flushed, staring down at her feet. "I don't know," she said honestly.

"You really think that singing a song together that takes us back to a great place in our relationship means that everything is okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm not that naive. But I guess... I guess I thought, I don't know, maybe..." she stammered.

Troy cut her off. "This isn't a Disney movie. You can't just get together, sing a song and fix the problem."

"I know. But not talking about it isn't going to fix it either."

"Gabriella! There you are!" Sharpay's demanding voice called from up the hallway, as she marched toward the couple. "Oh sorry, are you guys kissing and making up? Should I go?"

Neither of them responded, just sharing a gaze.

"No," Troy said, a little coldly. "We're done."

"Can we talk later?" Gabriella pleaded him.

He hesitated. Truthfully, he didn't know if he'd be ready to talk later, if there was even anything that he had left to say. But instead he merely gave her a small nod, willing her to depart. He needed space, before her pretty hair and soft voice would diminish his resolve. He stumbled toward the dressing room, praying that it would be uninhabited. The rock band had performed just before the intermission so they were out and in the audience, Zeke and Jason were due back to arrive soon to start setting up for their act.

He found the next best thing to solitude.

Chad, waiting for him, holding a basketball. He gestured to his watch. "We've got about fifteen minutes according to my calculations."

* * *

They arrived back in the wings moments before the finale was due to begin. If it was up to Troy, he and Chad would've just taken off; however he had one final part of involvement, where the whole cast joined in for the last verse of the finale. They were dressed semi formally – in his case, jeans, a crisp black shirt and a black tie. However the tie was befuddling him, and so he carried it in his hand into the wings where people were gathering. Just in front of him, Sharpay was waiting to make her entrance. She was wearing a dark brunette wig and a black gown adorned with sparkles. He'd not seen nor read Wicked but from what he knew, she'd taken significant creative license with her interpretation of the character.

He was avoiding looking across the stage to the opposite wings.

He slid in next to Kelsi who was waiting as the finale was introduced, and somewhat sheepishly, held out his tie to her.

"Help me?" he murmured his request imploringly, as softly as he could.

She looked up, seeing his pouty face, and took pity on him, taking the tie from him and pulling it around his neck.

"Gabriella would normally do this for me," he commented.

Kelsi didn't verbally respond – she was too ingrained with the proper etiquette to be silent whilst in the wings – but merely squeezed his arm comfortingly before finishing up the tie, and then giving him a quick hug. She then turned back to pay attention to the stage, where Sharpay and Gabriella were just taking their positions on stage. Troy was focused on his tie – undoing the top button of his shirt and loosening the accessory – and it was a moment later that he finally forced himself to look up; to look up to where she was posed at the side of the stage, awaiting the curtain to be lifted.

Gabriella was dressed in a strapless baby pink gown which had a diamante lined sweetheart neckline and a tulle skirt so wide that walking through a doorway was problematic; a blonde wig adorned her head. Both items had been acquired from Sharpay's personal costume wardrobe. As she'd been waiting side stage to make her entrance across from Sharpay, she'd felt a momentary pang of loss at the thought that it should've been Troy who stood beside her squeezing her hand and whispering a final good luck in her ear – instead it was Ryan. However she had to push that thought aside, and focus on the task at hand. She didn't doubt that Sharpay would scorn her for eternity if she ruined the number. However it was about more than Sharpay – it was a matter of proving to herself that she could do it. She didn't need Troy to hold her hand to perform like a star.

And so at the cue from the stage manager, she and Sharpay stepped onto stage, taking their places ready for when the curtains would be pulled back.

In the original _Wicked_ medley being performed by Sharpay and Ryan, they'd done little snippets from _Popular_ and _Dancing Through Life_ before jumping into _Defying Gravity _and _For Good._ They'd decided to replace the former two with a longer segment of _What Is This Feeling_, which had surprisingly turned out quite well. There was a great deal of irony to the number for those who knew the two girls and were familiar with their history together at East High over the last year. It helped Gabriella immensely in getting through the medley that the first track up was fun and playful, no lyrical semblance to the current emotion in her life.

The rest of the cast and the available crew stood side stage, watching as the final act of the night was performed. Much like her solo, Troy found himself watching in mesmerisation. It was as though Sharpay didn't exist and it was Gabriella and only Gabriella who commanded the stage, as far as his perspective went. He might be mad and sad and confused and feeling utterly wretched inside, but it didn't take away from the simple fact that he loved her, and seeing her in a blonde wig and a pink dress, flouncing around on stage declaring her utter loathing for Sharpay's character was something that brought a smile to his face.

When it came to the second part of the medley, it was an entirely different scenario. The _Defying Gravity_ cut they'd put together was pretty much the same as that which Sharpay and Ryan had rehearsed. Sharpay had attempted to argue that since she was closer to playing the part of Elphaba that she should be singing the majority of _Defying Gravity_; Ryan had told her that she was welcome as long as she agreed to adorn the traditional Elphaba costume. Sharpay had wrinkled her nose and relented, agreeing to an adaptation that would divide the lyrics between them.

Late that afternoon as the girls had a final run through, Gabriella had made a quiet request of Sharpay for one lyric that she wholly resonated with and dreamt of singing. The East High gossip mill had kicked in – even before Gabriella had arrived at Lava Springs, Chad had texted Ryan who'd texted Sharpay and warned her that the word on the street was that Gabriella and Troy had been in a fight and Gabriella may be a little delicate. Sharpay had summoned the sensitivity within to not snap at Gabriella's request and merely ask what lyric she wanted to swap. Wordlessly, Gabriella had gestured on the page. Sharpay contemplated quietly, and then merely nodded in agreement.

As the mood of the number switched from kitschy and cute to dramatic and empowering, so too did Troy's mood as an observer change. He was privy to having seen Gabriella sing more than once – he knew the difference between her voice when rocking out to _Please Don't Stop The Music_ in the car, and when she was singing something that was heartfelt and of meaning to her. She was one of those girls who would get smashed if she were ever to play poker – she didn't have a poker face, she didn't have that ability to mask her feelings when she was at her most emotional and vulnerable.

He wasn't lost on the significance of her musical choices or the connection she felt to the lyric. Just as he hadn't been lost on her singing about letting life happens as it happens and feeling caged by people trying to plan her life; he wasn't lost on her connection to the lyric of _Defying Gravity_ – and instead of it being merely enlightening, it cut him somewhere deeper.

"_If that's love it comes at much too high a cost_... _you can't pull me down... if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free..."_

His brain was spinning. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever want to be a burden to Gabriella, someone who made her feel as though she needed to hold back from living the life that she needed to live. But he couldn't take away the way that he felt, and the way she he'd believed that she felt. If her words were the truth, if she felt for him as she claimed to, it was beyond his comprehension how anything he'd done or said or believed could lead them to this point. He could barely even allow himself to appreciate just how incredible the performance that Sharpay and Gabriella were putting on was, the delectability of their harmony, the sheer range they were demonstrating in their vocal ability, the amazement on the faces of the crowd or of their peers. All he could hear was the words she was singing, over and over in his brain.

"_To those who'd ground me, take a message back from me..."_

Not even the power of the final song of the evening could distract Troy's thoughts. He clutched to Kelsi's arm beside him, watching Gabriella's every movement. The girls had carefully pulled off the wigs they'd been wearing, tossing them aside, sharing centre stage with two spotlights, one on each of them, with no lights or bells or whistles, just the magic of the melody and their instruments.

"_I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason..."_

Microphones were being handed out backstage ready for the cast to go on and join in for the end of the final song, _For Good. _In many ways it felt like the perfect high school power ballad, falling into line with the sentiment of _Time of Your Life_ or _Graduation (Friends Forever)_ with a theme of the importance of peoples role in our lives, however short lived they might be. For the seniors involved in the show, this motif was of particular significance.

"_It may well be that we'll never meet again..."_

"Hoops, you ready?" Chad said, clapping Troy on the back.

Troy turned around, the action shaking him out of his reverie. "Hmm?"

"Finale?"

"Oh... yeah..."

He turned back around to continue watching what was on stage – no matter how gut wrenching, he simply couldn't look away.

"They're really good, huh?" Chad said.

Troy nodded, vaguely hearing the question but not really listening.

"_You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart..."_

When the song reached the crescendo with the parts of Galinda and Elphaba overlapping, the cast of the show gradually filed on from each side of the stage direction, joining in for the final strains of the song, gathering around Gabriella and Sharpay in a loose choir formation. Troy had to be physically nudged on stage by Chad, almost forgetting his final act of participation in the show.

_Because I knew you I have been changed for good..._

* * *

The next ten minutes were a flurry of applause, thank you speeches, and people scurrying to their dressing rooms to get changed and clean up so they were able to meet up with family and friends. Troy managed to escape into his dressing room without further direct contact with Gabriella – he'd seen her engulfed in a hug by Kelsi and Ryan simultaneously on stage when he slipped away, Chad shadowing him as they headed to gather their things.

Troy was slumped down in a chair, head in his hands. Chad clapped his hand on Troy's back.

"Want me to come over with some booze? I've got a half bottle of Jack at home I can pick up. If we stick in your room, the 'rents don't even have to know."

"Um... yeah to the come over," Troy said thoughtfully. "Don't know to the booze."

He squeezed Troy's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get outta here. I'll help you get your truck anyway."

The boys emerged into the bar area where complimentary nibbles were being served; spotting Troy's parents in the corner with Jayme and Chad's mom. The boys both greeted all their parents, the hug between Troy and his mother lasting a little longer than usual.

"Can Chad crash at ours tonight?" Troy asked, glancing between his mom and Chad's mom.

"Sure, as long as Trina agrees," Lucille said.

Trina didn't need persuading, nodding in agreement immediately. Troy wasn't aware, but Lucille had gently mentioned that Troy was a bit upset as he'd had a fight with his girlfriend. Although Trina hadn't spent anywhere near as much time around some of Chad's friends as Lucille and Jack, she was familiar enough to know that if Troy was upset then he'd probably want Chad around, if anything just to distract him and cheer him up.

"Um, we might take off now, and I'll go help Troy to get his truck," Chad offered. "I have a gas can and stuff in my trunk so we won't have to ring AAA."

Troy was grateful for this prospect – he wanted to minimise the hassle and deal with the least amount of people as possible. He already felt stupid enough as it was.

"Are you sure? We can go," Lucille said to Chad.

Chad shook his head. "It's sweet, thanks though Mrs. B." Chad knew Troy – the last thing he wanted was hovering parents coaxing him to talk about his feelings, no matter how well intentioned those feelings were. Chad turned to Troy. "I'm just gonna go say goodbye to Taylor, is that cool?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah man, fine. I'm gonna wait outside." Chad gave Troy his keys so he could wait in the car and they parted ways – a final kiss and hug from his mother and a promise they'd call if they ran into any troubles, and Troy headed out to the parking lot. Most people were still inside enjoying the celebratory atmosphere, the somewhat chilly night air was abandoned of life.

"Troy!" Gabriella's voice sang out across the parking lot.

He wasn't surprised that she'd found him, but he couldn't help but wish that she, like him, could've just wanted to go home and deal with things later. He didn't move, staring at the ground, preparing himself to turn around and face her.

Troy shoved his hands deep into his pockets before shuffling around. She was standing before him wearing dark grey sweatpants, a t-shirt and a navy zip up sweatshirt – the attire she'd worn when she'd arrived that afternoon, though he hadn't been present to be aware of that.

"I um... I... I hoped we could talk," she said a little hesitantly. "I know this isn't ideal but..."

He'd so rarely seen Gabriella this vulnerable. It was an accumulation of her whole demeanour – the tremble in her voice, the way she hugged her stomach as she stood nervously before him, her bottom lip being gnawed away by her grinding teeth. It was both disconcerting and endearing, just like when he'd first seen her by the dressing rooms he felt that pull to comfort her and disregard just why she was experiencing such discomfort.

He raised his palm, silencing her. "I know I said that I would talk. But, see the thing is, I'm not ready to talk to you," he said calmly. "Normally it's you who wants the space but tonight... tonight I need mine. If this show hadn't been on, we wouldn't have even spoken tonight, let's not pretend otherwise. I'm gonna go home and chill and do some thinking, and you should do the same."

She swallowed. It was usually her seeking the distance, seeking the removal from the situation to allow herself to see things more clearly. It would be hypocritical of her to protest against his polite request; however she was suddenly seeing things from the other side, comprehending just how unsettling it was to be the person being asked to give the other one some space.

"Please don't walk away from this," she murmured, her voice cracking, the tears which had been glassing over her eyes finally escaping, a tear rolling down each cheek.

He knew that fear in her eyes and in her tone, the fear he'd felt when she'd wanted time to think, that fear that 'time' and 'space' and 'the end' were all synonymous. Despite all of his anger and all of his pain, he would never will that fear upon her. He stepped forward, taking her hand.

"I'd never just throw this away. I've made my position here and how I feel about us and our future pretty clear. But what we talked about today..." he swallowed. "Was pretty big and... and it could change things. Anyway. So I have to think."

She somehow managed to numbly nod, signalling the ending of conversation. He dropped her hand and did an about face, heading straight toward Chad's car and not looking back. Troy pulled open the passenger door, collapsing into the seat. His elbows rested on his thighs, head falling into his hands as he took a series of deep breaths.

* * *

Chase had exited the Lava Springs function room and was looking for a hidden corner outside so he could have a quick smoke – his one vice in the eyes of Ryan, a vice that Chase was in the process of talking himself into giving up. What he came across was Gabriella sitting by the parking lot, legs tucked up and arms hugging her knees to her chest. At first he hesitated, contemplating leaving her be as she likely came out for a bit of solitude; but then he saw she shudder of her shoulders and heard the distinctive sound of a sniffle and knew he couldn't just leave her be. He slipped the unlit cigarette which was poised between his fingers back into the Marlboro box and tentatively stepped over to her.

"Gabriella?" he said hesitantly.

She whipped her head around, seeing Chase just behind her watching over her with concern. She quickly wiped at her eyes

"Chase! I was just um..." her voice cracked a little. "I had something in my eye."

He shook his head at her. "No point in pretending with me, sweetheart."

Her lower lip jutted out as he stepped down to sit beside her, an arm pulling her into his chest. "I just want to go back to like, a month ago, and do things differently. We still would've disagreed about the issue but maybe... maybe it didn't need to be as big of a fight, maybe..."

"There's no point in playing the maybe what if game," Chase said wisely. "All you can do is take some time, think, and then talk to him. You didn't break up?"

"Well... no..."

"Then it isn't over just yet. Sometimes a good night's sleep and a bit of space can be exactly what you need."

She took a deep breath, attempting to channel the positive energy and thought that Chase was so wisely imparting. But then her mind was filled with recollections of the cold tone of Troy's voice, the hurt expression on his face, and she found her lower lip trembling once more.

"I feel so confused. I don't even know what I want, or what I should want, or what's best for me, if I should follow my head or my heart or something else altogether."

"You're seventeen. Are you even meant to know what you want or what's best for you at seventeen?"

"Probably not. But the decisions still have to be made."

She was right – he had no returning words of wisdom.

Troy barely registered the drivers door opening and the weight of someone stepping in and taking the seat. He felt Chad's hand clap on his back, giving him a manly pat. He didn't ask if he was okay, didn't ask if he wanted to talk, didn't ask if he needed anything. Chad didn't need to ask. Troy lifted his head from his hands, taking in a deep breath and exhaling heavily.

"Okay. Let's go."

Chad nodded, turning on the ignition and shifting the car into reverse.

"Let's go by mine, I'll grab some of my stuff and pick up that half a bottle of JD that's in the back of my closet, and then we'll go get your truck."

"The half a bottle of JD is mine, right? What are you gonna drink?" Troy's tone was half playful, half honestly grim.

"If you're planning to drink a half bottle of JD you might need me sober to make sure you don't do anything dumb."

"At this point, I don't really care about doing anything dumb. I just kinda want all of this to go away."

And with that comment, Troy leaned over and turned up the stereo system, non-verbally indicating an unwillingness to discuss it any further at that point.

He was content to exist in denial – ironically being precisely what had landed him in the present scenario.

* * *

_**Acknowledgements:**_

_Lyrics from/references to the following songs are used with love and not for profit:_

_- Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust'; 'We Will Rock You'; and 'We Are The Champions.'_

_- 'Whatever Will Be' – originally by Tammin Sursok, covered by Vanessa Hudgens_

_- Vanessa Carlton, 'Ordinary Day' – I recommend YouTubing a LIVE version_

_- The Wicked Soundtrack – specifically 'What Is This Feeling'; 'Defying Gravity'; and 'For Good.'_


	51. Chapter 50

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**AN: **My thoughts and hopes go out to those affected by the current flooding in Queensland, Australia - my home state.

If you read Twilight fanfiction, consider checking out h t t p : / / f a n d o m s f i g h t t h e f l o o d s . b l o g s p o t . c o m / minus all the spaces. For a $5 donation you will receive a special compilation of one shots and outtakes written by authors who are pledging their work. Authors from any fandom are welcome to contribute, it is Twilight centric but there are authors from a handful of other fandoms who are also joining the cause. I am considering contributing if I can ascertain that enough of my readers would be willing to pledge.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 50**

_In this moment,_  
_Everything suddenly makes sense_  
_All the random pieces in my life are falling into place_  
_In an instant_  
_I am flying high and scared to death_  
_Coz I wonder if you feel it to_  
_I wanna be a part of you_

_If it's goodbye now forever_  
_And I never get to see you again_  
_If it's the last kiss_  
_Before the world should end_  
_I wanna thank you for the night of my life_

**_- Stephanie McIntosh, 'The Night of my Life'_**

* * *

"This time last year I was waiting for him to open his eyes and realise exactly who he was dating and break up with me," Gabriella murmured, spoon dipping into the cookie dough ice-cream, seizing an extra large spoonful of the treat. "Never did I think I'd be here... in love... and scared as hell."

"Love can be scary."

"All he wants is for us to be together. I don't know why I'm so scared. He even said he'd deal with me choosing MIT."

Elena Montez was quiet. Sitting beside her daughter on the couch with the tub of ice-cream in between them, she was somewhat flummoxed as to what she _should_ be saying. She and Gabriella had a relationship which in some ways was very typical of mother daughter; and in other ways was more mature – they'd looked after one another in the years since Diego's passing. Elena wasn't sure whether she should act as a friend, offering advice; or give her honest motherly opinion. She opted for sitting quietly, occasionally commenting, but on the whole allowing Gabriella to simply talk. As long as her daughter felt at ease enough to be honest, Elena would do nothing to discourage her from confiding her feelings.

"Maybe I'm just worrying about nothing, over thinking it. I shouldn't be over thinking it. I should just be living... embracing it. I love him, I don't want us to break up, and so wherever I choose to go I should find a way to make it work," Gabriella mulled aloud.

The mother inside of Elena was yapping away, wanting to be heard. She spoke carefully.

"Mija, if that's what you decide, then I'll support you. I know that you feel bad right now, and I know that you want to fix things, but I think a little space is good. You don't want to be promising him something that deep down, you can't deliver upon. Think about it some more."

"I feel like all I ever do is think about this, and that thinking has just gotten me to a really horrible place. I tried too hard to think it all through before discussing it and put things off and avoided communicating. I've done so many things that are like, taboo in relationships, and yet Troy is still there... he might be mad, but he's pretty much left things in my hands."

"Baby, if you feel like you're over thinking it, then you should stop thinking," Elena urged. "Take some time and distract yourself. Read a book, watch a movie."

"I can't remember a time when I haven't been thinking about all this. Even when I'm in math class or doing a science experiment or at rehearsal... it's like a constant thought at the back of my mind. I can't shut it off. I love him, and that sometimes scares me. The concept of losing him scares me – but the thought of doing something that'll drive us apart from each other scares me even more."

"College is scary. Everything about next year is going to be scary."

"And so why would I actually choose to do it alone? Where is the logic in that?"

Elena pursed her lips. She knew that it wasn't really a matter of choosing to do it 'alone' and she knew that rationally, Gabriella knew that too. But it wasn't the time for rational thought, and all she could do was make sure that her daughter didn't make any rash decisions or promises in the heat of the emotion she was currently experiencing.

"Let's go to Stanford this weekend, go to your appointment on Friday, before you make any decisions," Elena cautioned. "You've been examining these majors and the potential career paths and the route into graduate school as well. Make sure you have the exact same information about both schools and all your options. You've been talking about MIT since before there was a Troy Bolton in your life."

"Except that the day I met Troy, everything changed – for the better. Don't you think?"

"I don't think you've necessarily changed. You've grown, you've..." Elena paused, searching for the right word. "I think I'd use the term blossomed. You're still _you_, Gabi, you're more you than ever – more at ease with every aspect of yourself. Sure, Troy was one of many factors that encouraged that blossoming," Elena conceded. "Troy, Taylor, Ryan, your other friends, the overall environment at East High allowing you to explore different interests... it all contributed to you blossoming over the last year."

"I don't know if any of it would've happened without Troy." Gabriella wasn't speaking in a moment of emotional vulnerability – it was a true reflection of her opinion. "If it hadn't been for him, I would've come to East High and let Taylor talk me into the decathlon... it's because of Troy getting us jobs at Lava Springs that I became really close with Ryan and Kelsi. It's because of Ryan that I got involved with student council."

The 'what if's' of life always overwhelmed Gabriella – how differently her life could've turned out had it been for one different decision. How turning left instead of right could've been the catalyst for a whole different set of opportunities. In the case of her life, it was begrudgingly not fighting with her mom too much about being sent along to a teen party while on vacation at a ski lodge. If it hadn't been for their encounter on New Years' Eve away from the pressures and influences of their peer groups, Gabriella couldn't fathom a scenario in which she could've moved to East High and Troy Bolton would've paid her a second glance.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

* * *

It was bright and early Sunday morning when Ryan began to stir. Even when operating on minimal sleep his body clock was solid and he rarely slept in past 8am, and once he was awake, there was little chance of going back to sleep, no matter how tired he was. With somewhat bleary eyes, Ryan rolled over in bed, reached onto the floor and grasped onto his laptop, pulling it up onto his lap and pulling open the lid. It took just a few moments to input his password and have his AIM window open. He smirked at Chase's presence online.

'_Since when are you a morning person?' _Ryan typed to him.

Chase's reply was efficient. '_Since the Montez's neighbour closest to my window decided to mow their lawn fifteen minutes ago and interrupt my naughty dream.'_

'_Naughty dream?'_

'_Very naughty. Do you happen to own handcuffs? I didn't bring mine with me.'_

Ryan smirked, and glanced around, as though expecting someone to be peering at his laptop screen. The late night make-out session in his car had only served to rile up his already overflowing hormones, and whereas he had no recollection of his own dreams, the build-up of tension hadn't exactly resulted in waking up in a state of calm.

'_Guess we'll have to save the handcuffs for next time' _Ryan typed back.

He heard his AIM ping with a reply but Ryan didn't even take the time to read it – having been struck by a sudden inspiration, or more pointedly he'd been struck by a sudden urge. He creaked open his bedroom door as quietly as possible, shutting it behind him before tip toeing down the corridor to the doorway to the guest room across the hall beside the bathroom. He didn't even knock – just opened the door, slipping inside and spotting Chase lying back in bed with his iPhone held up in front of him. It took Chase a moment to register Ryan's presence, that moment was enough time for Ryan to have brought his finger to his lips, indicating that he should be quiet. He closed the door behind him, walked closer to Chase, and pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Chase was quick to put down his iPhone on the bedside table, abandoning all that he was doing in favour of ensuring that he didn't miss a single moment of what he currently had the opportunity to witness.

"You'll have to tell me more about this dream later," Ryan murmured, kneeling at the foot of the bed and crawling his way up until he was hovering above Chase.

Chase smirked, responding breathily, "Maybe I'll just have to demonstrate it."

xxx

Lucille Bolton was in the kitchen when Chad crept out of Troy's room at 9am on Sunday morning. She glanced up, hearing the creak of the door, surprised to see Chad surfacing so early.

"Morning honey, you're up early," she commented.

"I work at 10," he explained.

She nodded in sudden understanding. "Um... how was Troy last night?"

The boys had barely emerged from Troy's room after returning back from having retrieved Troy's truck. Chad hesitated to answer. He didn't want to reveal his best friend's confidence, however in his opinion Mrs. Bolton was one of the best mom's out there and he knew that her concern was from the best of places. Although, in reality, there was little confidence to reveal, and it was for this reason that he was honest with her.

"We didn't really talk about it," Chad admitted. "Just chilled, played some Xbox. I think he just needed to not think about it for a bit, distract himself, you know?"

Lucille sighed – it was hardly surprising, though she was a fan of the talking through your emotions approach, an approach that the two men in her life weren't always in support of. They were often more the 'get angry and repress your emotions' type.

"Okay," she said, sighing, before smiling at Chad and offering. "Do you want some breakfast before you go?"

Chad shook his head. "Nah, it's okay, I'm gonna take off. I forgot my work shirt anyway so I have to go home. And we usually get pastries in the lunchroom on Sundays – the bakers 'accidentally' do a few too many and bake them so they're just a little too crispy to be sold but perfectly acceptable to be eaten for free. But don't tell our managers that."

Lucille laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."

"I might see you later anyway, I told Hoops last night that if he was still asleep when I woke up that I'd give him a buzz after work and see if he wanted to hang out later on. I'm only working from 10 'til 3."

"You're welcome here any time honey, you know that."

"Thanks Mrs. B."

After Chad gathered his things and left, Lucille quietly moved over to Troy's room and eased the door open. He was snoring lightly, showing no signs of awakening any time soon. She decided that she'd duck out to the grocery store to pick up a few things she needed. Jack was at the Sandia Golf Club playing a round of nine with some work colleagues – she'd known he was going, but Jack left a note telling Troy he was welcome to join him for a hole or two. Lucille suspected it was a pointless offer and it was one of the last places he son would want to be.

* * *

Ryan and Chase dosed off briefly – and potentially dangerously. It wasn't that Elena Montez had specifically banned any liaisons under her roof, but the inference was there that it would be disrespectful and therefore was inappropriate. However they awoke just before 9am without any incident. Chase was curled in behind Ryan, his arm sprawled lazily over his partner's bare torso. It was Chase's fingers running lightly over his skin which caused Ryan to awaken from his nap.

"You shouldn't do that or you'll be starting something we can't follow through on," Ryan murmured.

Chase grinned, but reluctantly gave one squeeze on to Ryan's bare backside before withdrawing his hand. "Definitely your turn to come down to visit me next. I'll find out when my roommate is visiting his parents next, and that's when you're coming down."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Ryan said agreeably, smiling contentedly at the notion of a whole weekend with Chase, uninterrupted. The few experiences they'd had together had been nothing short of fulfilling, however Ryan would be lying if he said that he wasn't craving more. He was nervous, certainly, but he felt ready, and it felt right. "Privacy... more time... freedom."

"Anything could happen," Chase murmured.

Ryan nodded in agreement. "It could..."

Chase bit his lower lip – sensing the undercurrent of Ryan's statement. "Only... if you wanted it to. You know?"

Ryan reached behind him, his hand taking Chase's and fingers entwining, squeezing lightly. "I know." It was the unsaid that didn't need to be said.

"We should go downstairs," Chase begrudgingly said. "Or at least get out of this bed together."

"We should."

They exchanged one final kiss before leaving their sanctuary. The boys took a few minutes each to freshen up before heading downstairs. They were surprised to find Gabriella awake and sitting at the dining table with her laptop in front of her. She glanced up at them.

"Morning," she greeted them, before apologising mostly to Ryan, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you after the show."

"It's fine," Ryan assured her. Chase had relayed his encounter with Gabriella to him, and he'd spotted her from afar leaving with an arm around her mother. He'd rather purposely given her some space to spend time with her mom and figured he could be the supportive best friend and pseudo brother the next day. "Really. I stayed back, talked to my parents, helped a bit with some of the clean-up. And then we went with Sharpay and Zeke to get ice-cream."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Really? How was that?"

"Hilarious," Chase said with a laugh. "I kept making these overprotective threatening comments to Zeke. I don't think he really took it that seriously but it was amusing anyway."

"Saying all the things that Ryan would wanna say but doesn't since Zeke is our friend?" Gabriella asked.

"Precisely."

She smiled. Ryan's heart was in the best of places – being an only child she couldn't even really fathom the connection of a regular sibling bond; let alone the twin bond. However she suspected that if Sharpay's heart was going to be safe with anyone, it would be Zeke.

She frowned, backtracking Ryan's earlier statement. "Did you say that you were talking to your parents after the show? Plural?"

Ryan nodded – he'd wondered if she'd caught that detail. "Yup."

"Both of you?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Um... yeah," Ryan admitted, scratching the back of his head. "It wasn't planned. I went up to thank him for letting us use Lava Springs for the show and he commented that he'd heard that my 'friend' was with me."

Gabriella's eyes were wide. "And?"

"Well I'm alive, aren't I?" Chase said wryly.

"The damage might be internal," Gabriella said, on the most part joking.

"My mom was there at the time and said I should bring Chase over to introduce him to dad. My eyes nearly burst I think they were that wide, and my dad didn't look overly happy about the idea but my mom gave him this _look_ that she gives him which basically says that he has no choice and he'd better just go along with it and not be rude. So he agreed. I was so surprised that I didn't even really contemplate it, just fell in line and agreed and before I knew it I was bringing Chase over."

"He shook my hand - I can't adequately describe his expression," Chase said thoughtfully. "I mean, he's trying, obviously, so I give him props for that. It wasn't like he didn't want to touch me, or like he disapproved or looked at me with contempt or disgust. It was more so..." Chase pondered, attempting to produce the most appropriate descriptive phrase. "Awkward, I suppose. Like, we both knew that he wasn't quite ready for it but that he didn't want to say so. It was forced, a little, his smile a little too wide, emphasis on the word 'friend' when he said it was nice to meet such a good friend of Ryan's."

"I can't believe your mom pushed him into it. I thought she would've realised it wasn't quite the right time," Gabriella said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Ryan shrugged. "In some ways it feels like a relief. Another baby step."

"Anyway, what are you up to, chicken?" Chase asked Gabriella, gesturing to the laptop on the table. "Schoolwork on a Sunday? Really?"

"It's not schoolwork, strictly speaking. I'm doing some college research."

"College research?" Chase repeated.

"Mmm-hmm. I'm looking at the course structure at Stanford. Doing some comparisons. There are differences between the majors available at MIT and Stanford. I'd pretty much decided firmly on a Chemical-Biological Engineering major, as well as a mathematics major at MIT... Stanford don't have Chemical-Biological Engineering but they do have Chemical Engineering as well as Biological Engineering. So I could concentrate on both but then I'd have to do a triple major if I wanted to broaden my focus... I suppose even at MIT I could do a triple major..."

Ryan and Chase glanced at one another. Neither of them really understood what engineering was. Chase's eyes were boggling at the concept of a triple major – here he was almost finished with freshman year and he wasn't even on the path to declaring a major.

"Isn't engineering like... um... if you wanna build stuff?" Ryan asked tentatively.

Gabriella hid a smile and raised her eyebrows. "Do you really want me to explain?"

"I'm just not quite understanding what you'd want to be doing with engineering. In the long term," he clarified.

"Well, MIT don't have a specific pre-med program but it's a logical path if I decided to go to medical school. And if I don't, it opens up a lot of avenues to be involved in scientific or medical research. That sort of area," she explained as simply as she could. "But because I'm still a little bit undecided about what I really want to be doing post college, that's why it's important that I'm careful about what majors are available."

As she spoke her eyes were still focused on the website in front of her.

"Here I would've thought that you'd already practically memorised every college catalogue," Ryan said a little playfully.

"Almost," she returned, tone also playful although practically speaking the truth. "But there's no harm in rereading. Sometimes you can miss a piece of critical information, or interpret something differently."

Or sometimes you can convince yourself to interpret something differently.

"So, once you're finished being boring, what are your plans for today? Nothing? Awesome. We were thinking about an epic shopping trip," Ryan declared.

"Actually, Taylor had suggested we hang out yesterday," Gabriella said.

"The more the merrier," Chase said. "We can do some shopping, maybe catch a movie? Or if there's nothing good on, rent a DVD?"

Gabriella sensed that they had a plan to keep her busy – she didn't entirely object to the plan, either. Anything to curb the overwhelming desire she was experiencing to call him. To call him and make things okay, to initiate a reunion that neither were perhaps quite ready for.

* * *

When Lucille returned home, Troy had emerged from his room. He was wearing sweatpants which had once been a dark grey but the course of time had caused them to fade into a fuzzy light grey, and a ratty black sweatshirt. He was slouched on the couch with a bag of pretzels and a bottle of orange soda by his side. He was focused on his Xbox 360 – Lucille didn't recognise the game herself, although a glance at the screen was enough to cause her face to contort in disgust, being met by the sight of a female corpse pinned up against a wall with a pitchfork through her face.

"Oh my God, that's disgusting," she exclaimed. "How do you play that?"

"I'm like, a Special Forces agent," he answered, without turning around. "The President's daughter has been kidnapped and..."

"No! I don't mean _how_ literally. I mean how do you stomach it? That's awful!"

Troy shrugged. It had never particularly fazed him, the gore of some of his games, though Gabriella had commented more than once of her distaste and so he typically avoided the more gory ones when she was present. He frowned to himself at how easily his brain had shifted to thoughts of her – it came as second nature; she'd become entwined into every aspect of his life. He realised that in his moment of distraction he'd not even been aiming properly at the zombie he was attacking and had wasted a heap of ammunition. He growled and immediately ended the game, deciding to start over.

"Have you had breakfast?" Lucille asked, glancing at his chosen choice of snack.

"Nah, not really."

"I just bought some croissants, if that interests you? I could make a couple with ham and cheese?" she suggested. She wasn't about to up sell something nutritious on a Sunday morning – and a rough Sunday morning at that – but something more substantial than pretzels was a necessity for her active son.

"Yeah all right. Sounds good." Troy hopped up from the couch, trailing after his mother into the kitchen. He put the orange soda back into the fridge – it was getting a bit warm from sitting out – and grabbed a carton of milk. He contemplated drinking from the carton for a split second, but that split second was long enough for his mother to give him a 'don't even think about it' expression and change his course toward the cupboard to retrieve a glass.

"Is Chad coming back over later?" Lucille asked, grabbing a block of cheese from the fridge. "He started work pretty early."

"I don't know. He said he'd call, see if I wanted to hang out."

"Are there any games on this afternoon?"

Troy perked up slightly. "Yeah actually, Cal are playing UCLA. It's on ESPN."

"Your dad should be home by then. Why don't you invite Jason and Zeke around, I can defrost some steaks and we can throw a few on the grill?" she suggested.

He shrugged. "Maybe. Can we have steaks on the grill even if I don't invite the guys over?"

She smiled and gave him a nod. "I think we can arrange that."

He sat quietly and watched as his mother prepared the croissants. The silence was refreshing.

"How long did you stay at the Montez's after I left yesterday?" Troy asked quietly.

"Not long. Elena went upstairs to talk to Gabriella and your father and I let ourselves out."

"You talked to Elena last night?" Troy asked.

"A little." He hesitated, about to ask if she'd mentioned how Gabriella was – but refrained. He didn't need to hear from his mother via Gabriella's mother to know how she'd been.

Lucille paused, waiting for him to speak, but it became evident he wasn't going to. "You talked to Gabriella last night?"

He nodded. "A little," he said simply, echoing his mother's response.

She placed the tray of croissants with ham and cheese into the oven to heat, flipped the dial for the timer for a few minutes, and then turned back to Troy.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her tone was gentle – she wasn't about to force him to talk, but she wanted to open up the opportunity if he felt so inclined.

"No," he said immediately, a little too quickly, before pausing to contemplate. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Or if you want to talk about it but not with me..."

"No, it's not that," Troy interrupted, expression serious. The fact of the matter was that his mother was probably one of the few people that he considered to be capable of objectively listening. She had a knack for understanding not only how he operated, but she also seemed to understand Gabriella pretty well – sometimes, he wondered, if perhaps his mother understood his girlfriend better than he did. Perhaps it was simply female intuition.

In the interest of not pushing, Lucille didn't say anything. She peered into the oven, checking that the croissants were coming along, and proceeded to pull plates and utensils from the drawers.

"What time did Chad leave?" Troy asked, a little conversationally.

"Hm, I suppose it was just after 9," Lucille said thoughtfully.

"I didn't even hear him get up. He wrote a note on a post-it and stuck it on my head."

"I can't say I knew you even had post-it's in your room," Lucille said with a laugh.

Troy sighed, before saying ruefully. "Gabriella bought them. A 'study tool.' She told me to use post-it's for pages I thought would be important to study for finals."

"That's a good tip."

"Well, that's Gabriella, all about school," Troy said, an edge to his tone.

"Do you know when Gabriella's parents figured out she was exceptionally gifted?" Lucille asked Troy thoughtfully.

He shrugged. "When she was pretty young."

"I guess she's always been encouraged to be about school. By her parents, by her teachers."

"They were going to skip her at one point, but her mom didn't like the idea. Since they moved around a lot, it was hard enough for her to fit in socially."

The oven began to beep, signalling that the croissants had finished heating up. Lucille piled three onto a plate for Troy, and just one for herself – since she'd had breakfast already – and set the plates down at the table. Wordlessly, Troy joined his mother at the table, tucking into his ham and cheese treats. He surprised himself with how famished he was – although upon recollection he hadn't really eaten properly since lunchtime the day before. Having left the post-show celebration, he didn't get to take advantage of the Lava Springs catering and he and Chad had only snacked on chips once they got back home.

He'd scarfed down two of his croissants before pausing his consumption.

"What do you think about long distance relationships?" Troy finally asked his mother.

"It doesn't really matter what I think, it matters what you think," Lucille responded.

"I know what I think, but I'm trying to understand what she thinks. And so, that's why I wanna know what you think."

Lucille sighed. "In general... I think that sometimes that with hard work and a lot of commitment, they can be made to work. But they aren't for everyone." She wasn't going to add that as a mother, it worried her that he was facing the situation at such a young age.

Troy wasn't entirely comforted by this assessment, and the expression on his face was enough to illustrate that he was troubled.

"I take it by your leaving in such a hurry yesterday that you're upset with Gabriella," Lucille said carefully, trying to continue the communication.

Troy snorted. _Upset _didn't begin to describe the extent of his feelings. Angry, betrayed, frustrated.

"Yes," he said. He took a bite of his third croissant, waiting until he'd swallowed to further explain. "I think she's being kinda selfish by not being more open to Stanford."

Lucille was a little shocked by this opening into the crux of the matter. She considered 'selfish' to be a harsh word, particularly from her son to describe his girlfriend. She needed to clarify one point in her mind before continuing. "Isn't Gabriella going to visit Stanford this upcoming weekend?"

"Well, she was, I'm guessing she still is. But I get the feeling like she isn't taking it seriously as an option, that she's already decided on MIT. Which in itself I'm kinda mad about because I think she's always felt that way but didn't wanna say it."

"Why do you think that is?"

"She talks about how she wanted me to make my decision without her influence. I don't know... I guess it's true. But I don't need her controlling me like that. It feels almost, well, kinda manipulative. I know she didn't mean it like that, but that's kinda how it makes me feel. Like she didn't think I'd be smart enough to make the right choice so she had to manipulate everything."

"Sounds like she had good intentions, at least."

Lucille was attempting to be simultaneously objective and sympathetic. Troy on the other hand was a little annoyed at the remark.

"Are you on her side here?" he asked, somewhat childishly.

"I don't really know what 'her' side is, Troy, but if you're going to talk to me about this, I'm not just going to tell you that you're right. I'm trying to be objective here, rather than taking someone's 'side.'"

He sighed. He knew he'd snapped. He didn't apologise, but he just moved on. "I know she meant well. I'm pissed she wasn't upfront, but I do get that she meant well by it all."

Lucille internally flinched at the curse word, but ignored it and allowed him to continue venting.

"I mean I'll never know for sure what I would've done but... I guess I probably would've focused more on the east coast if I'd have known. She knows me well. But okay, see, so if she goes to MIT, I'm willing to try to make it work. But it's like how you said, that it involves commitment. She's a bit less willing to commit. I asked her bluntly if she could commit to making it work and she couldn't really answer me."

"Did she say that she doesn't want to commit?"

"Well, no."

"So, she's just undecided?"

Troy blinked. "I don't know. That's what I don't get. That's pretty much when I got pissed and left," he admitted. "I mean... it hurt mama. I said let's make this work and she just looked back at me like I'd spoken to her in Russian."

"You know her. Speculate. Try to understand."

Troy closed his eyes. He was still in the stage of anger, not quite ready for sympathising, but it was something he himself was dying to know.

"I think she's scared," he finally said.

"Scared of?"

"About long distance relationships. Scared that it won't work."

It made sense to him, taking the time to think about it. Given her past, moving around, not really retaining friendships – there was logic to it.

"That makes sense," Lucille agreed.

"But, see that's the thing... I get that. She can be scared and worried," he insisted. "But she should be willing."

"Maybe she's just not quite there yet. Maybe she will become willing if you give her the chance to wrap her head around her decision."

Troy closed his eyes. "Don't you think that if she loved..." he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly acutely aware that it was his _mother_ that he was talking to.

"It's okay, you can say that. I do know that you've said those words to each other," Lucille said gently.

Troy swallowed. "If she loved me... it wouldn't be this hard. It'd be hard, but not as hard as she's making it out to be. I love her, and yeah I'm worried about how we'll handle it but I used to believe that we'd just be able to get through it."

"Used to believe?"

"Commitment takes two people."

Lucille closed her eyes. She was struggling to maintain the role of objective friend and listener and feeling the parent within her bubbling just beneath the surface. Troy wasn't oblivious to her sudden tension.

"What?" he prompted her.

She sighed. "It's nothing."

He narrowed his eyes. "You wanna say something."

"I do, but I won't."

"Mama, I've already got a girlfriend who won't just tell me the truth about what she thinks, please don't do the same," Troy pleaded. "Be straight with me."

She sighed. "Well, it's something that you're not going to want to hear."

"Just say it."

"Troy... you're seventeen," she began.

"Almost eighteen," he interjected.

"Okay. You're almost eighteen," Lucille corrected herself. "You are young. I know that right now for you it's like you're on the cusp of a whole new grown-up life but you are young. You know I love Gabriella, and you know that I've been very supportive of your relationship. But I can't help but feel like maybe all of this is a sign that maybe you do need to take a step back."

"What do you mean, take a step back?" he said dubiously.

"College is going to be hard, harder than you think. And I just don't want you to get there and realise that trying to maintain a relationship among everything else is just too much."

"So what, you think... you think I shouldn't be in a relationship? That I should break up with her?" Troy said in disbelief.

"No," Lucille said firmly. "I did not say that, nor do I think that."

"Then what are you saying?"

"Maybe think about other options for college."

"If you're not saying I should break up with her, but you're saying that a relationship might be too much..." Troy said slowly, his brain attempting to function, eyebrows furrowing. "What, like, that we should see other people?"

Lucille shrugged. "Maybe. It's just an idea, Troy. I'm just trying to open your mind to the reality of what it'll be like."

"What, college cheerleaders leading me astray?" Troy said bitterly. "I'm not interested in other girls. It's one thing to have guys at school making it sound like there's something wrong with me for only being into Gabriella, I don't expect that sort of crap from my own mother."

"The concept of being open to seeing other people isn't just about the other people, Troy," Lucille said patiently, attempting to explain. "It relieves the pressure for constant commitment, the need to have consistent communication."

"Maybe I want commitment and communication. And if she doesn't and I do then that's kind of... that's..." He couldn't say it out loud. That he didn't know if he'd be able to deal with that. That he wasn't sure if that would be something they could make it through. And so instead, he swallowed, bit his lower lip, and proceeded to shred the remainder of his croissant into bits.

"She's more than just someone to pass the time with. She's more than just someone I have fun with in my spare time. She's more than that and it scares the shit out of me sometimes..." He observed the purse of his mother's lips the moment the word 'shit' escaped his lips, and decided to correct his phraseology. "Crap. Scares the crap out of me sometimes," he reiterated. "But I really don't see myself ever feeling the way that I do about Gabriella, about anyone else. I think she's it, mama. I'm not saying we're gonna get married anytime soon but... that's how I feel. And all this makes me think that maybe what she is to me – I'm not quite the same to her. And I don't know if that matters, really, but I can't help that it makes me feel mad, that it makes me feel like the last year has just been a lie."

Lucille smiled, somewhat bittersweetly. "You've always been a bit of an old soul when it came to romance. It was interesting for me, realising I had a charming, good lucking son with athletic prowess, watching you fall in among a particular crowd of friends. I don't know if it's something your dad and I did in bringing you up or if it's just a part of you, but there is a certain maturity to the way you look at relationships and Gabriella, a maturity that's almost beyond your years."

Troy looked a little blank. "Um... thank you?"

"Gabriella, as mature as she is in many ways, is also immature in others. You were her first everything, Troy, don't forget that."

Simultaneously, both mother and son flushed a little, realising the implications and extent of the truth of her statement. Lucille had meant it more generically, however there was the obvious implication of how they had been each other's first which remained to be the unspoken about between Troy and his mother. Troy shook his head, a little embarrassed about the direction of the conversation. Lucille cleared her throat, refocusing her statement.

"But Troy – you were Gabriella's first boyfriend. Her first kiss. Quite possibly the first boy she's even gotten to know enough to be interested in – and for many years, at least, one of her first true friends."

He knew all this, he didn't need to be told. "I know all this, but how do you know?" he said dubiously.

"Mothers talk."

He sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "Mama, what's your point?"

"You're talking about your relationship being a lie, and you're talking about how much you love her and how much she loves you. You're both young, and she's younger than you – not by just a month, but in terms of relationships and romance, arguably she's younger."

"So what, you think we're too young to really love each other?" Troy asked, eyebrows furrowed – it was a notion that offended him.

"I think that at a certain age, love can be different, it can mean different things to different people. I don't think it's even necessarily about age, but like I said – maturity. You're more mature than she is – and perhaps therefore see relationships differently."

Troy didn't comprehend his mother's assessment of their 'relationship maturity' – he was the guy who just a week ago had spent an entire period of class with Chad drawing crude pictures and folding them into paper airplanes which they threw at each other.

"I don't know if I believe that, or even understand that," Troy said, feeling exhausted.

"Hey, what do I know? I'm no authority on the matter," Lucille said, attempting to throw a little humour into the mix.

He smiled at her. "You seem to know more than me. I thought I knew stuff, but everything I knew got thrown away."

"You just have to believe that everything will work out in the way that it is supposed to," Lucille advised.

"What if the way it is 'supposed' to work out isn't how I want it to work out?"

"Then it'll be hard for a while, but everything will be okay in the end."

* * *

On Monday morning, Gabriella was in the kitchen chewing on a bite of banana when her cell phone beeped with a text message. She picked it up from the bench in front of her, reading the screen, and scoffed.

"What is it?" Ryan asked from his place at the table with coffee and toast in front of him.

"It's Troy. He asked if I need a ride. He won't _talk_ to me, but he's asking if I need a ride to school?" her tone was somewhat incredulous.

"Maybe that's his way of saying he wants to talk?" he suggested.

She shook her head. "No. It's too short for that. He said 'You need a ride?' and that is it. If he was feeling inclined to talk, he would've at least said good morning or something first." Ryan gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't need a ride, do I?"

"I don't think it'll be out of the way for me to take you," he said jokingly.

"Just making sure. I could call Taylor, if you wanted time to say goodbye to Chase..." Gabriella began to say, knowing that on their way to school they'd be detouring via the city to drop off Chase for his bus.

"It's fine. We'll uh... say our goodbye here properly, you know," Ryan said delicately.

Gabriella smiled. "I understand.

"Speak of the devil," Ryan said, spying Chase having appeared from his shower. He'd carried his duffel bag down with him and set it down in the corner of the room. "I made you coffee."

Chase smiled appreciatively, accepting the outstretched cup. "Thank you."

"How many classes do you miss this morning?" Gabriella asked.

"Just the one, but it's okay, I'm on top of everything and I e-mailed my professor with apologies," Chase said.

"You don't have to defend yourself for missing class to me," Gabriella said.

"You just don't seem like the class skipping type," Chase remarked.

"I'm not," she said. "But I'm not going to judge you for it. Especially if you've made effort to ensure you've managed the scenario."

"I'm giving Gabriella a ride to school so she'll be coming with us to the bus station," Ryan told Chase.

He nodded. "I figured as much."

"You might be the wrong people to be asking, but do I look okay?" Gabriella asked, glancing down at her outfit. She'd teamed a pair of skinny jeans with a new blouse she'd bought the day before during their retail therapy shopping expedition.

"Why does it matter?" Chase asked bluntly. "Planning to get Troy to talk to you because he's feeling attracted to you?"

She pursed her lips, confessing, "It can't hurt," before pausing and sighing and elaborating. "It's more than that though. It's nice when you're feeling like crap to at least know that you look okay. It's superficial but it's like on a certain level it helps me to get through the day. And especially when it's because of me and Troy fighting. It feels like everyone looks differently at me. Especially... some of the girls who are into Troy. It just helps me to go about my day with all the people giving me funny looks if know that I look okay."

Gabriella was many things – remarkably intelligent, academically driven. She was also, at heart, just a girl, a girl with the same sorts of insecurities as other girls. It had been unnerving while she and Troy had been on their break – it was hard enough coping with the shift they'd caused to their immediate social group, without dealing with the looks and whispers of the wider student population. It reminded Gabriella of why she generally preferred to live a quiet existence, why she didn't need her relationship to be one at the centre of school gossip.

Ryan moved over to give her a half hug, and pronounce with affirmation, "You look beautiful."

* * *

A few blocks away on the other side of the same neighbourhood, Troy was experiencing a bout of similar nerves. Sending her the text message had been nerve wracking enough as it was, and that was only a few words. But it was a few words of importance – he still loved her, and of course he cared for her, and he wasn't about to leave her stranded somewhere. But he wasn't keen on the idea of sitting with her in an enclosed space with no getaway, not even for the short period of time that it took to drive from her house to school.

When he arrived at school, he already spotted Ryan's Audi in the parking lot. Between Ryan's Audi and Sharpay's Mustang it would be easy to make him feel a bit inferior in his beat up truck, however it was their cars that looked a bit ridiculous among the high school parking lot and the types of cars that an average teen in Albuquerque drove. He was still far away when he spotted Gabriella among their group of friends, and he hesitated, not sure how to handle the situation. They'd only just emerged from this exact same place – the land of discomfort and awkward encounters, not being quite sure how to deal with her in public, not wanting to place their group of friends into a predicament. And so he took a deep breath and headed toward the group, greeting them as per normal – most of them, anyway. As for Gabriella, he settled upon a curt nod when he caught her line of vision, not wanting to ignore her entirely. She gave him a tiny, tight smile in return. There was a bit of tension in the air but as far as their friends were concerned, if Troy and Gabriella were going to pretend for their sakes that things were okay then they'd go along with it. Anything to keep the peace.

"Ready for our trig quiz today?" Troy asked Paula, jumping up onto the edge of the fountain beside where she and Marcus were standing.

She grimaced. "Ready? Does that imply that I've studied?"

Troy laughed. "I hope not, coz that'll mean I'm not ready."

"I thought you were gonna study after I left yesterday?" Chad said.

Troy grimaced. "Yeah, that was the plan, but then the President needed me to save his daughter."

Chad laughed. "Nice."

"Troy!"

Troy glanced up warily, spotting his father approaching. He grimaced, and glanced around. None of his friends were violating any sort of school rule that he could see of, the bell hadn't rang- and so according to the unofficial rules established of school hours being teacher and student and not father and son, there was no reason Troy could think of for his father to be communicating with him before school with his peers around him.

"What?" Troy said warily.

Jack wordlessly produced some pages he'd just printed from the computer, handing them over for Troy to read. Among all of the drama of the weekend, Troy had entirely forgotten the importance of Monday in the context of his basketball career; and even his father's presence infiltrating their group didn't jog his realisation. It was a list of alphabetical names. Troy glanced down the list – his own name leaping out at him.

"What's this?" he said a little dumbly, not having read the header properly.

Chad leaned over. "Dude. You're on the shortlist!"

"Shortlist?" Troy repeated, focusing his attention back to the top. "The McDonalds All-American!"

The McDonald's All-American Game was an all-star basketball game, where the top students around the country are selected to play an exhibition game, the East versus the West. Troy was very well aware of the associated prestige just with being featured on the shortlist.

Jack smiled proudly – the smile of not only a coach, but of a parent. "It's the top 100 shortlist. It's an enormous privilege Troy, whether you get selected for the side or not."

A sea of congratulations were declared around him, Troy barely aware of whose hand he was shaking or who was hugging him. He remained clutching to the list, and when it seemed the congratulations had slowed down, he was left to stare at it in bewilderment once again, almost wondering if there was some sort of error.

"Is this right?" Troy asked his father. "You're sure? It's not some sort of forgery?"

Jack grinned broadly. "It's one hundred percent legitimate."

"I uh... I honestly didn't expect it. I mean, I know I'm not a terrible player but I didn't think I was... you know... quite _here."_

"I thought you had a shot of making the shortlist, but I was never certain," Jack confessed. He grinned, clapping Troy on the back. "Anyway, we should get the teams announced by the end of the week. Whatever happens – I'm proud."

It was one of the rare moments where Troy allowed for Jack Bolton the presence to appear at school unprotected.

"Thanks, Coach."

The warning bell rang, breaking up the moment and causing Jack to slip away, after one final congratulatory pat on the back for his son. Troy's group began to disperse, those who weren't in their homeroom heading in other directions and the group who were all in Darbus's classroom trickling along in their usual direction. Troy remained rooted for an additional moment, still a little in shock, staring at his name on the page – never before had his own name struck him in such a fashion.

"Come on Troy. Ms. Darbus doesn't wait for anyone, not even potential McDonald's All American players," Kelsi's soft voice interjected through his thought pattern.

He gave her a smile, Kelsi's arm looping through his as she pulled him toward the main entrance to the school.

"Sorry. I'm a little in shock," he admitted. "I know you probably don't know much about this competition."

"I don't, but I get that it's a big deal," Kelsi returned. "It's one thing to be considered good here in Albuquerque but being acknowledged beyond our little existence? That's huge."

He nodded. "Exactly."

The rest of the walk was silent – Troy still in his own reverie. He didn't want to get his hopes up, for he knew that there was a long way between the shortlist and actually making one of the sides. But he couldn't help but ponder to himself just how this could change things for him, whether it would open up any more opportunities, if he could expect any more phone calls from college scouts. Certainly there was no definite correlation between college ball success and the McDonald's All American but the statistics were clear – almost every year since the inception of the prestigious high school competition, the eventual winning team of the NCAA competition had at least one player who had competed at that elite high school level. The statistics were on his side.

He was so busy allowing his thoughts to run rampant that he didn't notice his girlfriend – they might be in a weird place somewhere between a fight and a break but she was still his girlfriend – leaning against the wall just before their homeroom door.

"Troy," she said softly.

Kelsi cleared her throat, dropping Troy's arm. "Excuse me," she said quietly, slipping past and into the classroom.

Troy stared at Gabriella. He couldn't read her expression. There had been a time where the emotion on her face had read almost like an open book, however he was finding it increasingly difficult to comprehend her thoughts.

"Uh... I don't think this is the time..." he began to say.

She held up her hand. "I just wanted to say congratulations," she said sincerely.

He cocked his head, and responded with a somewhat awkward, "Uh, thanks?" He hadn't failed to notice that among all of the congratulations outside, hers had not been one of them. In fact she'd remained hanging back from the group as everyone had gathered around him.

"No, seriously Troy. I... no matter what has happened between us, I know how amazing that is for you. I know what an honour it is."

Despite all of his uncertainties about her thoughts and emotions; in that moment, he could read the most important one – sincerity. Gabriella had been nervous – she had to say something, despite all that had been said Troy was such an integral figure in her life and such an important moment in his life had bearing and affect not only upon him but upon her too. She didn't know how to articulate her pride without overstepping the bounds, she didn't know how to make sure that he could comprehend her excitement for him without creating any additional awkwardness.

He swallowed. The sincerity in her tone was touching – other than Chad and his father, he suspected that Gabriella was the only other person who really understood. Certainly, she didn't quite know the details of the McDonalds All American but she'd heard him reference it and she knew that being shortlisted spoke volumes of his talent. Even if he didn't progress any further, it stamped him as someone to look out for when it came to the NCAA and his college basketball career.

He nodded. "I know you get it," he said quietly. "And... thanks. Again."

She returned his nod, before ducking her head and moving into the classroom in silence. It wasn't exactly what she'd envisaged as their first communication – but somehow, the unexpected had served to alleviate the tension somewhat. They'd found a way to communicate, a way to exist, to tap into the bonds of their friendship and push aside the maybe's and the question's that floated around them until they were both willing and able to face them.

* * *

"Um... so... you know how my mom found out I was seeing you?" Sharpay said tentatively to Zeke.

"Um... yeah..." Zeke said slowly, the nervousness in her tone serving to instil a fear in him.

"Well, I told my father."

Zeke's eyes widened. His personal encounters with Vance Evans had been relatively pleasant but given Ryan's encounters, he couldn't help but be wary of the man, in particular given that Sharpay was a daddy's girl.

"You told your father?" Zeke repeated. "What did you tell him, exactly?"

"Well see, after the show on Saturday night, Daddy was introduced to Chase."

Zeke's eyes widened. "Shit!"

"Anyway, that's not the point," Sharpay continued. "The point is that after this happened he was a bit thrown, as you can imagine. So I kind of figured if there was going to be a good time to tell him I had a boyfriend, that was it – while he was a bit distracted, you know?"

Zeke blinked. There had been a lot of information in her revelation – however the first response that blurted out of his mouth was simple.

"Boyfriend?"

"Huh?"

"Is that what I am? Your boyfriend?"

Sharpay twitched, and hesitated. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Are you?"

Zeke scratched the back of his head. "Do you want me to be?"

"I've never really had a boyfriend before."

"Weren't you going out with that guy over summer a couple of years ago?"

She shrugged. "That was more of a... a fling, I guess might be the word."

"And what we have... is more than that?" he asked carefully, slowly.

"I don't know. Is that what you want?" Sharpay asked.

When it came to their relationship, Zeke had pretty much adopted the approach of letting Sharpay take the lead, to wait for her signals – as subtle as they sometimes were – to guide him as to what she was ready for. However there were times when a push was what she needed.

"Sharpay, you _know_ that I want everything you're willing to give me."

"Do I really? Just because you had a crush on me for a long time before I agreed to go out with you? That doesn't mean anything. If you want to be my boyfriend, and for me to be your girlfriend, you have to ask me, don't you think?"

"I guess in my brain I kinda already thought of you that way. I mean... we've gone on quite a few dates now, and neither of us is seeing anyone else..."

"Well I'm not exactly a mind reader," Sharpay pointed out a little testily, before softening and adding, "So perhaps I still need for you to spell it out."

Zeke blinked. "What like... ask you to be my girlfriend in a totally junior high way?"

"Yes."

Zeke closed his eyes momentarily – thinking to himself that he would've pegged her to be the kind to label the sentence he was about to utter as being lame. However if this was what she wanted – then this was what she got.

"Sharpay... will you be my girlfriend?" Zeke uttered the words softly. Words that he'd dreamed about for so long as being something he could ask her without having some sort of cold liquid thrown in his face or a violent verbal slur snapped in retort.

Sharpay's reaction was not one congruent to a typical Sharpay reaction. There were no dramatics or loud exclamations. Instead, she simply smiled, nodded, and spoke one word.

"Yes."

* * *

The news of the McDonalds All-American shortlist ignited a fuel within Troy to put in some extra off season training hours, providing a coincidental and convenient means to head to the gym over lunch and the free period that followed lunch. He slipped into final period drama just as the bell rang, hair still a little wet from the shower he'd just taken. After Ms. Darbus gushed to the class about how well the extravaganza had turned out on Saturday, they turned to their texts, starting a new unit that day with a largely theoretical based lesson. The yearbook committee was meeting immediately after school, providing Gabriella with a quick getaway – to her disappointment. She almost wished she had a reason to loiter, to force another interaction. Their brief interactions in their common classes had been quiet but amicable – almost as though they didn't know one another. Pleasant, little familiarity.

However one common glance was all it took for the waves of familiarity to come crashing back.

Physics was third period on Tuesday, with a free period between Physics and lunch. Troy had his things packed up precisely two minutes before the bell rang – not packing up so early that he'd get in trouble, but not leaving it so late that he could get caught in a moment of awkward silence with Gabriella.

However Gabriella was also on it – she too had quickly packed up. Troy was out the door and he'd fallen into step with a couple of other guys in the class who were also looking for a quick getaway to enjoy every moment of sweet freedom that free period provided. But it took Gabriella just a moment to dart after them, grabbing onto Troy's arm from behind. He jerked a little at the sensation of her soft touch against his skin, looking at her sharply.

"I thought you were going to the yearbook office with Taylor and Martha," he said, a little dumbly.

"Um, yeah I am. But before that... um... can we talk a second?" she said hesitantly.

He glanced at his buddies. "I'll catch up," he said simply, and allowed Gabriella to pull him aside. She didn't bother finding an empty classroom or to lead him up to the rooftop so he already knew she really wasn't going to be trying to initiate an in depth conversation there and then – which he was grateful for.

"What are you doing after school?" she asked.

"Uh, I actually have my job interview at Smith's," Troy said truthfully, not lying. He almost felt pleased with himself - an excuse to blow her of that legitimately wasn't an excuse of any description. It was the truth.

She looked down. "Oh," she said, her voice downcast. "I'd forgotten about that. Good luck," she added as an afterthought, tone genuine.

He nodded. "Thanks." He paused, before asking, "Why?"

"Um... I was going to ask if you wanted to get together, to um... you know, talk?"

Her tone was questioning. It was evident that it was she who wanted to talk, and he who wasn't quite there – and she was well aware of it.

"Aren't we talking now?" he said in an awkward joking tone, deflecting the topic for a moment – a necessary moment he needed to contemplate.

She gave him a look. "A proper talk," she unnecessarily clarified.

Troy sighed. "I don't know, Gabriella... has anything really changed?"

"I don't know... I just feel like we should talk though. But not here." She swallowed. "Troy, what we have... I think we're both on the same page that we don't wanna just like, let it wither and die. Not talking right now... it seems like it's the worst thing that we could possibly do. That's been the problem all along, not talking – which I accept is mostly my fault, so I'm trying to do things right now."

He sighed. She had a fair point – and he was certainly in agreement that he wasn't ready to let go of things.

"Um.. okay... I guess maybe we could talk," he agreed, somewhat warily. He wasn't sure what they really had left to talk about at that point, but he wasn't sure how he could refuse.

"Can you come over after your interview?" she suggested.

Troy paused. Coming over to her house seemed a little confrontational to him. The last time he'd been there, the conversation hadn't been productive. A more controlled environment seemed ideal, somewhere neutral, somewhere that would prevent loud argument from taking place. He tried to figure out a happy medium. Ice-cream somehow seemed too fun in his brain, getting together for dinner was too long of a commitment in terms of time.

"Could we meet somewhere? Like, somewhere neutral? Maybe like..." he paused, contemplating, before deciding, " Starbucks? After dinner? Do you think your mom would be okay with you going out?"

"Um, I could talk to her. She'd probably be okay if I'm not too late."

Gabriella on the other hand wasn't sure about the public idea - on some level it was bright, in public meant they couldn't start arguing and that perhaps it would force a more rational, logical conversation. However maybe they simply had to get through the arguing and fighting in order to get through their problems, maybe things had just been having the guise of being perfect for too long and it was like all of the problems, big and small, that they'd had over the last year needed to be voiced and perhaps through a series of shouting matches and tears and anger was the way that they had to happen. But she'd take whatever he was giving at that point, and so if he wanted public, he'd get public.

"Okay. Um, do you want me to pick you up?" he asked, more so out of politeness than anything. The actual thought of riding with her seemed a little awkward.

Gabriella hesitated. She didn't know about being reliant upon him for a ride. What if things didn't go well? She couldn't very well storm out.

"I'll get a ride myself," she said quietly, not citing her reasons.

They made the arrangements – to meet at 8pm at the Starbucks on Central unless either of them texted any differently. They both were pretty sure their parents would agree, especially when the purpose of the meeting was to see each other.

"Okay great... um... thanks," Gabriella said.

They stood silent in the hallway, the unsaid raging to be unsaid. She took a step toward him, now standing a little closer to him than she would with regular rules of personal space being dictated. She softly squeezed his upper arm, seeking some sort of contact

"I miss you," she squeaked out quietly, nervously.

It had only been a few days since things had been 'normal.' They'd only actually had one day where they hadn't seen one another – Sunday.

It felt like longer.

Troy closed his eyes, swallowing. She was standing so close to him that he could smell that unique fragrance she emitted – subtle, light, a mixture of her spray on deodorant, shampoo and body wash and the remnants which remained throughout the day. The sensation of her soft touch against his arm felt almost normal.

Almost.

It had only been a couple of months earlier that they'd been away on winter vacation in Breckenridge, playfully interacting and sneaking kisses, him giving her a promise ring which she had accepted.

The ring remained on her right ring finger.

So much had happened and at the same time, very little had happened. It wasn't about what had happened, but rather, about the realities of the future that lay ahead setting in. Truths which had always been truths being uncovered and revealed.

"I miss you too," he returned, the harsh edge to his tone which he'd used when communicating with her over the last day or so softening.

He did miss her. He missed kissing her, holding her, whispering by her ear, slipping his hand into hers as they walked down the corridor. But they couldn't wipe away the revelations of the weekend, they weren't marker on a whiteboard, there was no eraser. It didn't matter how much he missed her and how much she missed him, it didn't matter if she just wanted things to go back to normal.

Troy couldn't help but fear that perhaps, for better or worse, normal would never exist in the same way it had before.

* * *

At 5pm, Troy came barrelling up his front pathway, his key slipping inside the lock to open the front door. He kicked his black leather shoes off inside the front door. He'd worn a nicer pair of jeans to school that day and taken a dress shirt and a pair of black leather dress shoes to change into for his interview. He could hear the television in the living room, and followed the sound. His mother had the ironing board and a pile of clothing out and ABC Family was on – a repeat of Gilmore Girls was showing. Lucille had been watching, however her undivided attention was given to Troy when he collapsed into the arm chair.

"Well?" Lucille said expectantly.

"Well what?" Troy said innocently.

She rolled her eyes and teased, "Well, do we get an employee discount on our groceries?"

Troy laughed. "Maybe. Since you are looking at the newest employee of Smith's."

She grinned broadly, immediately embracing her son in a hug. "I knew you'd get it! Congratulations, sweetheart."

"You'd better not squish anyone's bread by packing it underneath soda bottles or you won't be there very long," Jack's joking voice came from the kitchen where he'd overheard the exchange. He came into the lounge area holding onto a glass of water and a carrot.

Troy glanced around, not having realised his dad was there, and smirked. "I do have some brains... that, and I've been shopping with mom and seen her complain about the way checkout chicks pack."

"I am not that bad!" Troy and Jack simultaneously gave her a look. "There was only that one time, but the boy put a hot chicken with the ice-cream, put two bottles of soda in with the eggs – it's common sense!"

"Anyway, I don't know if I'll be packing grocery bags. See, coz I actually had my interview with the store manager because I'd applied for a bunch of departments. He basically said that they're hiring for shelf stackers and register operators and also produce guys and he seemed to think I'd fit in well in any of the three so they'd wait and see what other applicants they hire before they definitely slot me in anywhere. But the job is definite... look..." Troy picked up the backpack he'd slung onto the floor beside him and undid the zipper, to proudly produce a beige button up shirt with short sleeves and the Smith's logo proudly above the shirt pocket. "I've got induction on Saturday."

Jack couldn't help himself but make sure that Troy had remembered to discuss his availability. "And you talked about college visits and the potential for being away for the..."

"Yes," Troy interrupted his father, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "I did. I was a bit worried about it but Marcello – that's the manager – he was fine with it. He's got a kid who plays basketball at Grand Middle School and they've come to our games and stuff. That's why they've been really cool with Chad getting time off too."

"Sounds like a pretty ideal workplace. Did you talk about how many shifts you'd be doing?" Jack asked.

"Probably only two or three, it depends which department they put me in. I think the shelf packers usually have longer shifts but then I'd do less in a week, or something. I don't know. They're pretty flexible with students, whatever we're available to do."

"I'm so happy it worked out," Lucille said. "I never doubted it though. I'm even making one of your favourites for dinner to celebrate. Maybe we could go out for ice-cream after dinner too?"

Normally Troy might've made a comment about how he wasn't eight and going out with your parents for ice-cream was so not cool; however he instead hesitated at her comment.

"Um actually... I was gonna ask if it's cool with you guys if I go out for an hour or so after dinner?" he asked casually.

"Why?" Lucille asked, eyebrows raised.

"Um, I'm gonna go for coffee with Gabriella."

"Coffee? You?" Jack snorted.

"With Gabriella?" Lucille repeated, focusing on a different part of the statement.

"It'll probably be hot chocolate," he said, responding to his father, before avoiding his mother's eye contact but answering, "Um, yeah. To talk about... stuff."

Jack and Lucille exchanged a look.

"If you're home by curfew, that shouldn't be a problem," Lucille said carefully.

Troy nodded. "Okay cool. Thanks. I don't think we'll be out very late anyway."

* * *

Gabriella arrived at the Starbucks early. That was in her nature, to be early, although Elena had commented when Gabriella had wanted to leave home at 7:30 that it was earlier than necessary. Elena was a little sceptical about whether the meeting should be taking place at all but she wasn't about to interfere in her daughter's life; all she could do was be supportive. Gabriella stood outside the store for a moment, contemplating what to do - if she should order, if she should wait for him, if she should stand outside or sit down inside. It wasn't very busy; she spotted one of the couches in the back corner and wanted to grab it while it was free, and so decided to just go ahead and order and wait for him.

Troy didn't arrive much later - she'd only just sat down with her hot cocoa and double chocolate muffin when he arrived. She waved at him a little awkwardly when she sat him standing in the doorway glancing around. It wasn't the first time that they'd 'had coffee' together but it wasn't quite the kind of place where he felt comfortable. They were the youngest people in there, particularly at that time of night. He spotted her wave, and with a deep breath, he stepped over to her.

"Um, I hope you don't mind, I already ordered something..." she said hesitantly.

He shook his head. "That's cool. Um, I might just get a drink? I'll be a minute."

They'd never really been 'awkward' before. It wasn't really a dynamic that they'd experienced. Fighting felt more natural, somehow. Awkward was something all together. Attempting to be normal, but just not able to quite get there. He wasn't sure how to act, whether the fact that he'd agreed to meet with her meant that he was accepting that they were trying to get things on track. Perhaps it was more about what he felt that he _should_ be doing – should be doing to fix things – rather than what he _wanted_ to be doing. And he didn't even really know what he wanted, anyway. To tell her to hell with it, let's just go with the flow so he could kiss her and enjoy the rest of senior year the way she wanted them to be able to do.

Troy wasn't really capable of that, though.

He came back with his own hot cocoa and he then contemplated where to sit - across from her, beside her on the couch. He opted for the arm chair which was just to her left and turned a little, with the couch and the arm chair both focused at a round coffee table in front of them. Sitting beside her somehow seemed too intimate.

"Thank you for agreeing to come," Gabriella said quietly.

Troy chuckled lightly. "It sounds like we have a business meeting, or something."

"It almost feels like that. Discussing the terms and conditions of our relationship," she said, attempting to make a joke of the situation.

"And discussing future... endeavours..." he went along, but frowned and cut himself off. He wasn't at the place of being able to joke about it - not yet, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever really be there.

"So. Here we are."

"Here we are," she agreed.

Gabriella was sitting forward on the couch, not able to relax back against the cushions. She was clutching onto her now warm cocoa mug, fingers tense. She needed to be holding onto that mug – if she wasn't she'd be fidgeting with something else, her ring, her hair, her shirt, anything to attempt to mask her nerves.

It wasn't the first time that Troy had made her feel nervous, but the nerves he'd previously instilled in her had been good nerves, nerves that preceded dates and kisses and numerous other firsts.

"Tell me about that song that was your ring tone."

Troy's even tone – void of any positive or negative emotion – cut through her thoughts. She blinked. It was the last question she would've picked to open the conversation.

"Defying Gravity?" she queried, needing to be sure of what he meant.

"Yes."

"What do you mean, tell you about it?"

Troy swallowed. "On Saturday night you... you were singing with this... with such truth, and such honesty. That song you picked for your solo is like, okay, I get what you're saying there. But Defying Gravity... that song is about... the way you connected with your lyrics..."

"It was just a song, Troy."

"No, it wasn't. Don't try to tell me that." Troy wasn't buying that suggestion, under no circumstances. "You were singing about 'flying solo' and... and..." he trailed off, not able to finish the train of thought.

"I felt so messed up on Saturday, like... like my emotions were a ping pong ball, going back and forth. One minute I was angry at myself, upset, crying, thinking that I'd screwed up everything and it was my fault and that I just wanted you and I'd do whatever it took to get you back. But then sometimes my anger was... it was different."

"Anger at me?"

She paused, took a sip of her drink, and then nodded. She was hanging her head, somewhat ashamed of admitting it. "Yes," she confessed.

"What for?" He wasn't mad or disappointed at her anger, nor was he defensive. He genuinely needed to know what was at the root of her upset.

In the spirit of open communication, Gabriella took a breath and decided upon the truth – no gloss.

"I felt like you were giving me some sort of ultimatum. Like you were completely unwilling to try to see things from my point of view and that if I couldn't shift to yours then there was no way that you'd be willing to compromise or even try to work through things."

"I don't like that term... ultimatum," Troy said quietly. "I don't believe in ultimatums."

"Neither do I, but that was how I felt, at times. When you say that you're okay with me not choosing Stanford, I can _hear_ in your voice, I can read your expression – that deep down, you don't get it. You don't get why I would choose a different school."

Troy shook his head stubbornly. "Not true. I do get it."

She sighed. "I don't know if I believe that," she said honestly. "I can't help but feel what I feel. And I feel... at my moments of feeling angry at you, I felt suffocated... like... you were trying to back me into a corner, agree to something I wasn't ready to agree to."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Agree to something? What? Stanford?"

"Partly."

He swallowed. "Commitment in general?"

She swallowed. "Maybe." Her brazen moment of candidness was already wearing thin.

"Gabi, I do get your point of view. But the problem is that your point of view and my point of view clash a bit. I don't..." Troy hesitated, and bit his lip. "I'm scared. I'm scared because I'm not seeing room for compromise here. I'm scared because this area where we see us differently... it's kind of critical. And if we can't get on the same page... I don't know if... I don't think... maybe..." He couldn't finish that train of thought.

"Please don't talk about that," Gabriella said, her brown eyes glossy with burgeoning tears, voice cracking. "Please... I... you just said that you don't believe in ultimatums. Which means there's gotta be a way to figure this out. I... need you Troy."

"I'm hearing mixed messages from you. I don't get where you sit. You'll wear a ring of promise to me, but you tell me that I'm not your whole world? But you need me? Maybe... maybe you just need me a little less than I need you."

"Don't say that either."

"I'm speaking what I feel to be the truth. I can't help how I feel," he said, using her own catchphrase and throwing it back at her.

"I think... I'm sending you mixed messages because I'm feeling mixed messages."

"There are only two things that matter here, Gabi. The first is whether you love me, and the second is whether you love me enough to say that you're willing to commit to a long distance relationship if that's what it come to. It's not that complicated."

"It's so simple to you, but for me, it's not. I'm scared, Troy, and it's a fear that I don't know if I'm able to overcome it."

"All fears can be overcome," Troy said boldly – in Gabriella's opinion, naively.

"I need you to understand that it isn't you that I'm afraid of committing to. It isn't about you or us. When you use that phrase, 'long distance relationship'... it t terrifies me because I don't know if it's something that I can do. And the idea of what we have being some stereotype of trying to keep in touch but time went on and we get busy and drift apart... that terrifies me more than anything." As she spoke, she was picking at the muffin on the plate in front of her, tearing off tiny morsels of crumb. "Whether we both be in California or me in Massachusetts or if you decide to defer your scholarship and go backpacking in south east Asia. I'm afraid for us. I've spent years moving around the country and I've never maintained a friendship with anyone, nonetheless a relationship. And I _know_ that you're going to say that you and I are different and deep down of course I know that's the case but it still terrifies me. Thinking about making plans for how to make our relationship work when we're apart scares me because that means that I have to accept that things are going to change. Even if I went to Stanford, things aren't going to be easy." She wiped her fingers on the napkin, and picked up the mug again.

"I never thought they would be."

"Never, ever would it be intentional; but I've heard so many stories. You have less time together and you meet new people and maintaining the fire becomes a chore and... and that petrifies me more than anything in the world."

"So much that you'd contemplate... that we shouldn't try? Is that how strong the fear is?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "That's the part that scares me. It scares me that I don't know. I keep thinking logically and then I try to remove logic from it and then all I feel is that I don't want to be any further from you than I have to be; but then I think that there's something wrong with being that dependent on you, and dependant on us. The idea that I'm so reliant upon _us_ that I couldn't handle a long distance relationship... that in itself scares me Troy. I'm not sure if I'm ready to be that person."

"That's love, Gabriella! That's a part of love. There's nothing wrong with being in love... with living our lives in love."

"Love is being so dependent on someone that you give away your dreams?"

"How is you going to Stanford giving away your dreams?" Troy asked incredulously. "Like... unless I'm missing something. Unless there's some deeper connection to MIT or Boston that I don't know about..."

"MIT is technically in Cambridge..." she quietly interrupted him.

"Whatever," he cut in, not allowing her deflection of the topic at hand to lead the conversation astray. "You know what I mean. Like, I hear you when you say there's differences and you talk about majors and accelerated programs and I hear you on all that. But at the crux, if your dream was to study medicine, can you do it by going to Stanford?"

"I don't know if I want to study medicine anymore," she admitted.

Troy's eyes widened, but he didn't allow his verbal reaction to be one of surprise. He reigned it back in, and asked simply, "Then what?"

"Right now, I'm feeling more of the scientific research side. Which is, I think, why MIT is calling out to me." She was about to continue with a spiel about MIT but instead stopped, sensing he didn't really care.

"If MIT is calling out to you, then go there," he insisted. "But... I don't know if I can handle the wondering while you decide what you going to MIT is going to mean for us. You can say that makes me impatient and demanding and I'll take it."

"I'm a person who has a process. I can't contemplate my ability to commit to a long distance relationship until I know for certain if that's the scenario that's going to arise. I'm going to Stanford to visit, using some of my college fund money – and the fact that that doesn't mean something to you, well, that kinda offends me, Troy."

"To me, you're deciding between two colleges and if you go to one you'll make a go of it, and if you choose the other, well, who knows whether I'll factor into your life?"

"It's not like that!"

"It is like that," he said sadly. "You just don't see it from the perspective of the guy who is left not knowing where he stands."

"Can't we just... can't we just live in this moment and worry about tomorrow when it's tomorrow?" she pleaded with him. This had been all she'd wanted to do from the very beginning of senior year, throughout all they'd experienced. Even earlier than senior year, facing the future had been a daunting task, once she was happy to place into a box marked 'deal with later.' "I... I love you. I can't imagine going through the rest of my time at East High without you right here next to me."

"You think I can imagine us not being us? Going to class, hanging out, and not being able to touch you and hug you and kiss you?" Troy's voice cracked slightly.

The imagery frightened him. If a few days was as difficult as it had been, the notion of continuing as they had been for the next few months until graduation was mortifying. He couldn't forsee things becoming easier – rather that time apart from her would merely exacerbate the pain and longing.

"Then... then let's just... let's just let the moment _be."_

"I don't know if I can do that. Go through until graduation being happy and blissful with you, but with the uncertainty hanging over my head. I'm not asking you to sign your name in blood, I'm asking for your commitment to giving us a shot, however we have to do it. And if you can't do that... then I don't think I can keep putting my everything into this." He swallowed. "I need time to think and so do you. Think about... think about what you really want from us next year."

"So you're saying that if I can't unequivocally guarantee you that I'm going to want to be in a long distance relationship if I go to MIT, then... then what? We... that' s it? We're over?"

The words stung, the pain in her voice stung.

Troy swallowed. "I think so."

"I thought you said you didn't believe in ultimatums."

"It's not about it being an ultimatum. It's reality."

They fell silent, only the contemporary easy listening music and some chattering in the background. Gabriella's muffin had been hardly eaten and instead shredded into crumbs. In simultaneous motion, they both picked up their drinks, taking a sip, masking the silence. Gabriella's lower lip was trembling. In all of the fights and disagreements they'd had, never had it come this close to the reality that sometimes, relationships don't work. They'd been tucked away in their cosy corner where 'forever' is an intangible notion that is naively believed in.

"So what now?" Gabriella asked, voice tiny.

"You go to California this weekend... and you decide," Troy said simply.

Her eyes widened. "You think it's that simple?"

"You can take longer to decide if you need."

"And in the mean time? Until I decide?"

Troy was quiet. "I don't know. But... I know I can't pretend everything is fine. I can't act like it's cool when in reality, any minute a decision from you could end it all."

"What if I don't know until I'm there, living it?"

"Then you give me a call."

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh. "You cannot be serious."

"How about you just start with going to Stanford and talking to whoever you're going to talk to, and we go from there?"

"What if... what if I don't accept this? What if I think you're being ridiculous?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

"Then you can think that, but we're not going to come to agreement," Troy said frankly.

Gabriella picked up her mug and sipped the final liquid from the bottom.

"I think that's all there is to be said now," she said softly. The truth was that she was struggling to hold back the tears and continuing was only going to make holding them back impossible.

"I guess so."

She pushed back the muffin plate – it was destroyed, there was nothing left to be recovered from the wreckage of crumbs – and picked up her jacket and purse from the couch. Troy left his own mug, he'd only about half consumed his drink but making the most of his dollar was the last thing on his mind.

"Gabi..." he said softly. "You do get it, don't you? Why this... why I can't just 'live in the moment' and whatever else that you want?"

She did get it. She knew, deep down, that she was being naive in suggesting that it could be done. She craved the days of naive innocence. She looked up at him, looking him in the eye.

"I get it."

They headed out to the front of the store, emerging from the warmth of the heater to the chill of the night air.

"Let me drive you home," he said, not questioning her, but rather telling her.

She hesitated – about to insist that she was going to call Ryan – but instead decided to just go with it, and she nodded in agreement.

They didn't speak. Troy switched on the radio and the nightly top 40 filled the silence of the ten minute drive. Gabriella shot off a quick text to Ryan letting him know Troy was driving her home, so he didn't need to continue to be on the lookout for her summons to collect her. It was only when Troy pulled up outside of her house – a parking spot his truck knew almost as well as his parking spot at school or his parking spot at home – and cut the engine that they turned to face one another.

"What do we do tomorrow?" Gabriella asked quietly. "How do we... are we... is this..."

"Tomorrow, we'll be two friends – two best friends – who are taking some time to figure things out," Troy said, attempting to sound wise and knowing of how to handle things.

"What does that mean?"

He swallowed. "I don't know, Gabriella. We play it by ear, I guess."

She nodded. "Right. Okay. Play it by ear." It wasn't an ideal plan, but it was the best they could do within the constrictions of the current dynamic.

"I'll walk you to your door," Troy insisted quietly.

She nodded, not able to argue. They headed up the front walkway in silence, without the usual playful banter or sneaky kisses that would usually accompany the walk. She arrived at her front door, fishing out her key, and placing it into the lock before turning back to face him. His hands were deep in his pockets, staring at the cement. Finally he looked up, and at her vulnerable expression.

"I'm so scared, Troy," she whispered.

"I'm scared too."

"What if..."

He drew a finger to her lips. "Go to Stanford. Figure it out. Go from there. That's the plan."

He leaned over, placing a soft, chaste kiss to her lips, before turning to walk back down the pathway.

He'd placed all of the power and control in her hands.

And he'd never felt more terrified in his life.


	52. Chapter 51

**The Someday Trilogy: This Moment**

**Chapter 51**

_It's like you know just how I feel  
When you're gone I need to hear you calling out to me  
Save this moment  
I don't wanna stop it now  
I don't want for this to end  
Save this moment  
I wanna find out how  
The story starts, where it ends_

**John O'Callaghan and Betsie Larkin – 'Save This Moment'**

* * *

The flight back from California was quiet. It was late Sunday afternoon; Gabriella, Taylor and Elena were on a direct flight from San Francisco International Airport to Albuquerque, via United Airlines. It had been a packed three days for the trio. Their trip earlier in the year to Boston had been a business trip for Elena and the girls had been left mostly to their own devices. But this time around, for Elena the trip to California was purely social, no work related activities or functions, so she had been present almost every step of the way. Elena had fallen asleep almost as soon as the flight home had departed and they were comfortably at cruising altitude. As for Taylor and Gabriella, they were exhausted, physically, but their minds were active, both girls filled with contemplative thought.

For Taylor it was a little simpler – Stanford University was the first campus she'd been at, other than Harvard, where she'd been able to concede that she could see herself attending the facility. Her mind was finally coming to terms with a reality for her freshman year of college that could take place somewhere other than Cambridge, Massachusetts. Taylor had a fairly crystal clear thought process herself, a direct goal, and now a backup option that she was somewhat content with. Gabriella, on the other hand, was a step further back – trying to figure out what she wanted.

"What are you thinking?" Taylor said softly breaking the silence.

Gabriella glanced over at her mother, confirming that she had nodded off, before turning back to Taylor who was seated by the window.

"I'm thinking that I miss Troy," she spoke honestly.

"It must be scary having all the power of your relationship in your hands alone," Taylor commented.

It was a very true statement. Label it what he wanted, Troy had effectively handed her the control stick, the steering wheel, the power to make the decision.

"Troy is so... I don't know when it happened, but suddenly he became the one who is totally together and I'm the hopeless wreck. He knows exactly what he wants and none of it is unreasonable and I'm just this mess of emotions. A part of me thinks I just need to make a decision and stick with it and just let everything around it fall into place."

Taylor shrugged. "Sometimes that might be the best thing. I know you and I normally think rationally but... there is value to just going with your gut and sticking with it."

"My gut keeps changing though."

"Is it your gut though, or your... libido?" Taylor asked tactfully, voice lowering even quieter.

"Taylor!" Gabriella gasped, but then giggled slightly. She shook her head. "Not my libido. But I do feel like I have... I have days where I feel overwhelmed by love and this feeling of devotion where I'd follow him anywhere. But I also have days where my gut seems to listen to my brain more than my heart." Gabriella sighed, and then asked Taylor, "What about you? Your final conclusion?"

Taylor pursed her lips, before confessing quietly, "I know... I know that getting into Harvard isn't a guarantee. I was listening to Sharpay talk about Juilliard one day and it occurred to me that I must sound exactly how she does, just with Harvard. But I do know the statistics, I'm aware of the acceptance standards. It's not a lost cause, but it's not guaranteed. And so... If I don't get into Harvard and I have to go somewhere else... I'm hoping I get into Stanford."

Gabriella nodded. "I thought as much... just the fact that you wanted to come along for this trip alone made me think that."

"You know how you're talking about being confused between your brain and your heart?"

"Yeah?"

Taylor paused. "I can't lie to you – I could hope to get into Columbia, Yale, Brown, Cornell... but if I didn't get into Harvard, Stanford is my next choice and Chad is a large part of that. It's a nice thought to think that he could be a bus ride rather than a plane ride away."

Gabriella nodded. She more than understood that thought. The idea of living somewhere so far away from Troy that just to hug him, to touch him, she'd have to book a plane flight and go across the country – in itself that seemed daunting, without even getting to the point of contemplating how she could live without his perpetual support and the comfort of his presence on a daily basis. The latter was a reality that they would inevitably have to face, regardless of her decision.

"Can I be selfish?" Taylor said, cutting into Gabriella's thoughts. "If I get into Harvard, you have to go to MIT. But if I don't, then go to Stanford. I know that you're gonna have Ryan and Kelsi in New York which is practically next door with cheap bus fares... but they'll soon have new arty friends. And you and I need each other to make sure we don't get sucked into nerd-dom." Taylor smiled lightly at Gabriella. Her tone was joking, but there was truth to her plea, her plea that she and Gabriella should remain nearby.

Gabriella laughed lightly, feeling the tug at her heart. "Don't make this even harder. Troy factoring into my thoughts alone makes it hard enough. You and me, we'll be friends no matter what."

Taylor cocked her head. "You're confident in that, but you don't have that same confidence in you and Troy?"

Gabriella sighed, and groaned slightly. "Tell me what to do, Taylor," she implored. "Because tomorrow I have to walk back into East High and see him and he's going to look at me expectantly, that I should've made some sort of decision, and I just… I just don't know."

"I don't quite understand your fixation with MIT; but if it's the dream then you have to do it. But I would not judge you for letting Troy factor in if there's a part of you which thinks that maybe MIT isn't the dream."

"I don't know what the dream is," Gabriella murmured. "That's the problem."

"It isn't the white picket fence with the perfect boyfriend and a dog?"

"Don't tell anyone, but Troy likes cats more than dogs."

Taylor gave Gabriella a small smile. Troy always had been full of surprises. "His secret is safe with me."

* * *

Taylor's mother came to the airport to pick up the trio; it was just before 7pm when Gabriella and Elena were dropped off at their front door. The house was silent, even after just having been away for a few days it had that empty feeling that no one had been there for a few days. Ryan had spent the weekend at his parents' house, at his mother's insistence that he try a 'sleepover' and see how he and his father were able to co-exist. Gabriella dumped her suitcase in her room and then clomped back down the stairs where her mother was busy at work checking to see if they had sufficient supplies to get by for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning.

"Mom?" Gabriella said hesitantly. "I know we just got back but... can I go out?"

Elena's eyebrows furrowed. "Where do you want to... oh." She realised what a silly remark it was. She paused. "Are you sure you want to see him tonight? Maybe do you want to leave it until tomorrow, take some time to think tonight?"

"Um, no I want to see him before we go back to school," Gabriella said honestly.

"Do you know what you're going to say yet?"

"I... I don't know. I just know that I need to see him. Please. Pretty please." Gabriella didn't want to beg, and she understood her mother's concern, but she couldn't explicate it any clearer other than that she had an overwhelming desire to see him. She honestly didn't know what she was going to say, but she just had to see him.

"You can go, but you have to be home by 11," Elena warned carefully. "And please make sure that Lucille is okay with you being there, you do have school tomorrow."

"I will, I promise, thank you!"

Gabriella had felt extremely brave when she'd set out from her own house, her determination fuelling the quick pace of her brisk walk over. Elena had offered to drive her but Gabriella had insisted that she would be fine, it was only a few blocks and she still felt a bit cramped from the time on the plane and she was looking forward to stretching her legs on the walk. However as his house came into view, she felt the bravery dissipating and in its place, the nerves building up. To the point where she was on the side walk in front of Troy's house, pacing backwards and forwards across his driveway.

Just inside, Lucille had been straightening up in the front room and glanced out through the window overlooking the front yard, Gabriella's blue sweater capturing her attention. She frowned slightly, raising her eyebrows at the sight of the pacing young girl in the almost dark, bar the illumination of the streetlight. She went out to the back door, poking her head around the corner to glance into the backyard with no luck. She tried the garage next and surely enough, spied Jack, Troy and Chad all huddled over the engine of Troy's truck.

"Uh, Troy?"

"Yeah mama?" Troy said, a little distracted by the spanner in his hand.

"Uh... Gabriella is outside."

He looked up sharply, questioning whether he'd heard her correctly. "Huh?"

"She's pacing on the driveway," Lucille elaborated.

He swallowed. She'd just gotten home from Stanford, from his calculations and knowledge of the flights they'd taken, and she was already at his house. He couldn't help but feel a sudden pang of optimistic anticipation; but then an equally powerful force of pessimism came in a wave. Perhaps she was there to tell him that Stanford was the last place she wanted to be, and she just wanted to get it out there before they returned to school the following day. Troy hesitated for a moment, before ducking his head back down and staring intently at the engine. "Okay," he said simply.

Chad and Jack exchanged a bit of a glance.

"Okay?" Jack repeated.

"If she wants to talk to me, she'll come to the door," Troy said simply.

He was delaying the inevitable, delaying hearing what he needed to hear. The truth was that he wasn't going to be able to simply work on his truck with knowledge she was outside, for his heart was pounding and he felt his hands trembling a little. There was a distinct possibility that the truth of what his future would hold was just outside, and he was terrified. Limbo had been tragically difficult, but while in limbo, he could retain a sliver of optimistic hope that she would make the right decision – or what he deemed to be the right decision.

"Dude," Chad said disapprovingly. "It's cold out. If she's come here, obviously she wants to talk. And it's dark. You really want her out on the street?"

Troy and Chad's eyes met – Chad knew very well why Troy was hesitating to go outside. It wasn't just a matter of Troy being petulant. There was a chance that Gabriella had come over to tell him that Stanford had been amazing and she was beyond excited to embark upon a magical Californian journey together. However just as likely was the possibility that she was coming over to tell him that Stanford just hadn't been for her. And it was that second scenario which Troy was terrified of. He'd been existing in limbo land – whilst in limbo, there was perpetual hope.

"Just get it over with," was Chad's final piece of sage advice.

Neither Jack nor Lucille had any further advice. They concurred with the simplicity of what Chad had said. It needed to be done. They didn't know what Gabriella was going to say – she was a bright young lady with an incredible future ahead and Jack and Lucille weren't naive; they recognised that there was a distinct possibility that she may think that her future just might not be with their son. If that was the case, the sooner he knew, the sooner they could support him and help him cope.

Troy stopped by the bathroom, quickly washing his greasy hands, before heading to the front room to peer out the window. He spotted the same thing Lucille had earlier – his pacing girlfriend. For a moment by the front door, he imitated her stance, but then swallowed and bit the bullet, creaking open the door.

He stood in the door frame, watching, observing, as she paced across the driveway in the opposite direction. Once she reached the far side, she did an about face and began to pace back, now facing the house. She had been staring at the pavement but spotted him out of the corner of her eye and looked up sharply, seeing him standing there watching her.

With a deep breath, Troy emerged from the door frame and moved toward her. Gabriella took a few steps as well, the couple meeting midway, halfway up the driveway.

"Hi," Troy said softly.

Gabriella swallowed, before returning softly, "Hi."

"How long have you been out here?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, really."

"Did you just get back from California?"

"Yes. Taylor's mom picked us all up, and dropped my mom and I at home, and then... and I came here."

They were silent for a moment, only the sound of a slight breeze in the trees, the distant sound of traffic from the closest major road, some crickets chirping. Each had a cautious stance – Troy had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his blue jeans; Gabriella's arms were crossed, hugging herself.

"Why are you here?" Troy finally asked, the inevitable question coming out.

Gabriella swallowed. It was a fair question. The only answer she had was, "I just... I need to talk to you."

Her answer hadn't served to alleviate Troy's fears as to why she needed to speak to him. He noticed her shiver slightly, and so he asked automatically, "Do you want to go inside?"

She hesitated, wondering if perhaps they were better off remaining outside. Somehow the night air felt a bit freeing – like she had the space and air to think. But she was cold, and observed he'd emerged from the house only in a t-shirt. More so, it was a bit awkward having whatever conversation it was that they were about to have with only the illumination of the moon, stars and streetlight.

So she cautiously nodded and agreed. "Um, okay, sure."

He led the way, Gabriella trailing behind. Her eyes were fixated on his backside without realising that she was actually staring at his ass. When he reached the door and opened it, he stood back and allowed her to enter. It had become such routine, such habit, entering the Bolton household, kicking off her shoes by the door. She waited for Troy – he too slipped off his black scruffy Converse – and he led her through the house. When they reached the kitchen, Gabriella's eyes widened, seeing Troy's parents and Chad standing around in the kitchen. Both Jack and Chad were looking a little grubby with grease marks on their shirts and it suddenly occurred to her that Troy had a similar appearance. She began to put pieces together and flushed, the polite well-mannered portion of herself feeling a little embarrassed for her unannounced visit.

"Oh I um... I interrupted... you have company..." Gabriella said, somewhat awkwardly, not even stringing a full sentence together.

"Oh no, I was just leaving," Chad said quickly. "It was good timing, actually. I knew Tay would be back, so I wanna go home so I can give her a call."

Gabriella still felt a little apologetic, it wasn't like her to come over to someone's house unannounced, although she had found herself doing it with Troy more than once in recent times.

"I'm sorry I didn't call before coming over," Gabriella said, directing the comment toward Lucille and Jack.

"Not a problem honey," Lucille said, smiling brightly.

"Um, we're gonna talk in my room. Okay?"

A quick nod from both his parents confirmed that they were okay with it; or perhaps they had the sense to not try to stop it.

"Uh, so, I'm taking off," Chad said, and glanced at Troy. "Uh Hoops, shoot us a text?"

Troy nodded numbly, but didn't really hear Chad. Without further acknowledgement, he moved in the direction of his room, Gabriella trailing after him with a small smile at Lucille Bolton as she passed. He shut the door behind them, before sitting silently at the end of his bed. He didn't know what to say, how to begin, where they should start.

'_So, Gabi, are you here to break up with me?' _

'_If you could make this quick because there's this TV program I want to catch.'_

As she'd left her own house, Gabriella hadn't even been sure of exactly what she wanted to say to him. And then as she'd paced out on the driveway, her mind had still been a flurry of thoughts, decisions, options. The next step she took could potentially frame her entire future. But as he'd emerged and she'd laid eyes upon him in the doorway, staring at her with an expression that was mixed somewhere between hope and trepidation, she had developed an understanding of what she wanted to say – however she couldn't help but be terrified of the words.

She pulled the strap of her messenger bag over her head and dumped it onto the bed beside Troy. Flipping it open, she drew out a folder from which she seized a handful of brochures, which she handed over to him. Troy stared down at them, the lettering was almost a jumble.

"So, um, I went to this like, tourist information desk in San Francisco. I explained to the guy that I needed information about public transport and I gave him the particulars and he started to reel it off so fast that I couldn't keep up. I gather that there are a few options, and that one of the buses actually only runs on weekends, but that either way it would involve a bus plus the BART and maybe another bus somewhere in there, and that there are a few routes, like going through San Francisco proper, or down to San Jose and then up to Berkeley, or just straight across from Palo Alto to Union City and then from there get the BART up to Berkeley. So the 40ish miles, depending on the route, is a bit complicated by public transport but it's not completely impossible."

She finally stopped rambling and went quiet, looking at him expectantly. Troy was wide eyed, still trying to process what she'd told him. He was glancing down at the brochures – mostly public transport timetables but there was also a pamphlet about a San Francisco bus tour, and another about Alcatrez. The information was familiar – he'd researched it himself, after all – but the fact that Gabriella was standing before him, detailing it as though it was of importance was the part that was confusing him. She hadn't actually said what he thought that she was saying and he wasn't sure exactly how to react. He picked up her folder and carefully tucked the brochures back inside, and turned his attention to her, looking directly into her eyes.

"Why exactly are you telling me this?" Troy said slowly, needing to hear her say the words.

Her voice wavered a little, a tone of uncertainty as she answered."I'm telling you because... because... well... because we might need to know about this as of the end of summer vacation."

"You need to say it, Gabriella, or I'm not going to believe it." His tone was urgent, almost frantic. This wasn't something he could afford to mistake or misunderstand.

She closed her eyes momentarily, took a breath, and spoke steadily. "I'm going to accept at Stanford."

The room was silent. Troy was frozen, staring up at her. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for some type of response, acknowledgement that he'd heard her speak.

"I um... I've been waiting to hear you tell me that for like... fuck... well, pretty much since the minute I set foot on the Berkeley campus." Troy was surprisingly calm, which concerned Gabriella a little, but then his next statement provided clear context for his controlled demeanour. "I um... before I react properly, I have to ask you one question."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure?" he looked her in the eye. It was such a simple question, but in many ways it was the most important question he could ask. He couldn't help but think that it was going to be torn away, that she'd change her mind, realise she was compromising herself. And so he had to ask, those three little words, to convince himself that maybe, just maybe, the scenario that was beginning to form in his imagination could become a reality.

She paused, and sat beside him. He swivelled around, one leg folding under to face her properly.

"No," she said honestly. "I'm not sure." He appeared a little crestfallen, and she was quick to continue with her explanation. "_But_ I don't think I'm ever going to be totally sure about any decision I make. There's only one thing that I am sure about, and that is that I love you. And so... I'm going to accept at Stanford."

The distance between she and Troy seemed to dissipate almost instantly, his lips smashing against hers messily. His hands gripped at her slender frame, pulling her firmly against him. The part of her which had hungered and craved for him every day for the last week responded eagerly. She allowed him to guide her back, lying against the soft mattress, legs dangling over the edge of the bed. He hovered above her, the concerned parents on the other side of the door and the world of worries and concerns floating away.

"Shit, Gabriella," he mumbled, during brief moments of separation in the series of kisses. "I don't... fuck... I... God I love you."

"And I love you," she responded tenderly.

He collapsed beside her onto the bed, arms curling behind her and holding her body close to his. He nuzzled the crook of her neck, immersing himself in her dark tresses momentarily before sweeping her hair aside to reveal her neck, pressing a series of soft kisses against the bare flesh.

"This is all gonna be so amazing. _You're_ amazing. Fuck... I was so scared that you were coming here to tell me... to tell me..."

She shifted her body, lying on her side and pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I didn't. I didn't come to tell you that."

"No. No you didn't." He sounded almost amazed, bewildered, trying to register the reality.

They lay quietly for a moment, faces just inches apart. Their hands met, fingers lacing, and Troy brought their adjoined hands to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand before narrowing the gap between them and kissing her on the lips gently, before lips parted and he deftly swept his tongue across hers. A mewl escaped from Gabriella's lips as his hands glided over her frame, a hand gently squeezing her breast as it ghosted over. She was feeling warm, partly from the sweater she was wearing inside but mostly for a whole other reason. He made it easy to get swept away, to forget about the reasons why they shouldn't be doing what they were doing. She was about to protest, his fingers were deftly working at the button and fly on her jeans but on a certain level the danger was fuelling her arousal. His body weight had shifted back, he was hovering slightly above her again, weight held up with one arm whist his other hand was stroking the cotton of her underwear.

"Troy," she gasped, clutching one hand to his support arm, her other hand on his back, fingernails scratching over the surface of his shoulder blade and strong back.

His lips deviated from hers and he pressed a lingering kiss to her neck.

"Your skin is so soft," he murmured. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," she responded, a whimper as his digits ghosted over her clit, only a thin barrier of cotton in the way. "Troy... we have to stop..."

"Why?" he asked, somewhat petulantly, knowing the answer but refusing to admit that he knew it just yet.

"Because your parents are home..."

Troy whimpered slightly, pouting, though he knew that she was right. He hated that she was right, because he felt overwhelmed by incomprehensible desire, desire to be as close to her as humanely possible. She felt the loss of the sensation of his palm pressing against her mound as he wriggled out of her jeans. He settled instead for pulling her close and entwining every limb possible, legs, her body flush to his, arms splayed around the other, her head leaning against his chest.

"Tell me about your weekend," he murmured by her ear. She shivered slightly at the sensation of his warm breath tickling against her skin, wriggling a little, attempting to calm her libido he'd awakened and to focus instead on conversation.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. I want every detail, since it was a weekend which led to you making the best decision ever."

A tender kiss pressed against her neck; and she smiled. "Well... we flew out on Friday, mom rented a car and we drove straight from the airport down to Stanford. Friday they were running this 'college student for a day' program for local students so Tay and I kind of just blended into that, joining in with their campus tour and then going to a couple of lectures." She wriggled again, moving back just slightly from his embrace – as nice as the snuggling was, it was a little awkward engaging in conversation while her face was smushed against his chest. "We went to Accelerated Chemical Principles, and also we went to Honors Multivariable Mathematics. Since it's pretty early in the fall semester, and these subjects are pretty much just building on AP subjects Tay and I do, we pretty much were able to follow along."

"That 'we' in the 'pretty much' was referring to Taylor, right? You perfectly followed along?" Troy said, raising an eyebrow.

Gabriella smiled sheepishly, but didn't respond directly to the question. "And then we'd set up appointments with someone from admissions. They were pretty much selling it to me in mine, giving me information about financial aid and scholarships."

"Good information?"

"Yeah. Comparable to what I got at MIT, really."

"Okay."

"We stayed at an Inn in Palo Alto, hung around that area for breakfast on Saturday morning and then we headed back up to San Francisco city and did this ridiculous whirlwind of site seeing."

She proceeded to give him the basic outline – they'd stayed near Union Square, and from just by their hotel they were able to take the famous Powell-Hyde cable car to get to Ghiradelli Square, and then walked to Fisherman's Wharf. The girls both wanted to visit Alcatraz as neither had been before but there hadn't been enough time.

"We can go there together," Troy said with a hopeful smile.

"I can't see it being your thing, really," she said doubtfully.

"If it's your thing, it's my thing," he responded confidently.

"This morning we headed to the BART and… well, we went across to Berkeley."

Troy's eyes widened slightly. "You had hardly any time at all and you actually took the time to go to Cal?"

She looked earnestly into his eyes. "Troy, regardless of what decision I'd made for myself for next year, today I had the chance to go look at where you've decided to spend the next four years of your life – and that's important to me. Of course I took the time."

He didn't respond verbally, instead kissing her softly in acknowledgement. It spoke volumes to him that she'd made them include Berkeley in their itinerary – they could've gone to Alcatraz, or the Golden Gate Bridge, or spent more time on campus at Stanford.

"What did you think?" he asked.

"I'm excited for you." She was very genuine in her statement.

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"It felt very…. I don't know. I could feel that you're going to fit in," she mused. "I can't explain it, but somehow it just made sense to me. As I walked around the campus it was like I could just see you riding your skateboard around campus, or sitting at a bench eating lunch."

He grinned. "That's how I felt."

"We weren't there long," she said apologetically. "Just for the tour, and then a quick look in the campus shop – Taylor was a bit offended by the 'Beat Stanford' sweatshirts but I reminded her that MIT have 'Beat Harvard' sweatshirts too," she said wryly.

"You know, it's true what my dad was saying, about Cal and Stanford and the rivalry."

"Something tells me that the basketball and science student rivalry isn't quite as intense," Gabriella quipped.

He grinned but then turned serious. "You and me, we'll get through whatever rivalry. We've kinda proved that here at East High, that we won't let who we're "supposed" to date get in the way, right?"

"What we have, it's about us, you and me. Not about what anyone else thinks or says."

"So even if the guys on my team hate you because you're a Cardinal?"

She pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "Let them. I'll only care about what one Bear thinks of me."

* * *

Ryan woke up on Monday morning feeling a little disoriented. It had only been a short period of time that he'd been living in the Montez household; and yet waking up in his bedroom at his parents' house startled him somewhat. His alarm was beeping; and he wasn't accustomed to waking up to his alarm –normally he woke up of a week day morning without fail about two minutes before the alarm went off. Instead he was jolted out of his dreams and felt sluggish and off centre. It had been a draining weekend – more so emotionally than physically.

Gabriella and Elena's weekend away had served a distinctive purpose in Ryan's life – he spent the weekend at home, with his family. It was almost like a trial, a trial for whether he could return home. In all honesty he didn't quite feel ready to be returning into life living with his father but he was aware of the reality that his time with his mother and sister in their home was limited, that he and Sharpay would be moving out and into the world in six months and he wanted to make the most of the time they had. And if he and his father could find a way to co-exist, he was willing to compromise a certain amount. The weekend had been about exactly that – finding out whether co-existing was an option.

A soft knocking came at his bedroom door. Ryan didn't need to see them to know instinctively who it was. He called out for her to enter, and Sharpay slipped into the room wearing her pyjamas – black pants with pink roses and a pink tank top – with a pink snuggie wrapped around her shoulders and carrying Boi under her right arm.

"Morning," he greeted his twin.

She plonked herself down on the edge of his bed without hesitation, setting Boi down in front of her. He promptly curled up on the bed, dozing off.

"This is a bit early for you to be awake," he observed.

"I couldn't sleep. When I heard your alarm go off, I figured you'd be up."

"Oh I see. Any reason you couldn't sleep?"

She shrugged. "Just thinking." She paused, before asking, "Are you going down to the basement to practice?" Ryan was regimented in his training – even if all he did was some stretching, there wasn't a weekday that went by when he didn't put some sort of effort into his craft before getting ready for the day.

He nodded. "Yeah. Wanna come help? Pick at all my flaws?"

"Sure."

"Just give me five minutes, I'll meet you down there."

Sharpay nodded, and picked up Boi who didn't look too impressed to be woken up again. She paused, and asked quietly, "Are you going back to Gabriella's tonight?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure yet."

"Because I mean… We have our birthday dinner this week so you're back here for that, and then we go to New York this weekend so we're all back together then. Might be easier to just… stay?"

Ryan sighed. "I'll think about it. Okay?"

Sharpay smiled broadly. "Okay!"

* * *

Gabriella hadn't told Elena what had happened at Troy's the night before; but when she'd spied Troy dropping her off and caught a glimpse of a series of tender kisses in the front of his truck, her motherly intuition allowed her to have her suspicions. These suspicions were further amplified when Gabriella came bounding downstairs brightly about a half hour earlier than usual.

"Not having breakfast mija?" Elena called out from the kitchen where she was brewing coffee.

"Troy is on his way, we're grabbing breakfast on the way to school," Gabriella called over her shoulder. She was in search of a textbook which she was fairly sure she'd left in the living room. She spied it on the end of the couch and lit up, grabbing the book.

Elena raised her eyebrow. "Mija, can you please come in here."

Gabriella didn't pick up on the tension in her mother's voice and rushed into the kitchen with the book and her bag, shoving the book inside as she walked.

"What's up mom?"

"Gabriella, were you planning to _ask_ me if you can go to breakfast with Troy?" Elena asked.

Gabriella appeared genuinely puzzled. "Um… well, I didn't think it was a big deal? We're just grabbing Dunkin' Donuts on the way."

"I give you a lot of flexibility and freedom. All I ask in return is that you are honest with me, and that you tell me where and when you're going, and you show me respect."

"Mom, I honestly didn't think you'd care. We just came back from Stanford! I'm going to college soon," Gabriella pointed out.

"Soon. Not yet," Elena reminded her. "And I don't mind that you're getting breakfast, I mind that you hadn't ran it past me first."

Gabriella's cell phone began to ring with her ringtone for Troy; she looked down at it a little anxiously and looked apologetically at Elena before picking it up.

"I'll just be a minute…" she spoke into the phone. "No I'll come out. Just give me a minute… love you too, bye."

She looked expectantly back at her mother. "I'm sorry, I really am. You're right, I didn't think. I should've asked. Can I go?"

Elena sighed – tempted to crack down the whip but recognising it was practically pointless. "Go. It's fine. Just next time talk to me first, please?"

"I promise I will, thank you!" Gabriella kissed her mother's cheek in gratitude before picking up her bag and dashing away.

"And you're going to talk to me tonight about what happened at Troy's last night?" Elena prompted, calling after her daughter.

"I will! Tonight. I swear," Gabriella called back. "Love you, see you later!"

* * *

"I totally bet they've made up," Zeke predicted. "The homeroom bell is gonna ring in like, two minutes, they're still not here. They're probably gonna ditch."

"Gabriella does _not_ skip class," Taylor said indignantly. "The fact that they're both not here, well, I agree that they've probably made up but I'm sure they're just running late."

"Or lost track of time," Chad said with a smirk.

"You only think about one thing, I swear," Taylor reprimanded.

"I don't see you complaining!"

"No one heard from either of them at all last night? Really?" Ryan said. He felt a little concerned, and even a little miff. If Gabriella had made her decision he would've thought he'd be included in the 'loop' of people who knew what was going on. He looked most directly at Taylor and Chad.

"Nada," Chad affirmed. "I told Hoops to text me – whether it went good or bad I was curious to know."

The bell rang, signalling it was time for the Wildcats to move into the building. A day heading in without Troy or Gabriella was unusual – in so many ways one or both of the couple formed the cornerstone, the central figure, of their assembly of friends. They headed into homeroom, Taylor was watching worriedly at the clock and the door, knowing that her best friend wouldn't enjoy the humiliation of being tardy at the wrath of Ms. Darbus.

Halfway through homeroom the door came flying open, interrupting an announcement from Ms. Darbus about final opportunity for yearbook photos later in the week. A slightly smug looking Troy and a red-faced Gabriella appeared hand in hand. Ms. Darbus turned to look at them in amusement. Gabriella tore her hand away from Troy's.

"I'm so sorry we're late Ms. Darbus, I uh…. My truck broke down on the way here," Troy said, not very convincingly.

"Despite the believability of that story having seen your vehicle myself, Mr. Bolton, I don't believe you," Ms. Darbus announced. "If Mr. Bolton and Ms. Montez could please take their seats immediately before my homeroom is interrupted for a prolonged period."

Gabriella shuffled past Troy, rushing back to her seat, cheeks flushed as she felt the eyes of her peers on her. Troy was a little more lax, strolling to his seat – he was more accustomed to being the focus of a teacher's annoyance.

"It wasn't too many days ago that Mr. Bolton showed up for homeroom without having taken the time to tidy his hair, it appears that today Mr. Bolton hasn't even taken the time to bathe."

Troy appeared genuinely confused and glanced around. Martha indicated to the corner of his mouth and Troy immediately wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, spying a bit of cream. He smirked – their tardiness had largely been caused by the decision to share a large cream filled donut during the drive back to school. She'd been teasing him and he'd pulled over to accost her with kisses.

"Maybe assisting with scrubbing some chairs after school in the lead-up to our spring maintenance spree might teach Mr. Bolton some practices of cleanliness?" Ms. Darbus suggested.

"I assure you ma'am, that isn't required," Troy attempted his luck.

"Nonetheless, I think a refresher course might be beneficial."

Snickers came from Troy's friends and peers.

"And that goes for you as well Ms. Montez," Ms. Darbus said pointedly, not able to punish one of the pair without punishing the other. Gabriella nodded meekly. "I'll be seeing both of you a prompt five minutes after final period concludes. Now. What was I saying before I was interrupted. Oh yes. Now, Thursday morning in the cafeteria…"

When the bell rang signalling the end of homeroom, Gabriella picked up her things and rushed up to Troy's desk before he'd even had the chance to pick up his notebook and stand up. She thwacked him on the arm.

"Thanks for at least trying to get me out of detention!" she complained with a pout.

"Chivalry is a lost art," Martha remarked from the other side of Troy.

"Hey, it's your fault that we were late," Troy reminded Gabriella with a cheeky grin.

"My fault? How was it _my_ fault?" Gabriella demanded.

"_You_ are the one who wanted to go back and get a donut. You are the one who was feeding me donut in the car. You are the one who was sucking cream from said donut off your finger…"

"You're the one that pulled over on the side of the road!"

"You made me!" Troy insisted. "If it wasn't for you, I would never have had to pull over!"

The banter was interrupted, their immediate friends were milling around, watching in surprised fascination. It was Kelsi who asked the question everyone was wondering about.

"So… are you guys back together?" Kelsi asked, looking pointedly between the pair.

Gabriella fell naturally into Troy's side, his arm wrapping around her and a soft kiss being pressed to her forehead before he gave the simple reply of, ""Yes."

"We never broke up, really," Gabriella added.

"Okay, this is wonderful, we're all happy, but we have class to get to, remember?" Taylor said, motioning that they all should start moving and quickly.

Reactions were mixed, from the somewhat apathetic, to genuine happiness, to a little more apprehensive. However Taylor was right in that it was neither the time or place for discussion or opinion, as they were all running late for class.

"Taylor's right," Gabriella said. "Troy and I are happy. Thanks everyone for your support. Now can we all move on?"

* * *

"Gabi, wait up!" Ryan's voice called out after her as she headed down the corridor heading to the cafeteria.

She turned, spotting Ryan darting through the corridor after her, and paused waiting by the bank of lockers for him to catch up.

"Hey," she greeted him with a smile. "I'm going to my locker on the way to the cafeteria, wanna come?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you properly. How was your weekend back home?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Interesting, to say the least. I spent a lot of time with Sharpay, which was actually fun."

Gabriella couldn't hide her own wrinkled face. She couldn't quite fathom the relationship that Ryan and Sharpay had, especially being an only child. The majority of the time she witnessed Sharpay bossing and ordering Ryan around, how time spent with her could be 'fun' was a little beyond the realm of her comprehension.

"Yeah I know. But we worked on my Julliard routine, and gossiped a little… she opened up a bit about her and Zeke. It was… actually really nice. And my mom was so excited I was there, arranging for all my favourite meals to be prepared and pulling out musicals for us to watch together."

Gabriella smiled. "That is sweet. And… your dad?"

Ryan sighed. "Dad was okay. Chase only came up once in conversation, and it was more so initiated by mom. He did ask a question, just about Chase's major. It was very light, nothing serious. But… baby steps, you know?"

Gabriella nodded. "Baby steps are important, any kind of steps are really great. I think he's trying."

"I know he's trying," Ryan confessed. "But I just don't know how much of it is his own doing, and how much my mom has pushed him into, you know?"

"Your dad seems like the kind of person who wouldn't allow himself to be pushed unless he wanted to be pushed," she mused.

"That's what Chase said," he revealed. He sighed, and then refocused the conversation – he had more important things he wanted to discuss while it was just he and Gabriella. "So. Stanford went well, I take it?"

Gabriella nodded. "It did. It's a really wonderful university."

"You already knew that."

"I knew the stats and figures, but being there clarified it for me."

They reached Gabriella's locker and paused as she flicked open the dial and began to exchange the books from her backpack from her morning classes to her afternoon classes.

"I just… I guess I'm surprised," Ryan admitted. "That in the time since we last spoke last week, you've been there, had a whole change of direction and made things right with Troy?"

She cocked her head. "Why is it surprising?"

Ryan touched her upper arm, squeezing gently. "Gabriella, this is you and me, just you and me. I know you were feeling excited about MIT, I know you fell in love with Boston."

Her face dropped a little. Ryan did know – and there was no point in pretending that he hadn't been completely clear on her thought process prior to heading out west.

"Well… I kind of also fell in love with the Bay," she said truthfully. She picked out her final textbook from her locker and placed it into her bag, and then closed the door.

"That's fair. But… a few days ago you were torn. And now… it's like… it's like you were never there. I just… I'm a bit confused, Gabriella," Ryan said. "I wouldn't have issue if you had made a calculated decision and weighed the options and decided that you'd pursue a life at Stanford. But it almost feels like you never had made the decision that you were probably going to go to MIT, like you've wiped that from your memory."

Gabriella sighed, and mulled how to explain it to him. "It's easier this way."

"Easier?" Ryan repeated.

She nodded. "The moment I told him, said the words… it felt like a burden had been lifted. I love him, and he was so elated and now I can just enjoy Troy and I being Troy and I, without any of this crap hanging over us. I just had to make a decision, and go with it, whole heartedly."

"Do you think that the easy decision is the right decision?"

"Ryan, don't do this, please," she begged. "I'm happy. I am. Can you just… drop it? Please?"

"You're happy?"

"Yes," she spoke emphatically.

He hesitated – he was hearing her determined tone, but wasn't quite sure whether he believed it was genuine, or more so a case of persuading everyone, including herself.

"Okay," he said quietly.

"Okay," she agreed, and then gestured in the direction of the cafeteria. "Come on, before we miss out on the whole of lunch period.

They walked in silence up the corridor toward the second floor entrance to the cafeteria. Just before they reached the entrance, Ryan stopped in his stride, Gabriella pausing and looking at him questioningly.

"If you're happy, I'll drop it. I will. But… if I think you're not happy… I'm not going to sit here quietly. I know you love him, but if you make the wrong decision here, I don't think it's going to help you or him in the long run."

"Is that up to you to judge?" she asked. "Whether I'm happy, whether I'm not, what the right decision is for me?"

Ryan pursed his lips. "No," he admitted. "It's not. I only worry because I care."

"I know you do, and I appreciate that. But… can you please just trust me? I have to do this my way." Her tone was pleading.

He held his palms up, facing her, in defeat. "Okay, okay. I support you."

Gabriella sighed, giving him a look. "Why do I get the feeling you are just saying that?"

The following day, from afar, it appeared as though nothing had ever happened. It could've been December or January, when Troy and Gabriella had been existing in blissful happiness, no idea of the doom that was impending a few short months later. About fifteen minutes before the homeroom bell was due to ring, the Wildcats were gradually arriving per the tradition they'd formed over senior year, to meet around the E Pillar out the front of the school. Throughout all that they'd been through - fights, arguments, good times, bad times - meeting together before school had been a fairly solid and consistent daily occurrence. Ryan was quietly standing beside Troy and Gabriella who were talking with Paula and Marcus - a perfect couples' conversation with each of the guys standing behind their girls, arms wrapped around them. Troy was enthusiastically retelling Gabriella's tale of her weekend away; it was the third time Ryan had heard Troy's story.

"She even went to Berkeley on Sunday, which is absolutely amazing, I still can't believe you did that! So I guess she got to see for herself that even though it isn't exactly an easy distance, it is accessible..."

Gabriella was remaining quiet in Troy's arms - Troy didn't think much of it, seemingly, but Ryan wasn't oblivious to his friends state. She was allowing Troy to do the talking, Troy to be the one telling people that she'd made her decision. Ryan was finding it difficult to sit back and to not offer commentary. The appearance of bliss was merely that – an appearance, a façade.

"Gee Troy, might want to let Gabriella tell the story about her weekend," Ryan remarked.

Gabriella shot Ryan a look, he just smiled innocently in return. Troy missed the look, and just laughed. Ever since Sunday, Troy had been on some sort of high, oblivious to Ryan's tone. "Sorry babe, I guess I am kind of stealing your story."

"It's okay," Gabriella assured him, bringing their entwined hands up and kissing the back of his hand tenderly. "I think it's cute, hearing you all excited. You'd think we were already in California."

"I can feel it's just around the corner, you know?" Troy confessed. "They talk about how seniors need to be careful in the last few months of the year to keep focus and not get ahead of ourselves - but it's just all falling into place, you know? I'm ready, I feel more ready than ever. I love East High, but I'm ready for this next step in our lives."

The 'our' was poignant - the 'our' wasn't a reference to himself and his fellow East High Wildcats, it was an 'our' in the sense of he and Gabriella, their lives together.

"I'll be happy if I can just get through the year without flunking out," Marcus remarked. "Seems they're putting on the pressure last minute."

"Preparing us for college workload, maybe," Paula agreed.

"Like either of you have anything to worry about," Ryan said. "Paula, I bet your GPA is awesome, and aren't you working on being recruited, Marcus?"

"Working on it. Nothing set in stone yet," Marcus said elusively.

"Make it happen, dude," Troy advised. "It's the sweetest feeling, not having to stress out."

"Hey, you still have to pass, you said it yourself," Gabriella pointed out, not wanting Troy to get cocky about it. "Nothing is in writing, nothing is signed, you don't have that contract in your hands."

Troy was pretty confident on the basis of his trip that it was as good as signed, and shrugged dismissively. "I feel it though, I just feel like it's gonna pan out how I want it to."

"I wish I had that confidence," Ryan said darkly.

"You're going to get in," Gabriella said confidently, squeezing Ryan's arm. "You are _amazing, _Julliard are going to see that."

"There's no guarantees," Ryan said. "I don't think anyone can be certain about anything. And how do you know it's going to be right until you get there anyway? I might go to all this effort to get in, rehearse my ass off, and get there and just hate it."

"Go with your gut," Troy advised. "If your gut says that's where you're meant to be, you follow it. That's what me and Gabriella have both done."

Gabriella was wordless – Ryan smiled tightly. "Yes. Yes you both have."

Tuesday afternoon after school, Gabriella and Troy were curled up on the couch in Troy's living room. Gabriella was lying on her back with her head resting on Troy's thigh and her feet up on the arm of the couch, reading a novel for her English Literature class, while Troy was reading over some notes for Physics which Gabriella had made from a reading that he was supposed to have completed the week before, but was more than a little behind.

"How long until you've finished your chapters?" he murmured, his hand rubbing over her arm lightly.

She smiled, tearing her eyes away from the book and looking up at him. She returned with, "How long until you've finished your reading?"

"I can do this later," he murmured, with a slight whine. "Dad's staying back to do marking, my mom doesn't finish work until 6pm tonight…"

There was no mistaking the innuendo in his tone, where he was leading with his thought process. It was a valiant effort – one which not so long ago, in the midst of their passionate exam week or on just about any Thursday, would have been rather effective. Gabriella felt a little uneasy though, and at first attempted a deflective technique, tutting at him.

"And you wonder why boys get accused of having one track minds?"

"Only with you," he murmured, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"I would hope so," she chided, a hand caressing his cheek momentarily, before her attention returned to her book.

He sighed. "I should give up, shouldn't I?"

Gabriella paused, before picking up her book mark, placing it into the novel and setting it down. She sat up, facing Troy and taking his hands in hers.

"I'd like to wait a little while," she said honestly.

"That's fine," his immediate response was, but then he hesitated, before asking, "Um, why though?" He'd been under the impression on Sunday that if they hadn't been within earshot of parents, that they would have consummated their reunion there and then.

Gabriella sighed. "Because the last month of our relationship has not exactly been solid, at all. With everything that has happened… I would feel more comfortable if we could take a bit of time to… well… to reconnect, emotionally. To be _us._ To get things settled."

Troy blinked. He understood her point of view, but he didn't quite believe that holding back their natural urges was going to assist in getting back to where they were. "Okay," he said slowly. "I… I do understand. I really do. I just… I think a part of us, and a part of reconnecting emotionally, is being us naturally. And if us naturally is taking advantage of the peace and quiet…" he trailed off, again leaving the innuendo hanging.

"We've been using sex as a bandaid. Covering up the wounds and hoping they'll heal."

"I don't know if that metaphor entirely makes sense since bandaids are supposed to aid in healing, aren't they?"

"You know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I entirely do," he said honestly. "But, if you will feel more comfortable if we wait, then that's it. We wait."

He wasn't entirely happy about it, but he'd learnt his lesson the hard way about allowing his natural teenage urges overtake him and run his decisions. He'd spent months being the model patient perfect boyfriend, it was a role he was familiar with and he could summon it upon himself to go back there if that was what was required to appease Gabriella.

"Thank you," she said simply, pressing her lips to his gently, and then murmuring softly, "It's not forever. I just want a little time."

He nodded shortly, giving her his best reassuring smile. "I love you. We're together. That's all that matters."

He could deal with his erection later.

"Don't forget, dress-code is _formal_," Sharpay reminded the Wildcats who she was seated with at the cafeteria for the fourteenth time. Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Zeke and Kelsi were currently present.

It was Wednesday, she and Ryan's birthday dinner was taking place the following evening. She'd felt the need to emphasise the dress code verbally in addition to the bold italicised print of the word on the invitations which had been handed to an exclusive few. "This does NOT mean wearing a blazer with your usual shirt and jeans."

Troy looked a bit put out – although Gabriella had already warned him and given a list of what she suspected Sharpay would view as being formal and what wouldn't suffice.

"And please don't be late!" she added. "The evening has a schedule, canapés will be served for only twenty minutes whilst everyone arrives and if you're late, you're going to throw off the whole evening."

Ryan winced. "I think they get it, Shar." He was beginning to regret the conversation he'd had convincing Sharpay that their idea for a formal sit down dinner would go down really well and that everyone would have a great time.

"I wish you weren't going to be in New York for your actual birthday day," Gabriella said with a pout, giving Ryan a half hug.

He beamed. "I'm so glad that I am! Love you all, but New York is where I belong. It's only right to be there."

"We're going to see a show! It's a surprise, mom won't tell us which one," Sharpay added, with childish delighted and an excited clap of her hands. She paused, and pouted. "It better be good. I did give her my list of approved shows…"

"I'm sure whatever we see it is going to be fabulous," Ryan said optimistically.

"I've never been to New York City," Troy mused.

Sharpay gaped at him. "Are you for real? Never ever?"

"New York is amazing," Kelsi said dreamily. "A couple of years ago I spent almost my whole summer there with my aunt and uncle who live in Greenwich Village. As long as I was home by dark they let me come and go as I wanted, and I got the train uptown to wander around the park, and oh my God, the Strand Bookstore is amazing!"

"New York is the home of all creative souls," Sharpay said dreamily.

"What about Hollywood?" Troy offered.

"Hrm… okay, Hollywood too. New York City and Hollywood. And maybe London… I could totally spent a year in London and perform on West End. I look super cute in cold weather clothing," Sharpay mused.

"Good to know you've got back up plans," Gabriella said. She kept a straight face, but the others weren't lost on the edge of sarcasm. Sharpay was oblivious and beamed with a nod.

Sharpay's pink bejewelled Blackberry chimed with an incoming text, she picked it up from the table and glanced at the screen. She lips curved into a small smile and she promptly stood from the table, grabbing the little tub of unopened strawberry yoghurt and plastic spoon which were in front of her. "Okay, I'm heading off. See you all later!"

"Where are you going?" Ryan asked after her, raising his voice.

"Meeting a friend!" she said elusively.

"She's meeting Zeke," Kelsi said knowingly.

"Hook in," Troy said, his automatic response not taking into account the company currently around him. Gabriella gave him a judgemental look, Ryan's face contorted in slight disgust. Troy held ups palms up defensively. "Sorry, sorry, wrong crowd."

"Speaking of hooking in," Kelsi said with a slight smile and a roll of the eyes, looking at Ryan." Chase is still coming tomorrow, isn't he?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, not sure about your 'speaking of hooking in' statement. "

"He's driving three hours tomorrow morning and back on Friday morning," Gabriella pointed out.

"Yeah, to a dinner at my parents' house," Ryan reminded. "And then we leave first thing Friday morning."

"Find the time, seize the opportunity. It's romantic! He's coming all that way, facing your father, for you!" Gabriella said. "You have to take a little bit of time for just him and you, even for a few hours before the party."

Troy scratched the back of his neck, the 'girl talk' boring him slightly, his phone sliding out of his pocket to play with the number pad absentmindedly.

"We'll see what happens, I don't want to put pressure on it," Ryan pointed out. "And it's not all about _that_ anyway."

"And it shouldn't be," Kelsi agreed. "Especially not when you get to see each other so infrequently. It makes it about more, I'm sure."

Troy perked up slightly, looking up thoughtfully. He made the mental note to himself to chat to Ryan sometime about he and Chase made their relationship work, being long distance but with a manageable distance – sort of comparable to what he and Gabriella were set to step into the following year.

"Anyway so… I think Darbus is going to have good news for us next week about getting the rights to one of the shows we wanted to put on."

Kelsi clapped her hands excitedly. "I hope so! Troy, you have to audition. Basketball season is over, there's no excuses now."

"Basketball season doesn't end for me," Troy pointed out. "I'm waiting on the final announcements for the McDonalds All American, and they're going to announce the state team next week."

"Yeah, but all that is over pretty quickly, isn't it? It wouldn't be a show without you now, whether you like it or not!"

"How about you just let Troy be his predictable self, all indecisive and non-committal and let him decide he'll do it on his own," Gabriella teased.

Troy rolled his eyes at her, nudging her foot with his own. "Thanks for the support, babe."

"Whichever show Darbus is able to arrange for us from our shortlist of requests, there are some good supporting roles that wouldn't have quite as much pressure as a lead," Ryan pointed out.

Troy nodded thoughtfully. "That would probably be my sort of thing. Wait til you get your show announced, then talk to me about my options. If it's completely lame, you know I won't do it."

"Because Arnold was the epitome of coolness," Gabriella teased.

"Hey, no dissing Arnold," Kelsi said, defending her character. "'He's cool in his own way."

"And no dissing Arnold because he is a part of how we got to where we are today," Troy pointed out to Gabriella.

She smiled, ducking her head slightly, memories flashing through her mind of the early days of dating Troy, sneaking comparatively chaste kisses during rehearsals for _Twinkle Towne. _

"Yes, that he was."

* * *

Gabriella felt exhausted. The emotional strain of the last few weeks had suddenly caught up on her. On Thursday afternoon, she dragged herself up into the cab of Troy's truck, staring listlessly out the window for the drive to her house. Her mind hadn't been able to switch off – whether it be school related, extracurricular related, university related or her personal life. And it didn't help that Ryan's words to her earlier in the week were imprinted in her brain, swirling around among everything else.

She couldn't entirely resent him for his interference - the truth was that he had her best interest at heart. She could understand how, to an outsider who knew her well, that the decision she'd made and the circumstances surrounding that decision would appear to be somewhat out of the ordinary, a little out of character even. But everything about her relationship with Troy had been somewhat unpredictable. She was so often a rational person but when it came to Troy, she found herself approaching him with her heart on her sleeve and a certain element of instinct. Ration told her that crushing on the basketball captain was wrong, but instinct told her that they had a connection. Ration told her that they'd rushed into certain elements of their relationship, but instinct told her that it just felt right.

All of the ration in the world wasn't going to help her in coming to balance her emotions and the practical comparison of the colleges and her preferences, and so all she could do was to listen to that part of her heart which just knew that willingly separating herself from him was going to tear her apart.

But his words nonetheless plagued her.

"Penny for your thoughts," Troy said.

She glanced up – the truck had pulled to a stop, they were at her house.

"You've so gotten that phrase from your mom," Gabriella said quietly.

"Possibly. Where did you go? You haven't said a word since we left school."

"I didn't even realise we'd arrived here, I zoned out," she admitted. "I feel exhausted physically but I can't turn my mind off."

"It's been a busy few days, on top of I guess… a weird few weeks," he pointed out.

She was more than relieved to have nothing planned for their Thursday afternoon off – no rehearsals or meetings, just time to rest before the dinner that evening. For a few hours before they'd need to start getting ready for the elaborate formal evening which lay ahead, the afternoon was theirs.

"Come on, let's go inside," he prompted her. She allowed him to carry her school bag with no argument, he led them around the side gate and fished out her key to the back door, and then led her inside and into the lounge room where he pulled her own to sit beside him, encouraging her to rest herself against him.

"I have stuff to do," she said with a small yawn."

"You need to rest," he said quietly. "You look beyond exhausted and you're going to get yourself sick if you don't take a bit of downtime."

"Tonight will be downtime," she protested.

"Um, you've been around Sharpay, haven't you? Between Sharpay being high maintenance and however this event is going to go having Chase AND Mr. Evans at the same table; I'm really not sure that tonight is going to be relaxing."

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh a little and roll her eyes - Troy had a point. She allowed herself to snuggle into his side, eyes closing. Troy's arm held her securely, gently stroking her arm.

"Maybe just a quick rest," she relented, body relaxing. "Don't let me fall asleep, though."

"Mmm, sure," Troy agreed, blatantly lying with a smile. He fished his iPod Shuffle out from his bag beside him on the couch and placed the earbuds into his ears, feeling the warm rise and fall of her chest as she lulled into sleep.

When Gabriella roused from her nap, her eyes fluttered open and she spotted the clock across the room, reading 3:30pm. She had hardly moved from her position snuggled into his side, an arm draped across his abdomen clutching to him like a bear. He'd thrown his hoodie across her knees which were tucked beside her on the couch.

"Is sleepyhead awake?" his voice said softly.

She yawned, burrowing her head into his side. "Mmm you let me fall asleep. Bad boyfriend."

Troy laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You needed the nap."

The short nap had done Gabriella wonders and she was already feeling a whole lot better - and feeling gratitude to Troy for encouraging her to take the time to refresh and rejuvenate herself. She was enjoying the closeness though and not quite prepared to pull away from his side, instead remaining snuggled with the warmth of his hard and yet soft body, her arm remaining in its place draped across his abdomen. Without thought, her fingers began to mindlessly rub circles on his abdomen and side, ever so gently, in a mindless pattern. His lips curved into a smile at the sensation of her touch.

"Babe, why are you touching me like that," he murmured softly.

"No real reason," her soft, sleepy reply came.

"Well if you continue like that for too much longer, my body isn't going to be too happy..."

"Or it'll be a little too happy?" she teased in response.

"Yes, a little that too."

She giggled lightly, but didn't discontinue her rub.

"I've missed us... I've missed just being with you like this. No worries, nothing to stress about, no... nothing hanging over us," she murmured. "It's nice... just us."

"You glad I didn't let you study?"

"Mmm... I can do my math homework before school tomorrow," she agreed with the words he'd spoken just earlier.

"Exactly. It'll take you what, ten minutes?"

"Less," she said, after thinking for a moment about the questions her class had been assigned.

"You're showing off now," he chided.

She smiled but didn't reply, the two remaining in silence, the only sounds being the faint sound of music coming from Troy's iPod – he'd removed the earbuds when she'd roused, but hadn't hit stop – and the ticking of the clock.

"I've missed you too," he said softly, cutting through the silence. "You being next to me... holding me like that... as pussy as it sounds, if you had... if you'd come back from Stanford with a different decision about next year and we had... you know..."

He couldn't say the words 'broken up' but she nodded slightly, indicating she understood what he meant.

"I think this is a part of what I'd miss the most. Just being together like this."

"A part of?" she murmured with a smile. "I'm sure there's something else you'd miss. Although, I suppose you could get that from anyone."

He frowned, drawing in a sharp intake of breath. "Don't even say that. I don't want it from anyone else. Only you."

* * *

Ryan was sitting in the formal dining room in his parent's house with Chase on one side and his mom on the other side, glancing around at the group of people who had gathered that evening to help celebrate he and Sharpay's 18th birthday. The Wildcats friendship dynamic had altered organically over the course of the previous twelve months. About thirteen months ago, Ryan remembered being present at the call-back audition and being witness to the magic that Troy and Gabriella had created on stage – and the magic they'd filled the auditorium with. Although neither he nor Sharpay could truly comprehend it at the time, that day had been about so much more than two people auditioning for a musical. It was a day that represented so much change in the dynamic at East High. Ryan's life had been turned upside down as a result of having Gabriella in his life, of the friendship he'd formed with her, largely having roots in a few friendly conversations during Twinkle Towne rehearsals. Chad and Taylor had been brought together, Jason had seen Kelsi on stage and been introduced formally by Troy at the game after party, Sharpay had attended the end of the basketball championships and – although no one else would ever know – it was that day which she'd confessed to her twin brother that Zeke was 'overbearing, annoying but cute.' Somehow he'd wound up here in this room of people. On their 17th birthday, Sharpay had begun throwing ideas around about how they could celebrate their 18th. Never would Ryan have imagined the dynamic in the air at that moment.

He felt a soft squeeze of his thigh and glanced up at Chase.

"You okay?" Chase asked lowly. "You kinda spaced out there."

Ryan nodded and flashed Chase an assuring smile. "Just reminiscing... contemplating.'

"Good contemplating?"

"Yeah. Good contemplating." Ryan took Chase's hand under the table, squeezing it lightly. "Thanks for being here. It means a lot."

The dinner plates were being cleared away by the server they'd hired for the evening. The event was, on the whole, going off without too much of a hitch. The boys outfits had met Sharpay's seal of approval. Sharpay had put together the seating arrangements with a great deal of thought in mind to avoid conflict and stimulate conversation, almost as though arranging a seating plan for a wedding. They had a sixteen seater dining table in their formal dining room, and it was the perfect fit – Derby and Vance Evans, the Evans' twins, their school friends, Chase and two of Sharpay's friends from their performing arts academy. The East High crew (minus Zeke) had been surprised at the presence of the two girls – they recognised Lea, who they'd seen with Sharpay over summer at Lava Springs, but they'd never met Darla before.

The parents were in the centre of the table beside one another, Sharpay put herself beside her father and Ryan on the other side of Derby. Essentially she broke the table into two halves – creative and athletic, if one was to generalise. Zeke was beside her, Jason at one end of the table, then Taylor, Chad and Troy. The concept was that if her father could be kept in conversation, he just might be able to avoid making any sort of remark directed at or about Chase – hence keeping the boys up his end. Beside Ryan was Chase and then Martha, with Darla, Lea, Kelsi and then Gabriella across from him, with Gabriella beside Troy. Conversation was flowing, the food was delicious, and all in all the crowd was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the evening was. It was a bit different as far as how a Wildcat 18th birthday would typically go, but neither Ryan nor Sharpay were your average students.

After the main course plates were cleared away, with a quick whisper in Sharpay's ear that he'd return in a moment, Zeke slipped away from the table. A few moments later, Vance also excused himself. Sharpay frowned, watching after her father.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to the bathroom, if that's okay with you, Princess?" Vance said, raising his eyebrows.

Sharpay didn't believe him, and couldn't help but feel suspicious that her father had plans to corner Zeke in private – the two hadn't really had the opportunity to talk and Sharpay knew her father well enough to know that Zeke wasn't going to escape without at least some form of interrogation.

"Yes, that's okay,' she said, narrowing her eyes and giving him a look.

"So tell us again about your plans for New York this weekend," Gabriella said, wanting to put Sharpay at ease with a topic that was bound to appease her. Sharpay beamed, and was more than happy to outline their itinerary for the weekend.

"Don't forget going to Porter House," Ryan pitched in, overhearing the conversation from the other end of the table. "They have the _best_ cheesecake in the world. Like, it's so good that in the land of cheesecakes, it's as good as Gabriella's mom's brownies in the world of brownies."

"Wow," Troy said, clearly impressed. He'd had Gabriella's mom's brownies in multiple forms – plain, warmed up, warm with vanilla ice-cream, with raspberry coulis, with extra chocolate sauce, with whipped cream. Each and every time they were utterly decadent. He'd already placed his request for brownie packages to be sent by mail when they were off in California.

"I know, right?" Ryan said.

"I was just getting to Porter House, I wasn't going to leave it out. And after Porter House we're..."

"Derby, sweetheart, can I borrow you?" Vance's voice said from the doorway into the dining room.

"Is everything okay?" Sharpay asked.

Vance smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, Princess. Sit, enjoy."

Zeke passed Derby on her way out, returning to his seat.

"Did he speak to you?" Sharpay said, eyes wide. "What did he say?"

"Sharpay, it's fine. We exchanged a few words. He loves you, that's all that matters," Zeke said.

"It was bad, wasn't it?" Troy said with a sympathetic look.

Zeke gave Troy a look – a look of agreement but not wanting to discuss it.

"At least he talks to you?" Chase offered.

The table fell quiet, awkwardness spreading across the room. In context, Zeke understood that he was fortunate.

"So, are we going to witness to a famous Sharpay and Ryan birthday performance spectacular?" Kelsi asked, breaking the mood.

Ryan groaned, shooting Kelsi a look. She smiled innocently. Kelsi had attended the twins' birthday party for the last two years – it was tradition in the Evans' household at any birthday party or dinner or event, for Sharpay and Ryan to put on a performance for party goers to watch.

"Last year's was pretty epic, it'll be hard to top," Lea said, thinking back to the heartfelt performance of Without You from Rent which the twins had re-enacted.

"We do have a little something prepared," Sharpay said with a beam.

"Which we agreed we weren't going to do," Ryan hissed with a pout.

"Why not?" Chad asked. "It can't be because we're here because seriously dude, we've seen you perform enough that we don't care."

"Um, no, that's not why."

Chase made a sympathetic sound. "You're not embarrassed because I'm here, are you?"

"A little," Ryan admitted, a slight blush to his cheeks as he confessed.

"I _love _listening to you perform! In face, now I'm demanding to hear."

"Ryan, it's tradition. You can't mess with tradition," Sharpay pleaded. "Besides... this might be the last time that we get to perform for people on our birthday together." For good measure on her guilt trip, she added a pleading look and a pout.

Ryan sighed. "You do know that I know when you're putting on that look, right?"

"Did it work?"

"Yes," he admitted begrudgingly.

"Yay!" she squealed, with a clap of the hands.

Vance ducked back into the room. "Is everyone here?"

"Yeah, why?" Ryan asked, glancing around.

Derby appeared a moment later, carrying an elaborate birthday cake, topped with no less than 36 candles – 18 for each twin – and a handful of decorative sparklers. It was Chad who led the "Happy Birthday" chorus as Derby carried the cake in and placed it in the centre of the table between the two twins. After the final 'hip hip, hooray!'' chant was completed and the sparkling candles died out, together as a team, Sharpay and Ryan blew out the regular candles of the cake. Ryan's side was blown out with one blow, Sharpay required a couple of blows to make all of the little flames go away.

"This cake is amazing!" Ryan exclaimed. He was accustomed to having amazing cakes, normally one would be ordered from a bakery or patiserie.

"We had a little help this year," Vance said, patting Zeke on the back.

"You made this?" Sharpay said, her eyes wide.

Zeke nodded, bashfully. "It was my first time doing proper cake decorating. I had to do a few trial runs but I still think I could've done a few things differently."

"Dude, that's fu... freaking incredible!" Troy exclaimed in awe.

Zeke had constructed the cake – it was his finest piece of work. He'd been studying up on icing and cake design, with a ridiculous amount of effort going into the construction. It was a two tier cake; the right hand side decorated with pink icing and the left with blue icing. The words "Beneath the decoration was two different flavours of layers – the top a white chocolate mud and the bottom a chocolate mud. The 'Happy 18th Birthday Sharpay and Ryan' text was written in glitter text, with each of their names falling into their 'side' of the cake. A few little high heeled shoes were the feature pieces decorating Sharpay's half of the cake, and hats were on Ryan's side. Music notes were the common theme on both sides, with careful swirls of icing on the sides and on top.

Derby made sure that a series of photographs were taken of the cake and of her twins with the cake – and also with Zeke with the cake – before they begrudgingly agreed to cut into the cake. As per tradition in the Evan's household, both twins cut into the cake simultaneously. Chad jeered immaturely about cutting into the bottom of the cake and having to kiss the nearest boy/girl. Sharpay with a blush gave Zeke a quick kiss on the cheek. Ryan stood up to where his mother was standing just behind him and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Zeke assisted with the serving of the cake, pulling the top layer off carefully so people could make their requests for white chocolate or chocolate for their slice.

"This really might be the last time for a while that we get to have a cake together for our birthday," Sharpay said quietly to Ryan as the pieces were served. She was sitting in the seat where her mother had been next to her brother.

Ryan shook his head. "We're both going to be in New York, remember? Sure, it might be a piece of cheesecake from a restaurant, but there will be cake."

"You don't know that."

"That we'll both be in New York?"

"Yeah."

"Let's make a pact. Wherever we are for our bithday, every year, we're going to have cake together. Even if you're on the other side of the world from me, off promoting some movie you're in in Japan or something – we'll each have a piece of cake together, at the same time."

Sharpay smiled. "Promise?"

"Promise."

A quick hug and the twins turned back to the frivolity of the night, enjoying their cake, being with their loved ones, and putting on what might be their final birthday performance – a humourous rendition from _Annie Get Your Gun_ of 'Anything You Can Do.'

As senior year was coming closer and closer to its conclusion, it was all that anyone could do – embrace the good times, and make promises for the future.


	53. Epilogue

**THE SOMEDAY TRILOGY: THIS MOMENT**

**Chapter 52**

**_Epilogue._**

Ryan stood on the doorstep to the Montez household, bouncing from one foot to the other, waiting for someone to answer the door. He heard a laugh from inside, then footsteps; and a moment later the door swung open and he was met with the presence of a bright and beaming Gabriella.

"Hey!" she said with a broad smile, gesturing for him to come straight in. "You still have your key, don't you?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah... I don't know, it felt weird just coming in though."

"I think you'll always be welcome to just come in."

He ducked his head, smiling slightly. It was a comforting feeling. It had only been a short period that he'd spent living with Gabriella and her mother, but it had been a period where he'd felt so unequivocally and unconditionally welcomed into their home. His instinct at first had been to just enter; it had only been on second thought that he'd decided to ring the bell.

"Anyway... I brought photos!" he said, holding up a package of photographs he'd just picked up from the mall.

"Photos from?"

"Last Thursday night," he explained. "Oh, and from New York. But, it's the photos from last Thursday that I'm here to show you."

"Oh! That's right, you got them developed for your collage you're making."

He nodded and then handed her a CD. "I burnt them onto here for you as well. And I'll upload them to Facebook tonight and tag everyone of course. I should've done it earlier but I just haven't had time."

Ryan wasn't exaggerating – it had been a busy week for him. Two days after he and Sharpay's birthday party he'd been in New York City for his Juilliard audition; after coming back the drama club had been involved in a series of meetings discussing plans for the rest of the year, the student council was organising a food drive to assist with devastated areas of the country who had faced hurricanes, and teachers were back cracking the whip, wanting to make the final months of the year count.

Gabriella led Ryan into the living room, where he encountered girls' afternoon already in full swing, with Kelsi, Taylor and Martha hanging out.

"Ah, and our girls afternoon can begin now that Ryan is here," Kelsi said teasingly.

Ryan made a face at her, but grinned nonetheless. "And I come with photos."

Gabriella waved the package that she'd taken from Ryan excitedly. "Let's look!"

Ryan headed into the kitchen to retrieve a glass of soda. He returned with a diet Sprite to find the girls gathered around flicking through the hard copies– a rare activity in the world of digital cameras and clicking through photographs on a computer screen.

"Ryan, these are gorgeous," Kelsi gushed, glancing up at him.

"Shows that having a fancy camera really does help people to become a photographer," he said wryly.

"Jason took a few of them, a lot actually," Martha observed. "That helps."

The girls had divided the pile into four stacks, being careful not to get them out of order but at least this allowed them to each look through a pile and then pass it to the next one. Kelsi bit her bottom lip as she passed her stack she'd completed to Gabriella – knowing it would incite emotion from her, whether it be good or bad in nature was uncertain. Gabriella looked curiously at Kelsi, seeing that look of expectation on her face, but the composer didn't say anything and so Gabriella turned to the photographs in her lap.

She paused upon seeing a photo of herself and Troy. It had actually been Kelsi who had seized the camera at that point in time, there were a series of photos of Gabriella and Troy in a row – a couple of candid shots without their awareness that a camera was pointed at them, the next one of shyness with Gabriella's head buried into Troy's chest, followed by a few posed photographs.

"I got them all printed in case either of you wanted some," Ryan explained to Gabriella quietly, seeing what she was looking at.

"We look really happy in this one," she observed. "You know what we'd been talking about?"

"What?" he asked carefully.

"Troy had been researching online and looking up youth hostels with private rooms in San Francisco and we were talking about trying to spend some weekends together."

"Well... that makes sense you'd look happy talking about that," Martha said cautiously.

"Hmm. Yes. We look happy." Gabriella's emphasis was upon the word _look. _She waved the photograph at Ryan. "Can I keep this?"

"Of course, I just said you could."

She snatched the photo up and murmured to the others a quick, "Excuse me," before hurrying out of the lounge room and heading for the kitchen. She placed the photograph down, and with her weight resting on her hands placed on the edge of the bench, she leaned over, staring at the image.

"Gabriella," Taylor's quiet voice said from the doorway to the kitchen. Gabriella glanced up to see both Ryan and Taylor standing there looking at her with a look of worry across both of their faces.

"I'm fine. Just um... getting a drink." She abruptly stood upright and turned to the cupboard to retrieve a glass.

"You already have a drink."

"That's soda. I feel like water. I'm a bit parched."

"You know if you wanna talk about this... you can. We get that it's hard, and that you can't talk to him about it properly, but you can always talk to us," Ryan said gently.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Gabriella said dumbly.

"I told you that as long as I thought you were happy then I'd keep my mouth shut but… I'm not exactly believing that at the moment," he said quietly.

"What's not believable?" she asked, with a narrowing of the eyes.

"I wasn't going to interfere, but you're kind of giving us whiplash. You're over the moon one day, coming out of a guidance counsellor meeting looking like you want to throw up, all over each other at Ryan's party the next day," Taylor contributed.

"Oh good, so you're in on this too," Gabriella said with a roll of the eyes. She bit her lower lip, and picked up the photograph of she and Troy which she'd seized and held it up. "Look how happy we are. Of course I'm happy. I've finally made my decision, everything is great. End of story."

"It's been, like, two weeks since you agreed to this," Taylor said quietly. "If you're already having second thoughts now..."

"It's not second thoughts," Gabriella said firmly. "I'm just thinking about it. It's a major decision, one that I didn't think I'd quite make for a while."

"Well maybe..." Ryan began to say, but then trailed off. What he'd been going to say, he decided against sharing, but it was too late, he'd already spoken enough.

"Say it," Gabriella said, stubborn tone of voice switched on. "It's kind of too late to stop being honest now. You've been putting in your two cents the whole time, why stop now?"

"What if you made the wrong choice?" Ryan blurted.

Gabriella gaped at him. "Seriously? You're actually saying that?"

"I remember talking to you when you came back from visiting MIT, and have heard you talking about Stanford. Taylor was there with you, she..."

Taylor shot him a look. "Ryan, shut up."

"But you..."

"But I nothing. This is Gabriella's decision."

Gabriella shook her head, having dawned on her that her two best friends had clearly been in discussions about the topic over the week. "You guys need to get lives if this is exciting conversation when I'm not around."

As she said the words she knew they sounded rude and harsh but she'd launched into complete defensive mode. The truth however, was that she valued their opinions, so much so that they would weigh heavily upon her ultimate decision – a decision that she'd thought she'd made, but if she was honest with herself, she was beginning to question.

"I just think you need to think really, really long and hard about your reasons," Ryan finally said. "I _know_ you asked me to keep my thoughts to myself but… that was because you promised you were content with your decision. I'm not exactly believing that at the moment."

Gabriella was staring back at Ryan with a troubled expression. She was done with thinking, and voiced that much. "I'm… I can't think about this any more," she said, closing her eyes, rubbing her temples. "_Thinking_ is exhausting. There's…. there's a relief that comes with having made a decision, getting on with making plans."

"That's now, sure, but… down the road you don't wanna regret taking the seemingly easy path. Do you?"

Before she could respond, she was interrupted by the ringing of her doorbell. Gabriella frowned, not aware of anyone her mother was expecting.

"I'll get it," she called out, mostly for her mother's benefit.

When Gabriella peered through the peep-hole, her lips broke into a surprised smile to see Troy and Chad standing there. She opened the door without hesitation, revealing their full frame. Both boys were dressed in black pants and wearing a brown button up work shirt, but unbuttoned. Underneath Troy's was a grey wife beater, under Chad's a black t-shirt.

"Hey!" she greeted Troy with a hug and a quick peck on the lips, and then also gave Chad a quick hug.

"Hope it's okay we dropped by. I see you've got others here," Troy said, gesturing to Taylor, Martha and Ryan's cars all outside.

"It's fine," Gabriella said. "Come in!"

She led the guys into the living room where both Taylor and Ryan had returned to; they'd overheard the boys arriving and Taylor was eagerly awaiting Chad's entrance. She greeted him similarly to how Gabriella had greeted Troy.

"Hey!"

"Are we crashing girls' afternoon?" Troy asked, observing some bowls of popcorn, the DVD case of _Legally Blonde_ and some magazines.

"You are, but I suppose we can forgive that," Kelsi commented with a smile. The others also smiled – Ryan's smile was a little tight. Finally he'd been making some sort of progress. It was as though the fates were determined to interrupt, playing their own role in the way things were playing out.

"How was your induction?" Gabriella asked enthusiastically. It had been Troy's induction to his brand new workplace and she knew how excited he'd been about it.

"It was great!" Troy said enthusiastically.

Chad shook his head in disbelief at Troy's description. He remembered his own induction – hours of company policy, safety information and corporate structure of which he'd retained about five percent of the information they'd dispensed that day. Nonetheless it was a day's pay for very little work.

"Dude, was the instructor some hot chick or something? That's the only way that induction could've been great."

"It was a lady, she was like, forty," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, a MILF?"

"No!" Troy said, looking disgusted, and glancing back at Gabriella warily – her expression was unperturbed.

"When do you start work?" Martha asked.

"I have training on Tuesday night," Troy answered.

"Do you guys want a drink?" Gabriella asked. "We've got Pepsi, or 7Up, or juice?"

"Pepsi thanks," both Troy and Chad answered simultaneously.

Gabriella asked around the room, Martha placing an 'order' for another Pepsi and Taylor and Kelsi for a 7Up.

"I'll help," Troy said quickly, and trailed after Gabriella into the kitchen.

The minute that the pair passed through the entrance into the kitchen, Gabriella felt a pair of hands on her waist. She squealed lightly as Troy spun her around in his arms, pulling her close and facing him.

"I missed you," he murmured, warm breath tickling her lips.

"You saw me last night," she remarked, both amused and aroused by the intensity of his vocal and facial expression.

His lips formed a lazy smile before leaning forward and pressing them to hers in a soft peck.

"So." Peck.

"Long." Peck

"Ago."

She felt the tension in her body immediately drift away as the final peck became much more than a peck. Her back pressed up against the refrigerator, she vaguely registered a magnet digging into her shoulder but it didn't matter because she was lost in the intensity of his kisses.

They were interrupted by a clearing voice, a sheepish Troy and a mortified Gabriella pulling apart and looking up at Elena Montez with raised eyebrows.

"How are you, ma'am?" Troy asked, standing up a little straighter.

"Troy, you've never called me ma'am before, no need to start just because I caught you with your hand on my daughter's backside," Elena said wryly, raised eyebrows. She wasn't naive, and it wasn't the first time she'd seen the pair in a compromising position. However in her own kitchen up against the refrigerator was not a place she deemed it acceptable for the couple to engage in sneaky trysts – or not so sneaky, to be particular.

"Err, sorry mom," Gabriella stammered, face flushed.

"So, an afternoon for the girls?" Elena said, looking pointedly at Troy.

"Um, Chad and I just dropped by to say hello, we're not staying," Troy offered, not wanting Gabriella to get into trouble, and added cheekily, "And Ryan fits in perfectly."

Elena laughed; Troy's comment succeeded in diffusing the slight tension. "You're welcome to stay, I don't mind," she said, before adding, "As long as you're all downstairs."

"Of course, we will be, mom. Thank you," Gabriella said, giving her mom a quick kiss on the cheek. "They're not all staying long anyway, Troy and I are going out tonight, remember?"

"Ah yes, I recall."

"She'll be home by 11," Troy promised.

Elena pursed her lips. "You can have until midnight."

Gabriella smiled broadly, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"I'm going to duck out to the office quickly just to grab some paperwork and to buy a few things at the grocery store. Do you want anything, Gabi?"

"No thanks, I'm fine."

Gabriella ducked her head into Troy's shoulder as Elena backed away. "So, freaking, mortified!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

Troy was embarrassed but grateful that Elena hadn't been _too _annoyed. He pressed a light kiss to her temple. "It's fine, babe, she's not that mad. If she was, she'd have kicked me out," he pointed out.

Gabriella knew that he was right but this didn't make her feel much better.

"Hey," Troy murmured. "Since she's going out…" he kissed her again.

"Our friends are still here," she reminded him.

"We could totally kick them out. She said we had to stay downstairs, she didn't say we couldn't get rid of people..."

She shook her head. "You'd really do that?"

"Hey, no kicking us out," Chad said disapprovingly, overhearing the tail end of the conversation when he appeared in the kitchen door to find out what was happening with the drinks.

"You know I'd never do that," Troy deadpanned.

"You've done it before, don't lie," Chad said with a roll of the eyes. "We really are just dropping by, Hoops and I have to go train. We wanted to finalise plans for tonight."

Chad quickly assisted in locating glasses and pouring out the drinks.

"Whatever you guys want to do is fine by me," Gabriella said agreeably.

* * *

Later than evening Troy returned to pick up Gabriella – just an ordinary date, knocking at her door, making small talk with her mother as he awaited Gabriella's descent downstairs. The grin on his face was broad, lips met in a sweet kiss, not caring about Elena's presence. Promises to have Gabriella home safe and sound - it was routine, it was welcome routine, it felt familiar and wonderful to be back in that place.

Their date for that evening felt somewhat of a novelty, although if they actually went back and thought about it, it hadn't been that long since they'd been on a proper date. But in recent times, life had been so chaotic, between a period of ongoing awkwardness and just the general business of life. It was nice to make plans with their best friends, to go out and to enjoy themselves on a double date. Neither pair exactly had experienced an easy run and yet somehow they emerged from it all, able to be sitting in a booth at Blake's Lotaburger, both couples present, all of them friends. Gabriella pushed the niggling feelings as a result of Ryan's criticisms away – how could something that felt as easy as this be wrong?

Discussion inevitably drifted around the usual topics – school, their extra curriculars, the basketball regionals that both boys were a part of during the upcoming spring break, their families, and college.

"Now, Taylor needs to give up on this Harvard notion and our lives will be set. California bound for all of us," Chad said with a grin.

Taylor shook her head. "Chad. Come on, you know what Harvard means to me."

"I know, I know..." The air went a little quiet. Chad and Taylor had an unspoken understanding that they'd give the long distance thing a go regardless of what happened, although both were a little uncertain as to how it would work in practice.

"Are you definite about Sacramento?" Gabriella asked Chad.

"Pretty much. I mean nothing is signed and won't be for a couple of months but I do feel it in my gut."

Troy nodded - he understood, he felt the exact same way. There was a great deal of value to that gut feeling.

"Not long until I'll know for sure what's happening with Harvard. In a few weeks I'll be waiting every day for the mail," Taylor said, gnawing on her thumbnail. Chad thwacked her arm lightly – she'd requested he prevent her from biting her nails if he could, as she was hoping to grow them for prom.

"I believe that everything happens for a reason and if Harvard is where you're supposed to be, it'll happen," Gabriella said wisely.

"Yeah yeah. I know. Don't get your hopes up, blah blah," Taylor said, with a roll of her eyes and making a talking motion with her hand.

"Good to see you've been learning from our advice, babe," Chad said cheekily.

"Hey, so, were we gonna go catch a movie?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor and Chad exchanged a look. "Um, actually, do you mind if we bail on that?" Chad said.

"My mom is out..." Taylor said, ducking her head a little, and allowing the implication of the statement to hang.

"Say no more," Troy said, palms raised.

"You know, Taylor's house does have a guest room," Chad mused. "Um... I guess... you guys could..."

Troy and Gabriella exchanged a brief look – they'd yet to be together since Gabriella had returned from California. Troy would be lying if he said he wasn't hanging out for when Gabriella would feel ready, and a part of him perked up at Chad's suggestion. Gabriella's face however was one of slight disgust.

"Um, we're close but not _that_ close," she said, eyes wide. "So thanks, but no thanks."

"What's the difference between that and doing it at a party when everyone knows you're doing it?" Chad pondered.

"Totally different!" Taylor said.

"Completely different," Gabriella agreed.

"The man has a point," Troy mused.

"How is it different?" Chad asked the girls. "If we were all at a party and both went to go... get a room... that would be the exact same thing as if you guys came over."

"The party environment is different. There's alcohol and music..." Taylor began to say.

"I can get alcohol. You have music," Chad interjected.

"And dancing..."

"We can dance."

"And..."

"Guys," Gabriella interrupted. "Pointless discussion. Troy and I aren't coming over with or without music and alcohol and dancing. You go though. Enjoy the... privacy."

They all finished up the remainder of their sodas, chatting a bit longer before heading out to the parking lot where Chad and Troy's vehicles were parked side by side. A little bit of small talk in the parking lot longer, Taylor and Chad headed off, leaving Gabriella and Troy to decide what lay ahead for the evening.

Troy glanced at his watch. "It's not even 9pm. Did you want to catch a movie? Go bowling? Mini golf? Umm... laser tag?"

"Hmm... could we maybe just go to your place? Hang out in your room – door open, of course," Gabriella said with a smile.

Troy nodded. "If that's what you want, sure."

Gabriella's hand rested on his knee for the drive back to his house; when he wasn't changing gears he had his hand over hers, thumb rubbing over the back of her palm. When they arrived back at his place, he pulled into the curb to park outside of his house, looking suspiciously at his fairly dark house.

"Hello?" Troy called out into the house, frowning at the lack of lights turned on. He flipped on a few switches as they entered the house and walked through the corridor.

"Looks like they're out," Gabriella observed.

"Weird. They didn't mention going out," he mused.

"That may have been strategic," she pointed out with a wry smile.

"True," Troy said rolling his eyes. They reached the kitchen and he found his mom's notepad where she would write phone messages and notes in the middle of the bench.

_Troy,_

_If you come home before we're back, we're next door at the Anderson's having dinner. _

_-Mom_

"There you go, that solves that mystery. Looks like we have the living room then. You wanna see if there's anything on TV?" Troy asked.

Gabriella was agreeable, and so she and Troy collapsed on the couch, curling up together as Troy flicked through the stations. Finally they landed on _The Devil Wears Prada _which had started about ten minutes earlier, and he settled – he knew Gabriella liked the film and he had seen it and in his opinion as far as a romantic comedy went, it was watchable. They watched through until the second commercial break, and then Troy found himself feeling a little distracted by his attractive girlfriend tempting him with her soft skin and the sweet smell of her perfume. He pressed a soft kiss to her neck, then another, then a nibble and a nip of her skin.

"Is this a movie that you're dying to watch again?" he murmured.

Gabriella smiled, drawing in a breath as he sucked the skin just below her ear. "Um, if it was and you're going to distract me from watching, will you agree to watching it with me another day?" she asked teasingly.

"Of course," he murmured, warm breath tickling against her skin.

She tilted his chin up with her index finger, gazing into his eyes.

"Just kiss me."

* * *

Sunday night came, Gabriella wasn't sure how they'd all wound up at her house – it hadn't been the original plan for their Sunday evening - but gradually in singles and pairs, the Wildcats had trickled in across the afternoon, one texting the other and discovering where the Sunday afternoon and evening hangout was taking place. Elena Montez was in the study – claiming she was catching up on some work, but Gabriella knew the truth that she was actually tending to her crops on Farmville. Gabriella wasn't used to her place being the social hub, but that weekend the big house currently occupied by just the two people had been alive with activity.

There wasn't actually any plan of what they were doing. The Wildcats had watched a movie, and then Zeke and Jason had popped out to Zeke's house to drag over Zeke's PS2 to hook up to the Montez's television. Later on, the group headed out in two cars to the local pizza store to pick up an order, before all driving back to Gabriella's place to sit around in the living room and devour their purchases.

In a moment of supreme cheesiness, Gabriella was refusing to eat more than a couple of slices of pizza which Troy simply wasn't accepting. He located the smallest slice of pizza left, and with the crust in his mouth, shoved the slice in her direction.

"Ew, Troy, don't be gross!" Gabriella squealed. She did, however, accept the slice when he handed it to her and took a bite, before handing it back to him. He rolled his eyes but was happy to eat the remainder of the piece himself.

"Disgusting," Chad said, with a roll of the eyes.

Taylor who was close by his side also rolled her eyes – not at Troy and Gabriella, but at Chad's indignant reaction to the display. She would never sell him out, but Chad had his moments of embarrassing cheesiness when not surrounded by his buddies.

"Did you guys hear about the brief careers session being held in the gym on Tuesday instead of homeroom?" Kelsi asked the group conversationally.

Her remark was met by mixed chorus of annoyance, disappointment, apathy and excitement.

"It was only a few months ago when we were all stressing out about getting our college applications in. Now almost half of us know officially where we're going to be next year," Martha commented.

"Almost half?" Jason said, eyebrows raised.

"Well, Troy and Chad are pretty much close to signed with their teams, Gabriella's now set on Stanford, I've got my early decision to Sarah Lawrence," Martha explained, going through the group methodically.

"I'll be in New York City no matter what," Sharpay said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Have you applied to other colleges in New York?" Chad asked her.

She paused. "Well, no, but it doesn't matter."

"I think with a fee sometimes you can submit late applications," Martha offered.

"Daddy wants me to put in an application to NYU, I don't think it is at all necessary though," Sharpay commented.

"NYU is a great college, and it's in a really pretty part of town," Gabriella offered.

"Not as pretty as the part of town Juilliard is in," Sharpay shot back, a little defensively.

"Well if you wanna technically talk about how 'pretty' it is..." Ryan began to say, before Sharpay shot him a look. Ryan rolled his eyes, before adding, "Actually, I'll be in New York, somewhere in the state, too, I'm pretty sure. Every school I've applied to but one is in New York."

"Nearly all mine are in California," Jason offered.

"Cali, hell yeah!" Chad declared. Chad and Jason did a boy-ish fist pump handshake, which Chad and Troy then exchanged followed by Troy and Jason. Troy turned to Gabriella who he was seated beside. "You want in on our California handshake?"

She gave him a smile. "That's okay, I'll let you guys keep it to yourselves."

The group continued with their conversations, drifting away from the topic and breaking into a couple of separate discussions, Troy and Jason turning back to the PlayStation. Gabriella took the opportunity to collect a few items of garbage and some dirty plates to tidy up, taking them back to the kitchen.

Satisfied that everyone was okay, she slipped away and headed upstairs, thinking that no one had really been paying attention to her. However she should've known that there was one blue eyed boy who constantly paid her attention, even when he was across the room with a play station remote in hand, out of the corner of his eye he had her in sight. He sensed her very presence, and equally would sense her lack of presence.

It was a clear night, no cloud coverage, only the slightest of breezes causing a rustle in the trees. Her friends were still downstairs, laughing, joking, talking. She heard the balcony door behind her pull open, but she didn't move, didn't react. She knew who it was, without seeing or hearing. Warm arms embraced her figure and she felt herself relax into his touch, body melting back into him.

"Hi," he murmured, and swept her hair away to press a soft kiss to her neck."Why are you hiding up here?"

"Not hiding. Just needed to think for a moment."

"Everything okay?"

She nodded, her hands resting on his arms and squeezing lightly. "Fine," she said simply.

Her mind was a swell of emotions. As her friends sat around, talking and laughing, she couldn't help but have doubts in her mind as to how long the perfection was going to last. It seemed to slip away from her frequently, just as everything started to make sense, she'd be hit with a new found onslaught of confusion – bliss was merely a temporary state. She would never have labelled herself as a glass half empty sort of person, but in contrast to Troy's eternal optimism and faith, it would be easy to label her as a pessimist, filled with doubt.

"You shouldn't be up here, my mom wouldn't be happy," she murmured.

"Mmm, won't be long. We're not doing anything. Not breaking the spirit of the rule, anyway."

"This is true."

Somehow, standing in the comfort of his arms and feeling tender kisses lightly pressing against her skin, it was easy to make herself believe that everything was okay.

"I know you're nervous, but you're gonna see Gabriella, everything is going to be perfect –or as close to perfect as it can be. You and me, babe, that's all that matters. We'll make it work. Yeah?"

She swivelled around, turning to face him. Troy's hands came to rest on her waist, and her right hand cupped his cheek, thumb caressing the side of his face. There were times when gazing at Troy she'd be overcome with the perfection of his features or the brightness of his smile or a fixation upon the way his hair was getting a little too long. As they stood on her balcony in the cool, clear night with their friend's downstairs discussing hopes and dreams for the future, she gazed at him and could only see the hope and belief in his eyes.

"I love you," she stated.

"And I love you," he returned, unnecessarily but wanting to return the sentiment regardless. He sighed, before saying softly, "I should go back downstairs."

Gabriella hushed him, a finger pressing on his lips to silence him. She kissed him softly before pulling away and requesting, "Can we stay? Just a little longer."

He kissed her forehead gently before replying, "Of course. We can stay as long as you want."

"How about forever? Right here, just you and me, can we stay right here forever?"

"Sounds perfect to me."

Realistically, they couldn't stay there forever. But for a while at least, reality was being cast aside in forever of fantasy. And so Gabriella simply turned back around, once again relaxing into Troy's embrace. They stood in silence, gazing out into the night sky, up at the stars and the moon, and existed in the essence of that moment.

* * *

_Can you imagine what would happen if we could have any dream_

_I'd wish this moment was ours to own it and that it would never leave_

**~ Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, "Right Here, Right Now."**

~ fin

* * *

**AN: **_I have an undefinable volume of gratitude and thank you to everyone who is still here following my fan fiction. I have every intent to see through the entirety of my series; just life has taken a brand new turn living in a brand new city in a job with a 50+ hour work week and life gets in the way of fanfiction. I've learnt the value of my real life and of prioritising real life and my future and my friendships over any sort of fantasy land. Troy and Gabriella will always be in my heart, they're always on my mind, and I'm not planning to let them go - but I think they would be happy to see me embracing the real world._

_My beta reader Audrey has become so much more than a beta reader: she has been a chauffeur, a tour guide, an inn keeper and most importantly, a friend. Thank you for committing to see this through with me; I wouldn't have come this far without you and I know I couldn't see it through without you._

_Thank you to every single person who has assisted along the way, everyone who has messaged me with advice, given me tips about colleges and basketball, suggestions for fashion, tips for grammar, guest beta readers and every morsel of general moral support whether it be via review, at a forum, on Twitter, or at an event I've met you at in real life._

_This is the end of **This Moment** but not the end of my Someday series: there will be the third and final installment. I am planning to write the whole thing in its entirety prior to posting, to allow for a fluid posting and reading experience. I've already started writing bits and pieces and have whole segments and chapters completed so I'm hoping 2011 will be my year._

_Until the next part of the journey commences, thank you, and hope to see you all soon._

_~Danielle xo_


	54. You and Me

Hi all!

Just a quick note just in case you had this story on alert but not me as an author specifically, to let you know that I've (finally!) uploaded the first chapter of the third installment to this trilogy. It is entitled 'You and Me.' Check out my profile, and don't forget to put me on your author alert list!

Dani xo


End file.
